One of the recent buzzwords in the technology industry is IoT but interestingly enough, not many people are familiar with what it is or even how it works. IoT refers to all physical devices (things) around the world that are connected to the internet thereby enabling them to collect and share data about their usage and the environment in which they are being used. This has profoundly been aided by the ubiquity of wireless networks as well as the lowering costs of computer chips in recent years.
Product Managers have a great opportunity to embrace the next technological revolution because as more products get connected to the internet, the level of complexity for managing the development of IoT products increases. Some companies that are new to IoT projects struggle with the lack of a solid approach to a versatile product strategy, or even the appropriate skillsets within their product teams. IoT projects have several moving parts and as a Product Manager, you need to be adept at establishing how the parts fit together to deliver a robust solution to the market.
Here are some great tips on how you can excel at leading IoT Projects:
Strategic thinking – do not wait to be told what to do for a product to be successfully developed. Perform extensive research on your own on how the industry is evolving and make recommendations as to how your company can position a product so that it gains a competitive advantage.
Value experimentation – product development teams operate with an understanding that their products are exactly what the market needs, however, it is vital that as a Product Manager to experiment with different designs and concepts and objectively review results. A/B testing shows different user experiences to different users to measure the impact of those differences. This technique should be included in every Product Manager’s toolbox.
Develop a data-driven culture – developing products without using valid data inputs is akin to flying blind. As a Product Manager, you should collaborate with data science teams to come up with metrics that need to be tracked by the product team. These metrics will provide valuable insights into what features need to be included in the development of products so that they can help provide solutions to the end-users.
Root cause analysis – every project inevitably runs into issues such as extended delays or a misalignment on the product-market fit and when this happens, the Product Manager should not look to assign blame but instead work on performing a root cause analysis. This not only helps in identifying a long-term solution by implementing a logical approach to problem-solving, but also eliminates the chances of it reoccurring in future product developments projects by adopting effective quality improvement standards.
At PM Imperative, we cover the latest trends in Project Management and Product Management. As PM practitioners, we understand the value the Project Managers and Product Managers bring to each organization and that’s why we focus on the most practical strategies that Project and Product Managers can implement immediately. If you found this post useful, be sure to check out our latest book: The PM Imperative – Guide for Leading & Managing Projects, People & Delivering Value. https://pmimperative.com/shop/
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