TLDR Product Management 2024-05-07

We're at the early stages of AI app development, with many products still striving to find product-market fit. While innovating pricing models is challenging and often not the initial focus, most AI products adopt a strategy that focuses on making pricing predictable and ensuring it does not deter potential users.

Expansion after achieving PMF involves evaluating whether existing channels are maximized, market saturation is approached, or diversification is needed. Assessing adjacency, with a focus on impact over cost, helps pinpoint viable directions, ensuring alignment with strengths and minimizing risk.

The emergence of "writer-builders" reflects a trend where individuals excel in both writing and building within their domains, enhancing innovation and cross-disciplinary understanding. Bridging creative thinking with practical execution advocates for career fluidity and the integration of reflective writing into professional practice.

The roles of engineers, designers, and product managers are increasingly overlapping, driven by a deeper involvement in each other's domains and accelerated by AI. Cross-disciplinary skills and collaborative approaches are required. Blending roles without overstepping is key to leadership in product development.

Notifications constantly vie for our attention, often intruding into our daily lives. Although users can adjust their settings to control the influx of notifications, app developers typically have little motivation to make these options more user-friendly. Their primary goal is to maximize user engagement with their products, which can conflict with the desire for less disruptive notifications.

A refined hiring process for product designers focuses on meticulous portfolio reviews, managerial screenings for soft skills, and comprehensive case studies to ensure candidates match the team's high standards. The process involves rigorous evaluations and team consensus to maintain design excellence and team synergy.

Jacob's Law, Hick's Law, the goal gradient effect, and the Von Restorff effect are key UX principles that guide PMs in creating products that are not only functional and visually appealing, but also intuitive to use.

Shiny Toy Syndrome, characterized by the fleeting satisfaction of new tools or technologies, often detracts from productivity and strategic focus. Common symptoms include frequent switching of tools and the lure of buzzworthy features. It can be addressed by implementing strategies such as cooling-off periods, rigorous decision-making processes, and reflection on the actual business needs and impacts of new implementations.

True influence in leadership involves supporting others' goals and building mutual growth. Effective PMs gain influence not through authority but by being knowledgeable, accessible, and empathetic, fostering trust and collaboration within teams.

Shifting launch dates, unclear user personas, and misaligned go-to-market strategies are common issues that can arise between PMs and PMMs when they're not aligned.

Frequent changes in strategy may indicate a lack of conviction.

A product vision is distinct from a company vision and entails a detailed description of the intended solution a company plans to build to achieve its broader goals.