r/ProductManagement

Took over product manager role from existing person. Existing didn’t have a roadmap, but I’m being asked to show them my roadmap. I supported this product in the past but I don’t know how to build a roadmap for it.

I know some features that customers want from potential deals, but how do I actually build a roadmap find more features and plan out the full product. As well as plan for it budget wise etc

Hey everyone,

I think one of my biggest gaps right now is how I communicate and frame my work stories.

I've been operating at what I believe is staff-level scope in my current role, but moving beyond the senior level has been difficult. One piece of feedback I've received is that while my work itself is strong, the way I communicate it could be much stronger.

For example, when I explain a 0-to-1 product initiative, my natural instinct is to walk through the entire journey from start to finish. I talk about the problem discovery, validation, business case, stakeholder alignment, execution, launch, and results. In other words, I tend to tell the story as a timeline of events.

Recently, someone gave me feedback that I should organize my stories around the key decisions I made, the trade-offs I considered, and the judgment I used. The interesting thing is that all of those elements are already in my stories, but apparently they get buried under too much context and detail. The end result is that it sounds like I'm narrating what happened rather than highlighting how I think.

I suspect this is a broader pattern across many of my stories, not just one example.

My goal is to become better at communicating my work, improving my executive presence, and speaking more like a product leader. Not by using buzzwords, but by getting better at framing decisions, trade-offs, and strategic thinking in a concise way.

For those who have gone from senior PM to staff, principal, or product leadership roles, how did you improve this skill? Did you work with a career coach or communication coach?

Hey, I am a new PM with 2 yoe as a full stack dev. I was looking for a change so I got a job at a start up. The team is small and I am expected to do everything from validating a product, sales, meetings with senior engineers to design the product etc..

We are building a software for accountants and I don't know anything more than what the internet offers on what an accountant does so instinctively I have decided to outreach to a few people on linkedIn asking if they would be down for an interview. I am loooking to understand more on how a day in their life looks, problems, paints.

50 messages sent, 0 responses, 80% ghosted, 20% unread, am I doing something wrong?

The message I sent.

Hi X,

I'm writing for a slightly unusual reason. I'm a PM at a startup in Ywhere we're building something for accounting firms. I come from an engineering background, not accounting, so I'm starting out pretty lost and I'd rather admit it than pretend otherwise.

Would you have time for a coffee in the next two weeks? I just want to listen about what a month of work at the firm looks like, what frustrates you, what you'd change if you could. No pitch, we don't have a product, I genuinely have nothing to sell you.

In Y we can meet wherever suits you, or online if you prefer. Coffee's on me, obviously.

Is there a day that would work for you? If you have any questions beforehand, I'm here anytime.

Thanks,
Z

As I said I am new and a bit clueless but feel free to roast me if its gonna be educational. Thanks!

P.S.:I just changed cities and know no one here, my main goal would be to shadow them for a day. Rn we are in the discovery phase with just a vission