Jeff Wood

Haven't seen the inaugural Pendo Feature Adoption Report from 2019 yet? Based on 615 subscriptions for customers using Pendo >1 year. 😬 Only 12% of features are frequently used, 8% moderately used. 😩 80% of features are rarely or never used.  Optimizing onboarding and adoption of the most important, core features will get the product-led flywheel spinning and not clutter up the user experience. Link to pdf in comments.

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Breaking up is hard to do.... 🎶 Unless you have a shitty roadmap, in which case, is it really? Plus points for getting the absolute worst/best cover image on YT. Our latest episode is live! #roadmaps #prodmgmt #productmanagement https://lnkd.in/e3zxkndv

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Why do we overcomplicate product backlogs?    At Tech Fabric, I’ve seen this story play out too often - teams drowning in features while missing real customer impact.   Here’s the truth I’ve learned working with our clients:   ● Value beats velocity - Your backlog needs to solve real problems, not just look busy. Recently helped a healthcare client cut their backlog by 40% - guess what? Delivery speed doubled. ● Teams need protection, not just direction- Product leads: your job isn’t just prioritization. It’s shielding your team from the "nice-to-haves" that kill momentum. ● Culture drives delivery - Want to know why some teams consistently deliver? They’re empowered to challenge requirements, not just execute them.   Building successful products isn’t about managing a to-do list. It’s about leading teams that solve real problems.   #ProductDevelopment #Leadership #TechFabric

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Many new people getting into PM roles face difficulty in identifying north star metric of the product. Identifying north star metric can be very simple, if you ask one question to yourself: "What data I will look at to track the financial growth of the product when I do not have direct access to revenue numbers". The metric which helps you track this will generally be the north start metric of the product. North star metric is very closely related to how do you monetize your product.

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A critical mistake many product managers make is getting too wrapped up in the tactical aspects of Agile and feature prioritization. While these are important, neglecting strategic skills like user research and vision development can limit your impact and career growth. Focus on what truly matters to elevate your product and your career.

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Having examined the careers of 1,000+ product managers, I find five "hidden" roadblocks that surprised these talented folks: 1. Being Stuck in Non-Product Land: Many find themselves in environments prioritizing outputs over outcomes, stifling essential skills development like customer insight and strategic vision. 2. Getting Known Only for Execution: Excelling in execution can, unfortunately, pigeonhole you into more of the same, preventing you from taking on more strategic roles that drive significant impact. 3. The Comparison Trap: Comparing your career to others can be detrimental. Each journey is unique, and focusing on your own path and progress is vital. 4. The Upper Limit Problem: This psychological barrier where you subconsciously limit your success can significantly hinder you. Recognizing and pushing beyond your internal limits is key to achieving greater career heights. 5. Extreme Manager Dependence: Relying too much on your manager for career progression can leave you passive in your own career development. Taking ownership and advocating for yourself is essential. Remember, your career is your story to write. Inspire your teams and stakeholders by transforming your environment and narrative. If you're stuck in a less product-led role, find ways to steer towards a more outcome-focused approach. Share your vision, and slowly shift the culture around you. If you would like to see an entire video that discusses these findings in depth, please comment "video," and I will send you the link.

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If you're involved in #productmanagement, I highly recommend you download and read the 2024 State of Product Management & Marketing Report from the Pragmatic Institute. These folks know how product management and marketing is done and done correctly. This reports provides insights into the current states of practice. Also, their courses and certifications are top notch and show you how to do PM the right way, the most effective and impactful way. https://lnkd.in/gm5NJBRk

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📢 ProductFTW #18: This week on ProductFTW, Zach Bartholomew discusses the importance of PMs being technical, and provides a few recommendations of resources you can utilize to build your technical background. #technicalproductmanager #tech #entrepreneur

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The Key to Measuring Product Market Fit: Why Retention Matters More Than Satisfaction I often get asked, “how can I determine if I have Product Market Fit (PMF).” For any new product launch, accurately gauging PMF is critical. A powerful indicator of this fit is customer retention, which often provides deeper insights than mere satisfaction metrics. Understanding and measuring retention offers a clear view of how well your product resonates with your target audience. Retention goes beyond the initial excitement of a new customer. It delves into the ongoing relationship your customers have with your product or service. For instance, consider a mobile gaming app. Here, retention isn’t just about downloads but how often players return to the game. This return rate is a tangible measure of the game’s relevance and appeal to its audience. Moreover, retention can be a telling predictor of long-term business viability. It’s not just about customers using your product, but how they integrate it into their daily or weekly routines. How should you measure retention? Let’s break it down with a simple method: cohort analysis. This technique tracks groups of customers over a period to see if they continue using your product. The goal is to observe a stable or ‘flattening’ retention curve, suggesting that customers find lasting value in what you offer. Imagine you own a coffee shop. To understand how well your shop retains customers, you can use a method called cohort analysis. This method involves grouping customers based on when they first visited your shop and tracking their return visits over time. Read the full article here for examples and how to bring this to life: https://lnkd.in/ggFEbJSZ

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👋 Do any of these resonate with you? A. Getting your first job in product management is tough. B. Changing customer behavior is challenging. C. Selling SaaS in this climate is tricky. D. Leading a team through uncertainty isn’t for the faint of heart. Over the past year, I've conducted over 200 calls on these topics with customers, founders, leads, and aspiring product managers. Here are my top two takeaways: 1. Community is key. Sharing experiences and seeking feedback from those on the same path (or having gone down it) sharpens your approach, makes the journey more rewarding, and less lonely. 2. Connection energizes. Engaging with the community has been incredibly fulfilling and motivating for me. To make these connections more accessible, I've opened a few 1:1 mentorship slots on Intro. Plus, 25% of the proceeds will be donated to charity (Kings County Tennis League). ⏩ https://intro.co/hirefrank As a former VP of Product at Slack, InVision, Casper, and Betterment, I’m excited to share my experiences and insights. I’ll also bring in learnings from my time at Etsy and Google. Here’s what we can cover together: ✔️ Roadmap prioritization & sequencing ✔️ Uncovering customer insights ✔️ Pricing & go-to-market strategies ✔️ Product feedback ✔️ Career advice for PMs ✔️ And more Honored to be on @Intro alongside world-class experts like Mark Mullen (seed investor in GOAT, Scopely, Figment & Trade Desk), Shegun Otulana (founder of Theranest/Therapy Brands, sold for $1.25B), Kathy Wang (head of AR product at TikTok), and Lars Schmidt (award-winning talent strategist, LinkedIn Top Voice). Comment “interested” and secure your spot now: https://intro.co/hirefrank

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Does your company have one role accountable for the entire Product Journey? It should! But this role shouldn't be long-range product R&D. It should be shorter-range Product Management. Does that sound strange? This article explains the difference and highlights why Product Management needs to own the complete product journey but they are not accountable for each step in that journey: https://lnkd.in/gsaAKN-a

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The Lean Canvas is awesome, but did you know its founder Ash Maurya followed up with a traction-centric model called "The Customer Factory Blueprint"? Think of the Lean Canvas as a planning or hypothesis-generating tool. The Customer Factory Blueprint is a model for defining how to test and measure the assumptions in your canvas in the real world, facilitating a continuous loop of learning and adapting. Finally, he mentions a Traction Roadmap, which lets you map the metrics defined in the Customer Factor Blueprint to goals and milestones. This blueprint doesn't seem to have achieved the same recognition level as Lean Canvas, maybe because it wasn't quite novel enough. Acquisition, activation, retention, and referral were already well understood. Still, I enjoyed this article as it helped me to think more about the coming stage in my own product journey. https://lnkd.in/gYJd6BS7 #startups #productdevelopment #entrepreneurship 

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PSA: Session replays ≠ user research I heard this at Pendo product conference (#Pendomonium) this week: "Our users aren't just numbers, they're humans. We have to empathize with them... and that's where *session replays* come in." 😵 Nooooo! Session replays give a visual playback of real-life user behavior, captured through analytics tools like Pendo.io. While useful, session replays are *not* a replacement for user research methods like interviews and usability testing. Unlike user research, session replays are faceless and voiceless. ✅ Session replays can show you what people did in your product. ❌ They cannot tell you WHY. ❌ They lack CONTEXT. ❌ They do not encourage EMPATHY. Example: You watch a few session replays where customers move quickly through an ecommerce checkout process, then abandon at the last step. Why, though? With session replays, you're just guessing. ❓Was the shipping price too high? ❓Was a preferred payment option missing? ❓Did they just change their mind and decide not to buy? 🤷‍♀️ With session replays alone, you just don't know. 🙏 PLEASE, just talk to people. End of rant. 🤗 #userresearch #uxdesign #productmanagement #productdesign

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Tech Leaders: Don't shell out 1 cent on implementation until you've completed design discovery. Otherwise, you may spend 10 months and $200k+ on a product that may never generate revenue. The reason? Using a proven framework early-on helps you catch product pitfalls, like: - Undocumented assumptions - UX traps that hinder user adoption - Feasibility issues (Can your idea really be built?) Any software firm that tells you it's okay to skip the design process is telling you what you want to hear to close the deal. A good technology partner wouldn't let you spend time and money building a product you haven't validated.

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Going from being a Senior Product Manager to being a Director of Product is painful. You might feel like an idiot 95% of the time. This is because leading a team of product managers is a radically different role from being an individual product manager. 3 ways Product Leader stay on top of their game: 1. They understand metrics in the context of being a director because their metrics will look different from those of an individual Product Manager. 2. They tie the dots between different product areas. 3. They know how to divide the scope among the different product managers they're leading.

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Product teams love customer feedback. But what do they actually do with it? Too often the answer is nothing. Your feedback goes into a black hole and disappears forever... That's not great, but I feel for product teams. Customer feedback is great, until you get a metric ton of it - to sort through, triage, and follow up on. Something has to give. Or does it - AI should help right! Right. I'm excited to share Pendo Listen. A new way to capture user feedback, organize insights, and test ideas so you can prioritize your resources with confidence. Check out link in comments.

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Product leadership is tough. You've got competing priorities, limited support and a constant demand to do more with less. And, more than ever, product leaders tell us they feel isolated in their roles. We want this to change. Introducing Product Leadership Circles. 📣 Product Leadership Circles is an executive peer-to-peer group where product and product management leaders come together to solve real-life product problems with the help of an executive coach. This one-of-a-kind community gives you the chance to: ✅ Network with other awesome product leaders ✅ Bounce ideas off others and leave with actionable feedback ✅ Strengthen your leadership with an executive coach who has more than a decade of experience steering Fortune 100 teams Applications are now open: https://lnkd.in/g9A_69cT

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