How do product managers become product managers?

Small choreographer read: Many product managers are technical or design origins, you? What advice do you have for new people or interested in this position? The following is an answer to this question

More than 100 answers have found that many people answer the question of what they do before a product manager or what the product Manager does, which in turn causes a vicious circle to be answered by more people, but the description of the problem itself is misleading and does not blame the respondents.

I want to ask the person who is asking the question is actually wants to know, wants to let the other people know, in does not have any product background or the product related background situation the person how to improve the product skill or the consciousness through the feasible method, then lets becomes the product manager to become possible.

I stood on the shoulders of the above students summed up the question: to become a product manager, in other words you want to make product Manager This "product", at least let it be available, you may need to meet the following requirements:

Personal cognitive aspects

Personal cognition is what you use to obtain and collect the latest product information, user needs, whether you have a nuanced eyes or a wide range of thinking, of course, if you do not now, but you should at least have this potential, it is not possible to constantly exercise themselves. So how do other people improve their knowledge of the product? There are several ways to do this:

A. Focus on the Internet community and make more friends in this area. Whether the friend's understanding of the product is deep or shallow, you can always learn something from it. B. Try a different product and chase something new like a geek. The advent of Weibo and other things accelerates the speed of information dissemination, not only allows you to quickly understand the current hot spots, but also allows you to quickly learn the latest product information.

C. Draw on the experiences and lessons of others. A product always has been scolded side, collect and organize these points, become one of your wake-up library, you have the ability to design products, you will be scolded less chance.

D. Improve communication skills. To make a product to persuade a lot of people, sometimes the boss, sometimes research and development, sometimes market personnel, and sometimes even your girlfriend, you always have to master some skills, which is in the process of continuous wall ascension.

Personal thinking aspects

The concept of information explosion has long been, people have done a lot of efforts to help others filter the message, which has Google's success, as well as the efforts of Digg, and then appeared the social network of acquaintances communication mode (like), and now the question and answer site, This help is provided by a transition from an organization to crowdsourcing, although the accuracy of the information is increased, but the amount is still enormous, in which case the individual's ability to filter (that is, the ability to think) appears to be total, and refinement to the product level requires us:

A. Regularly and systematically summarize and reflect on similar functional points of products encountered in everyday life. When you use more products, you can see a lot of product features, some of the product features are actually similar, but change the display pattern, which requires you to be good at observing and summarizing, can classify them as one kind.

B. Understand and think about why a product needs a feature, and what scenario requires it. Many product features may be in the circumstances you do not feel very important, and even you are difficult to find it, but when you encounter it will surprise you, the average person may be surprised, but you may need to think more.

C. Exploration failure. The whole Internet industry products too much, failed products always accounted for the majority, do not indulge in the success of the product, the failure of the product is actually a textbook of experience.

Personal practical aspects

Thinking without practice is empty talk, is the castle, perhaps you are not engaged in the Internet products industry, but you have to do a product of their own opportunities, you have to think of their own conclusions to apply to the actual, because only then you will know whether your ideas are correct or naïve, This will eliminate things that are harmful to the product and keep things that are helpful to you on the road. So how do you do it:

A. Enter a company in this area, and actually participate in the design of a product or a project implementation process. If you have a good luck, this is the best practice, even if you are only a handyman in the product department, at least before the product manager will give you some opportunities to write documents, use it, you will reap a lot.

B. Create a blog or personal website and treat it as a personal product and then use the product's thinking to operate and design. If you have a bad luck, you can choose to create a separate blog or personal website for yourself, perhaps a lot of people think that now microblogging blog why, but I want to say is "now also have fast food, but we will often go home to cook." "In this process you can not only use your theory, you can also learn about design, information planning, technology, data analysis, operations and other aspects of things, perhaps accidentally you have been a business."

C. Do a job close to the user, such as marketing, operations, editorial or customer service. Most of the product people believe that UCD (user-centric design) thought, in fact, all the product prototypes are derived from the user (of course, you are also users), since can not immediately go into the product post, that first to close to the user, to avoid doing products in the case of closed doors.

Personal precipitation aspects

Thought over, practiced, but these are still clouds. Thinking of still in their own head, practice has only formed a preliminary results, if not to write them down and share to other friends is meaningless, it is like building a house, you just put the foundation to build a good but not on the above building blocks, and then to create a new foundation, although you are very busy, but there is no molding house, And sharing to friends is to invite them to come home, feelings will be deep, heart to heart will be more.

A. Reflection of mistakes, and deeply imprinted in their hearts. The conclusion of their own thinking is wrong, encountered the wrong laugh mentality although good, but not what, only to find out why they are wrong, what makes their own judgment error, how to avoid mistakes, think clearly these problems wrong is worth, and you solve a problem, then this series of problems can be solved.

B. Write down what you think and practice. Good memory than a bad keyboard, this is the truth, previously can only be written in the book, can now be knocked into the computer, have their own website is convenient, even exist in the cloud, history can not wash off, put things down to do a proper classification, when you need to be the fastest speed you can find. You may not have experience with the product yet, but you have accumulated a lot.

C. Know how to share results. Save food and so on forever, although very romantic, but very stupid, because it will be bad, or will be eaten by rats. Share to others, let others know you are thinking, enhance your own influence while helping others to grow, share happiness with others your happiness will double.

In fact, these four aspects is a learning process, through the collection, thinking, verification, summing up four steps to gradually improve product awareness and market awareness, shorten the distance with the product manager. In addition to these four main areas of demand needs to be met, I personally think that product managers also need to "know a bit of technology, understand the point of design, understand the point of economics, understand a little philosophy, understand a little psychology", of course, slightly understand.

QQ Mailbox Product manager said a word "if you are more introverted than the sales staff, and more outgoing than the engineer, you can consider the product manager this position", I want to say is "as long as you think enough, you can!" "Welcome to the world of Internet products.

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How do product managers become product managers?