Product Management — The Product Life Cycle

The day-to day work of a product manager varies over the course of the product life cycle.

Modern product development doesn’t follow a strict linear structure but in order to understand the PM role, it’s helpful to group activities by phase.

Discover

This is a process called product discovery — when you figure out what problem you should go after. You’re looking for a problem that’s large enough to be worth solving, while feasible enough for your team to be successful.

Define

The define phase is when you narrow down the problem space to a specific, feasible slice and frame it so it’s ready for the team. During this phase, you’ll be shaping the outcomes you’re going after and outlining the big picture so your team understands where this project fits in.

Design

The design phase is not just about putting your ideas into pictures; it also includes expansive thinking and validating your ideas with real people. This includes both the user experience (e.g. mock-ups and visual prototypes) and technical solution (design docs and technical prototypes).

Develop

Development is where you turn the ideas into working code.

Delivery

Delivery is where you roll out the solution to users. Some changes are quietly shipped without any fanfare while others have a full go-to-market campaign.

Debrief

While many people are eager to move on to the next new thing as soon as the product launches, it’s not over yet. After the launch, it’s important to measure how it went and learn from the project. Often insights from the launch will drive the next round of product innovation.

PMs often have two streams of work going at a time — one closer to discovery and one closer to delivery. Deterining key assumptions, creating hypothesis and validating hypotheses occur during all stages.

All the above are my notes from the reference book — Cracking the PM Career by Jackie Bavaro (Author), Gayle Laakmann McDowell (Author)