from Hacker News

How to hire a product manager

by bmj1 on 2/24/13, 6:14 PM with 37 comments

• by sardonicbryan on 2/24/13, 8:37 PM

  I've hired a number of PMs for my startup over the last 12months,and by far the most important thing that is overlooked (imo) is the ability to write good specs that are helpful for engineering. You can think of that as a sign that a PM can think like an engineer and communicate with engineers.

  For people with PM experience, I'll ask them about the things they considered and documented in their last spec. If they think a spec is a list of bullet points, that's instant fail. If they considered all user flows in and out of the features, edge cases, user education, analytics/success metrics, release plan and time vs cost tradeoffs that's a win.

• by hammerzeit on 2/24/13, 8:01 PM

  A solid essay and a great set of criteria. When I was a PM at Google, there were a couple other critical traits I liked to look for, though they were not simple yes-no criteria.

  * How does this person deal with vast uncertainty? Are they excited? Scared? Is their first reaction to impose structure or are they comfortable with lack of structure? If it's the latter, can they meaningful convey confidence with the lack of structure?

  * Can this person teach? Can they figure out how to take an abstract idea and articulate it cleanly? When someone doesn't get it, at what point do they fall back to utilizing authority? Are they good at listening closely to what someone is saying to them and framing an argument in their terms?

• by dps on 2/25/13, 4:11 AM

  Don't miss the other great stuff on Ken's website. I particularly enjoyed:

  The time I flew on the Enron corporate jet to meet Jeff Skilling https://www.kennethnorton.com/essays/enron.html

  and I have been referencing this for a couple of years: https://www.kennethnorton.com/essays/leading_cross_functiona...

• by nicw on 2/24/13, 9:58 PM

  One thing I would add to this:

  Goes out in person(!) and talks to customers.

  It's very easy to add new features to products, but until you sit down with a customer, listen to them, and watch them use your product you won't have a clear understanding of their needs. Good product managers realize they are very close to a product and need to constantly take a step back.

  If you're skeptical, sign up for a UserTesting.com account and watch people navigate your site. You'll be surprised.

• by metalsahu on 2/24/13, 10:59 PM

  Product Managers play a very important role in the success of a product because they allow the specialists to focus on their role. An designer is good with UX and UI but doesn't necessarily want to create product requirements. An engineer is mostly interested in code but is not really tuned to what the customer needs.

  Designers, Engineers, Sales perform well when they have deep narrow focus and goals. The Product Managers' job is to allow them to excel in their specialist role much like the conductor of a multi-piece orchestra.

• by joonix on 2/24/13, 8:36 PM

  Serious question - what is a product manager? Is there a generally accepted job description for this title?

• by michaelw on 2/24/13, 7:16 PM

  Ken nails it. The only thing I would add is that I've seen more software failures because of insufficient product management than anything else.

  Product management is particularly important in non-software companies where the obvious product isn't software. Your e-commerce website is just as much a product as your hipster glasses. Failure to manage it results in the classic IT dept. dysfunctional relationship where everyone hates IT and IT develops a thick skin and says no a lot.

• by msutherl on 2/25/13, 7:57 AM

  "Product management is a weird discipline full of oddballs and rejects that never quite fit in anywhere else. For my part, I loved the technical challenges of engineering but despised the coding. I liked solving problems, but I hated having other people tell me what to do. I wanted to be a part of the strategic decisions, I wanted to own the product. Marketing appealed to my creativity, but I knew I'd dislike being too far away from the technology. Engineers respected me, but knew my heart was elsewhere and generally thought I was too "marketing-ish." People like me naturally gravitate to product management."

  I've been toying with the idea that I'm cut out to be a product manager and this just convinced me.

  Also this:

  "In fact, that's the first test - how do they react when I say 'I'd like to pose some theoretical problems, is that okay?' The best of the bunch are usually bouncing out of their chairs with excitement. The super smart sometimes counter with questions of their own."

  Asking me this alone would make me substantially more interested in the job.

• by pinaceae on 2/24/13, 10:26 PM

  brilliant essay. the spidey sense is something i have referenced recently, it is so hard to explain. a good pm simply looks at a design and knows if it will work or if it somethings wrong and a more thorough drill down is necessary.

  i do not believe in generic pms. experience in pre-sales, consulting, development, something product related is so important, it builds up that spidey sense.

• by jbl on 2/24/13, 8:26 PM

  This is an excellent essay. This was one of the pieces I read when I was looking into making the jump from engineering to product management. I wanted to get a better feel for what would be expected (at a software driven company).

  There's a lot in Ken Norton's post, but it's all worth taking to heart. Now, if someone could point me to a good article on interviewing PMs...

• by xfax on 2/25/13, 1:12 AM

  I'm going to be joining a startup upon graduation as their first PM and posts like these are invaluable. There is just so much a PM must do and excel at that I've started a notebook to keep everything structured till it becomes second nature to me.

  I'd love pointers to other such great resources that shed light on what makes a good, no great, PM.

• by arocks on 2/24/13, 7:19 PM

  An excellent essay loaded with very useful advice. Personally, I find Steve Jobs to be a great role model for Product Managers. The "manager" part is often misleading, it is usually a Product Visionary what the role demands.

• by wangg on 2/25/13, 12:31 AM

  Along these same lines, how does an Engineer transition to a Product Manager? What advice would you give someone looking to make that switch?