Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love

PRAISE FOR INSPIRED

"It is rare to find someone like Marty who has impacted early founders, high–growth startups, and multi–billion dollar companies over decades through his product leadership. So when he decides to distill his knowledge in a book, it becomes a must read!"
Avid Larizadeh Duggan, General Partner, GV (Google Ventures)

"If you only have one book on product management, this is the one."
Chad Dickerson, Former CEO, Etsy

"This book was a catalyst for helping us transform how we organize and operate. Marty gave us a compelling case for change, actionable steps, and the fundamental truths to keep us on course."
Ann Yauger, AVP Product, CarMax

"When I was a product leader, I experienced a fair bit of accidental successes and puzzling failures. Marty′s writing has helped me understand how product managers and product organizations really should work. I wish I′d had this book years ago."
Jeff Patton, Agile Product Leadership Coach

"I don′t know of any other person who has the breadth and depth of knowledge and insight in Product Management that Marty possesses. This is not your typical business book where you skim it in 30 minutes and wonder why it was worth $14.99. INSPIRED is a book you can study, discuss, use to teach, show to your management, and use as a force for change in your company or in your career."
Kyrie Robinson, VP User Experience, Chegg

"INSPIRED was an invaluable resource to me and the Heroku team when we were scaling through the challenging 50–150 employee phase. This book should be on the shelf of anyone in a product leadership position."
Adam Wiggins, Co–Founder, Heroku

"The first edition of INSPIRED shaped my thinking as a young product manager, and I now assign it to my students to make sure they are making the right things in the right way. INSPIRED teaches you to think like Silicon Valley′s smartest product managers."
Christina Wodtke, Author, Professor, and Startup Advisor

"Product Management is the art and science of creating the products that give each company its existence. It′s the core of a business. For the digital world, Marty Cagan helps you understand and master Product Management like no other. This is essential reading to remain relevant tomorrow."
Frerk–Malte Feller, Workplace by Facebook

"When asked what product is, and how companies can accelerate growth, I always start with ′read INSPIRED and then we can talk.′"
Sarah Bernard, VP Product, Jet.com

"When Marty talks and writes about product, it becomes clear that his knowledge is based on walking the walk. He knows the difference between great technology, and great products based on great technology."
Bjorn Carlson, Engineering Team Lead, Google Cloud Platform

Dedication 6

Preface to the Second Edition 7

PART 1: Introduction: Lessons from Top Tech Companies 9

Chapter 1: Behind Every Great Product 11

Chapter 2: Technology–Powered Products and Services 12

Chapter 3: Startups: Getting to Product/Marketing Fit 13

Chapter 4: Growth–Stage Companies: Scaling to Success 14

Chapter 5: Enterprise Companies: Consistent Product Innovation 15

Chapter 6: The Root Causes of Failed Product Efforts 16

Chapter 7: Beyond Lean and Agile 21

Chapter 8: Key Concepts 23

Breakout: Minimum Viable Product 26

PART 2: The Right People 27

Product Teams 28

Chapter 9: Principles of Strong Product Teams 29

Breakout: Principles and Techniques 35

Chapter 10: The Product Manager 36

Breakout: Product Manager vs. Product Owner 43

Breakout: The Two Critical Classes for Product Managers 44

Chapter 11: The Product Designer 45

Chapter 12: The Engineers 50

Breakout: The Tech Lead Role 52

Chapter 13: Product Marketing Managers 53

Chapter 14: The Supporting Roles 55

Chapter 15: Profile: Jane Manning of Google 57

People @ Scale 59

Chapter 16: The Role of Leadership 60

Chapter 17: The Head of Product Role 63

Breakout: The Group Product Manager Role 67

Chapter 18: The Head of Technology Role 69

Chapter 19: The Delivery Manager Role 71

Chapter 20: Principles of Structuring Product Teams 72

Breakout: Autonomy @ Scale 76

Chapter 21: Profile: Lea Hickman of Adobe 80

PART 3: The Right Product 83

Product Roadmaps 84

Chapter 22: The Problems with Product Roadmaps 86

Chapter 23: The Alternative To Roadmaps 88

Breakout: High–Integrity Commitments 91

Product Vision 93

Chapter 24: Product Vision and Product Strategy 94

Breakout: Prioritizing Markets 97

Chapter 25: Principles of Product Vision 98

Chapter 26: Principles of Product Strategy 100

Chapter 27: Product Principles 101

Product Objectives 102

Chapter 28: The OKR Technique 104

Chapter 29: Product Team Objectives 106

Product @ Scale 109

Chapter 30: Product Objectives @ Scale 110

Chapter 31: Product Evangelism 112

Chapter 32: Profile: Alex Pressland of the BBC 114

PART 4: The Right Process 116

Product Discovery 117

Chapter 33: Principles of Product Discovery 120

Breakout: Ethics: Should We Build It? 123

Breakout: Discovery Iterations 124

Chapter 34: Discovery Techniques Overview 125

Discovery Framing Techniques 128

Breakout: Problems vs. Solutions 130

Chapter 35: Opportunity Assessment Technique 131

Chapter 36: Customer Letter Technique 133

Chapter 37: Startup Canvas Technique 135

Breakout: The Biggest Risk 136

Discovery Planning Techniques 138

Chapter 38: Story Map Technique 139

Chapter 39: Customer Discovery Program Technique 141

Breakout: Defining Product/Market Fit 147

Chapter 40: Profile: Martina Lauchengco of Microsoft 148

Discovery Ideation Techniques 150

Chapter 41: Customer Interviews 151

Chapter 42: Concierge Test Technique 153

Chapter 43: The Power of Customer Misbehavior Technique 154

Breakout: The Power of Developer Misbehavior 156

Chapter 44: Hack Days 157

Discovery Prototyping Techniques 158

Chapter 45: Principles of Prototypes 160

Chapter 46: Feasibility Prototype Technique 161

Chapter 47: User Prototype Technique 163

Chapter 48: Live–Data Prototype Technique 165

Chapter 49: Hybrid Prototype Technique 167

Discovery Testing Techniques 168

Chapter 50: Testing Usability 169

Chapter 51: Testing Value 174

Chapter 52: Demand Testing Techniques 176

Breakout: Discovery Testing in Risk–Averse Companies 178

Chapter 53: Qualitative Value Testing Techniques 180

Chapter 54: Quantitative Value Testing Techniques 183

Breakout: The Role of Analytics 185

Breakout: Flying Blind 188

Chapter 55: Testing Feasibility 190

Breakout: Discovery for Hardware Products 192

Chapter 56: Testing Business Viability 193

Breakout: User Test vs. Product Demo vs. Walkthrough 196

Chapter 57: Profile: Kate Arnold of Netflix 197

Transformation Techniques 199

Chapter 58: Discovery Sprint Technique 200

Breakout: Discovery Coaches 202

Chapter 59: Pilot Team Technique 203

Chapter 60: Weaning an Organization Off Roadmaps 204

Process @ Scale 205

Chapter 61: Managing Stakeholders 206

Breakout: Devolving from Good to Bad 209

Chapter 62: Communicating Product Learnings 211

Chapter 63: Profile: Camille Hearst of Apple 212

PART 5: Summary: The Right Culture 214

Chapter 64: Good Product Team/Bad Product Team 215

Chapter 65: Top Reasons for Loss of Innovation 218

Chapter 66: Top Reasons for Loss of Velocity 220

Chapter 67: Establishing a Strong Product Culture 222

Acknowledgments 224

About the Author 226

Learning More 227

MARTY CAGAN, widely recognized as the primary thought leader for technology product management, is the founder of the Silicon Valley Product Group (SVPG). He served as an executive responsible for defining and building products for some of the most successful companies in the world, including Hewlett–Packard, Netscape Communications, and eBay.