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Product Management
ESSAYS ON PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, AGILE METHODOLOGY, PROCESS AND TEAM WORK
A few years ago, I worked at a small startup doing everything from product management, UX/UI, and knowledge base maintenance to quality control and analytics. The company I currently work for is much larger (although still tiny compared to corporations) and we have dedicated people for analytics, design, customer support, and quality control, so I focus entirely on product management work, learn new skills, make mistakes and try to be effective in providing value to clients, find resources and prioritize problems.
January 25, 2025
10 Key Product Management lessons from 15 years in startups
This year, I realized that I’ve spent 15 years in startups, wearing multiple hats as a co-founder and in various product-related roles. So I wanted to summarize what I’ve learned so far
August 31, 2024
Say No more: How mastering "No" empowers Product Managers
One of the most difficult parts of a Product Manager's job is saying "No" to various requests from stakeholders, users, customer support, the CEO, etc. There's no way around it...
March 17, 2024
Product Manager's start guide: 10 Key Questions to ask to make an impact fast
After 15 years since co-founding my first startup, working with multiple teams and wearing many hats, I've developed a 10-question framework for PMs to start making an impact fast.
February 7, 2024
Unlocking your superpower: a guide for Product Managers
Do you have a superpower? 100% yes! Wait, don't think that I'm crazy, hear me out. I'm not talking about supernatural powers like shooting lasers from your eyes or the ability to fly. I'm talking about your unique strength...
October 27, 2023
Diversity is key: what product teams can learn from microbes
The deeper I delve into understanding how ecosystems function and thrive, from microbes to human communities, the more I realize the profound impact of diversity.
January 28, 2023
Does the product team need consensus?
The word "consensus" sounds like a positive thing, doesn't it? However, chasing consensus can hurt a product team in many ways.
December 29, 2022
The power of a point of view for a Product Manager
Under any product decision, there is a point of view. It's either yours or someone else's.
October 11, 2022
How do I deal with my fear of authority?
I recently discovered that I have a fear of authority. Frankly, this revelation frustrated me a lot. I - a person, who lives by the mantra “do things my way”, “rebel”, and “be different”...
June 5, 2022
Growth Product Management course takeaways
In February-March 2022, I completed a 6-week Growth Product Management course at Epic Growth. I can not say that all my expectations were exactly met, but I got what I did not expect to receive.
November 23, 2021
The dark side of story points
I recently hung out with developers from my previous job and the conversation turned to how we evaluate tasks. I was surprised to hear how much they focus on it.
October 4, 2020
True Agile or what we have learned struggling with COVID
This story tells how the boat rental marketplace struggled with COVID. Product team learned how to be agile, implemented anti-covid measures earlier than competitors and survived.
December 9, 2019
Task prioritisation: how I balance between bugs and features
What is the most important thing in the product manager's job?
September 29, 2019
How and why I document processes
When I came to Nautal, everything seemed pretty simple. Airbnb-type marketplace but for boats. What can be complicated?
May 27, 2018
Case study: how a fail, a survey and prototyping helped us to make a great report
This story will tell you how we've broken a Convead weekly report, learned many interesting things, made a user research and...
More essays you may like
True Agile or what we have learned struggling with COVID
A/B testing the whole funnel: visit, lead, payment with analytics in Tableau
Task prioritisation: how I balance between bugs and features
How and why I document processes
A/B testing in Google Optimize. Demigod level.
How I became an A/B-testing addict
See all essays
Olga Shavrina
Olga Shavrina: Product Leader & Startup Builder
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