The Definitive Guide to Digital Product Management

What is Digital Product Management

What does a Digital Product Manager do?

• Creating product roadmaps
• User research
• Rapid prototyping
• Agile and lean management practices
• Market testing methods
• etc.

The Stages of Digital Product Management

1. 1. Analysis of the customer, their needs and the customer journey

      Each project for the creation of a digital product, be it a website, an app or software - is generally based on a rather in-depth preliminary analysis, that should answer: - Who the prospect is and what they need - What budget you have available - What is the breakeven point - Whether the product can be part of a more complex project

   2. Sketches and wireframing

      After thoroughly analyzing the market and users, and identifying the value element of the new product, the next step is to make a wireframe - a schematic illustration of the contents of the project - that you want to create. It may seem like a waste of time, but actually drawing detailed sketches of the product helps enormously in its development. A sketch is useful for internal communication on the digital product that is going to be created, a sharing tool with the rest of the team that will help to define ideas and organize all professionals efficiently.

   3. Planning

      Then it is time to plan and make sure you have all the necessary resources. Understand front-end and back-end development times, the professionals involved and all related costs. The roadmap, resources and prototyping will then be planned. In this phase, the use of the Agile method, in particular the SCRUM framework and allows you to efficiently manage and share all the phases of the Digital Product Management process.

   4. Design of the user interface

      Sketching and wireframing are processes closely related to UI design. The design of the user interface is a process that concerns the architecture of the digital product, usability and design, and summarizes all the baggage of information collected previously. The goal of this phase is always to satisfy the user. Is the design intuitive? Do users find their way around easily? These are some of the questions to consider at this stage, as the product begins to take shape.

   5. The clickable prototype

      Once the UI design is done, it can be turned into a clickable mockup. Sketches, wireframes, and UI design made it possible to generate a clickable prototype of something approaching the final version of the product. At this stage, tests play an important role. Whether using friends, colleagues, the numerous online services for testing by real users or A / B tests, in this phase the prototype is used to remove usability problems. This stage of the process is iterative and the digital product manager will continue to monitor usability issues even after the product launch.

   6. Development

      Code development requires time and specific programming skills, identified in the planning phase. This phase will be different depending on whether it is an online service or an app. The applications are much easier to distribute, but they require good development skills and a substantial budget, in order to be able to distribute them on the App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android guaranteeing the same appearance and identical functionality. The main advantage of apps is that they can be created using already available technology.

   7. Quality assurance

      Quality is an essential element in Digital Product Management. A digital product, like an app, cannot function only partially: either it is functional to the needs of those who use it or, simply, it is destined to be immediately uninstalled. Even a tool that operates on the web, if badly conceived or difficult to use will be immediately penalized by users and by Google. The QA process, or quality assurance, is an integral part of Digital Product Management, especially in the test phases, in the accompanying documentation, such as institutions and in the management of user feedback.

   8. Launch, maintenance and support

      After the quality control process is finished the product is in its final stage, the app can be sold in the online stores or the site published online. Depending on the complexity of the product, the maintenance phase may include scheduling continuous updates. Not all product features are generally released at the same time. The core of the web or mobile application should come out at launch while the rest of the features should be released progressively, in accordance with the principles of the Agile development methodology.

The first step to becoming a Digital Product Manager

• Initiating
• Planning
• Executing
• Monitoring & Controlling
• Closing

• Analytical and organisational skills
• People skills 
• Leadership
• Communication 
• Critical thinking 
• Stakeholder management 
• etc