Effective Platform Product Management

Book excerpt: Turn your platform into the next big thing with expert advice to scale and implement a proven growth roadmap across multiple channels Key FeaturesGain expert insight about platform business models and how they're different to linear productsExplore the end-to-end platform life cycle, from developing a strategy to measuring the outcomeFollow real-life examples to discover the most effective growth strategies your platformBook Description Scaling a platform is a lot different than scaling a product. This is why product managers developing or transitioning to a platform model are often facing completely new challenges – both technical and strategic. But if you want to build the next Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, or a completely new type of platform, then you need to adopt a platform-first approach to change how you invent, develop, and market solutions. This is where Effective Product Platform Management comes in. This book addresses product management as a critical pillar of platform development. It'll help you understand the difference between traditional and modern product management for platforms and even decide whether the platform business model is the way to go for you. As you progress, you'll be able to build the right platform strategy, define the MVP, and focus on ongoing backlog prioritization for successful platforms. This book will also walk you through the practical steps and guidelines that can ease your organization's transition from linear products to platforms. By the end of this platform product management book, you'll have learned the essential aspects of product management for building successful and scalable platforms. You'll also have a clear understanding of the next steps you need to take to perfect and execute your new platform strategy – and take on the world. What you will learnUnderstand the difference between the product and platform business modelBuild an end-to-end platform strategy from scratchTranslate the platform strategy to a roadmap with a well-defined implementation planDefine the MVP for faster releases and test viability in the early stagesCreate an operating model and design an execution planMeasure the success or failure of the platform and make iterations after feedbackWho this book is for If you're a product manager, product owner, product director, or a business executive working on a platform strategy and its day-to-day execution, then this book is for you. It will also be useful for change managers and program managers tasked with transitioning from products to platforms. You won't need any prior knowledge of platform strategy or platform transitioning before you get started, since the book covers all the basics – but taking notes to reflect on your journey as you work through the practical examples in this book is recommended.