The ideal companion to the author's bestselling The Product Manager's Handbook, The Product Manager's Field Guide expands upon the overview and the responsibilities of product managers and delves into specific skills, abilities, and competencies to help them improve their performance. It provides readers with tools and exercises for functions such as marketing, planning, forecasting, and new product development and offers step-by-step instructions for activities designed to monitor and assess product-planning efforts.

Linda Gorchels's bestselling The Product Manager's Handbook introduced thousands of professionals to the expanding roles and responsibilities of a product manager in today's demanding marketplace. Now, in The Product Manager's Field Guide, Gorchels explores the specific skills, abilities, and competencies that separate the outstanding product manager from the average and provides you with a detailed action plan for becoming a product manager capable of creating consistent customer delight and long-term competitive advantage.The Product Manager's Field Guide tells you everything you need to know to create a clear vision and strategy for any product or service and then drive that vision throughout all levels of your organization and the marketplace.

This firsthand road map will tell you what it takes to create a product that meets a customer's needs -- and avoid the pitfalls of product failure. Did you cut through traffic on your Segway today? Cool off with a delicious can of New Coke? Relax at home while listening to some music on your Zune? Despite years of research, countless products like these see high-profile launches, only to end up failing to connect with an audience. The Practitioner's Guide to Product Management will help you create a lasting product and take you through the field of product management with candid stories and a litany of real-world experiences.

The essential guide to seamless product management for today’s fluid, unpredictable business world Long considered the most useful and insightful guide of its kind, The Product Manager’s Handbook has been fully revised and updated to give you the edge in today’s challenging business landscape. It features expanded coverage of product development processes, intelligence-gathering techniques (including social media), and a greater emphasis on international issues. This indispensable resource proves that the techniques and tools product managers use are similar—regardless of what industry they work in and what kind of products they manage. Simply put, this book has everything you need for superior job performance—whether you manage consumer or business-to-business products created by an organization that is hierarchical or horizontal. The Product Manager’s Handbook shows you how to integrate your organization’s disparate segments into a cooperative, results-focused unit that produces satisfying products—from initial design through the postpurchase experience. If your job is to create and commercialize products, it provides the information you need to: Balance breakthroughs and line extensions Create business cases—including competitive assessment, market requirements, and risk reduction Conduct gate reviews and beta testing and manage scope creep Get everything in order for a smooth product launch For those who manage existing lines, this guide provides: Specific tips for each of the 4Rs of product life-cycle management Brand guidelines Approaches to customer message management Advice on working with sales and the channel Clear, easy-to-read charts show you how to manage each crucial step from conception to completion, and practical checklists help you evaluate progress at every stage. Interviews with seasoned product management consultants and top-performing product managers provide you with dynamic, proven strategies for addressing potential problems in marketing, production, cross-cultural communication, and more. The Product Manager’s Handbook examines current market-leading companies, the latest research findings, and evolving customer perceptions to provide you with the tools you need to design, produce, and market winning products—and beat the competition at every turn.

Previous editions sold more than 17,000 copies Now includes a CD-ROM with Excel Worksheet templates and features new chapters on product management brand strategy and international perspectives Linda Gorchels is a well-known product management authority, and the author of The Product Manager's Field Guide and The Manager's Guide to Distribution Channels

"This revised and updated edition fully integrates the Internet and other digital technologies into the product manager's portfolio of tools. The book includes all new information on what it takes to be a successful product manager. It explains the product manager's role in the planning process (including strategic and operational planning), how to evaluate product portfolios, how to propose and develop successful new products, and much more."--BOOK JACKET.

"Nobody asked you to show up." Every experienced product manager has heard some version of those words at some point in their career. Think about a company. Engineers build the product. Designers make sure it has a great user experience and looks good. Marketing makes sure customers know about the product. Sales get potential customers to open their wallets to buy the product. What more does a company need? What does a product manager do? Based upon Product School's curriculum, which has helped thousands of students become great product managers, The Product Book answers that question. Filled with practical advice, best practices, and expert tips, this book is here to help you succeed!