Product basics
Product basics.
Fifteen lessons for new product managers, in three parts: the job itself, advanced topics, and interview prep. Each one teaches a method step by step, with worked examples, diagrams, quick questions, and a worksheet you can copy.
The path
Fifteen lessons, in three parts.
Each lesson takes about 12 to 19 minutes. Start at lesson 1, or jump to what you need this week.
Part 1
The job
What product managers do, step by step: from a customer’s problem to a product that ships and keeps getting better.
Lesson 1: What is product management?
What the job is, who you work with, and how it changes.
13 minutes
Lesson 2: From a problem to a solution.
Go from a vague request to a solution worth building.
17 minutes
Lesson 3: Prioritization.
Decide what to work on first, and explain why.
17 minutes
Lesson 4: Pick the right metrics.
Choose numbers that tell you whether it’s working.
14 minutes
Lesson 5: Find the root cause.
When a metric moves, find out why before you act.
13 minutes
Lesson 6: Build a dashboard.
Build a dashboard people actually use.
12 minutes
Lesson 7: Wireframes and prototypes.
Sketch it, prototype it, and test it with five people.
13 minutes
Lesson 8: Build, launch, and learn.
Turn an agreed idea into something customers use.
15 minutes
Part 2
Advanced
System design, how top companies build products, and product strategy.
Part 3
Interview prep
Get ready for product manager interviews: estimates, app critiques, and behavioral questions.
Lesson 12: Prepare for a product manager role.
What interviews test, and a six-week practice plan.
16 minutes
Lesson 13: Guesstimates.
Answer an estimation question, step by step.
14 minutes
Lesson 14: Critique an app.
Critique an app the way product managers do.
16 minutes
Lesson 15: Behavioral questions.
Answer “Tell me about a time…” questions.
15 minutes
Every lesson uses one made-up online furniture store, so you can follow one business all the way through. Where an idea came from someone else, it is credited and linked, so you can go deeper. Every line is checked against its sources.
Ready when you are
Start with
what the job is.
One question, seven short parts, and a clear picture of what a product manager actually does.
Got a question the lessons didn’t answer? Email me. I read every note.