Empowered: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products

by Marty Cagan

Product Knowledge User and customer knowledge—Is the product manager an acknowledged expert on her target users/customers? Data knowledge—Is the product manager skilled with the various data tools and considered by her product team and her stakeholders as an acknowledged expert in how the product is actually used by users? Industry and domain knowledge—Is the product manager knowledgeable about the industry and domain? Does she understand the competitive landscape and the relevant industry trends? Business and company knowledge—Does the product manager understand the various dimensions of your company's business, including marketing, sales, finance (both revenue and costs), services, legal, compliance, privacy, and so on? And do the stakeholders believe that the product manager understands their concerns and constraints? Product operational knowledge—Is the product manager considered an acknowledged expert on how her product actually works? Would she be able to effectively demo to a prospective customer, train a new customer on how to successfully use it, and handle live customer support inquiries? Product knowledge really is table stakes. A new product manager typically requires two to three months to ramp up to speed on product knowledge, assuming she dives in aggressively