Agile Product Management Best Practices

The role of Product Management has significantly evolved over the past few years. A product manager is responsible for making key decisions while collaborating closely with engineering and design teams, a practice often referred to as “3-in-a-box.” This approach is widely adopted in the tech industry and has led to the formation of strong, high-performing teams that drive exceptional results.

However, with the rapid pace of technological advancements, companies must adapt more swiftly than ever. Consequently, we are now witnessing a shift where companies that traditionally served enterprise industries are increasingly focused on becoming more accessible to small and medium-sized businesses.

An IBM product manager is sharing insight on the type of projects they’ve worked on, the tools they use, and the agile approach that’s helping them along the way.

Gurpreet is a Product Manager responsible for IBM’s Cloud Pak for Applications offering (Runtimes, Modernization tools, Platforms, etc). He has nearly 20 years of working experience and says a core part of the Product Manager’s role is prioritization using the Funnel and Firewall approach.

• “Funnel the requirements from various stakeholders into high-level finite prioritized backlog of features. The product manager achieves this by a series of workshops with the stakeholders to get deeper insights on the product: KPIs, Unique Selling Points, Value proposition, high level estimates, timelines, etc. Then the PM start the discussions of the backlog with the development team to slice and dice the backlog into actionable epics and stories (through backlog refinements and sprint plannings).”
• “Firewall the team to focus on the sprint goals to achieve the product delivery in small iterations. The PM and the team do regular demos of the done items to the stakeholders. This enables a faster feedback loop. This reduces the surprises at the end of the product and enables an easy pivot in case of changed priorities.”

Gurpreet says this cycle is repeated for each feature until the product is complete.

Who is the customer?

And what customer-problem are we trying to solve?

Gurpreet says every discussion for new requirements or features always starts with asking these questions. This way, product manager can focus on value propositions, user personas, and the customer.

“For this, we use Outcome Based Roadmaps (OBRs). This connects the product vision and business objective with the high-level features, ensuring that we don’t lose track of the overall objective of the product in our day-to-day jobs,” he said.

“When solving a customer-problem, the product is broken down into small epics and stories by closely working with UX, design and development teams. The continuous feedback loops (demos, design thinking workshops, , etc.) to ensure that we are working on the right priorities and solving the right customer problem,” Gurpreet highlighted.

Ultimately, product management is all about creating products that are easily navigable. If you’re considering a career in product management, Gurpreet recommends you take the leap.

At IBM, we’re always on the lookout for talent in the expanding field of product management.

• Explore and apply to any of the Product Manager jobs currently available on the IBM Careers Website.
• You can also join our Talent Network to receive updates on events and career opportunities.