# ProductFTW
> A unique newsletter about product management in technology startups. Advice about how to get shit done because, in the end, product management is about shipping valuable software.
Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. Use `/llms-full.txt` for consolidated page and post context.
Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`).

## Pages
- [About ProductFTW](https://www.productftw.com/about.md) - Welcome to Product For The Win (ProductFTW): a unique newsletter about product management in technology startups. ProductFTW is exclusively advice about how to get shit done because, in the end, product management is about shipping valuable software. Everything else is noise. Our Mission We're on a…
- [Fintech Product Management](https://www.productftw.com/fintech-product-management-guide.md) - Most product management advice is written as if every product were a to-do app. Fintech isn't. When your product moves money, stores identity, or extends credit, the constraints come first, and the features come second. The regulators, the card networks, the bank partner, and the fraud team all hav…
- [Guides](https://www.productftw.com/guides.md) - ProductFTW is organized into field guides: curated paths through the archive on a single topic, each bringing together the best posts with a brief framing. Start with whichever matches what you're working on. Field Guides Product Requirements: How to define and write what to build; problem framing,…
- [Product Management Leadership & Career Guide](https://www.productftw.com/product-leadership.md) - A working guide to the PM role, the people around it, and the career path through it. Product management is a job that doesn't look the same in any two companies — which is why every PM we've worked with has a slightly different definition of the work. What stays constant: you're responsible for fi…
- [How to Write Product Requirements: A Field Guide for Product Managers](https://www.productftw.com/product-requirements.md) - A field guide to the process of writing product requirements, organized by the six phases that show up in every cycle. The classic tire-swing cartoon is funny because it's true: every step of the requirements process loses something. The customer described one thing, the project manager interpreted…
- [Product Talks](https://www.productftw.com/product-talks.md) - Interviews with product leaders who've actually shipped. Product Talks is a series of one-on-one interviews with experienced product leaders. Each guest is an operator we've worked with personally — at AT&T Interactive, Bankrate, Wallaby, Totavi, and other places — now running product at HopSkipDri…
- [ProductFTW Reading List](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-reading-list.md) - In addition to your weekly read of ProductFTW, we've pulled together a list of books we love on product management, building and shipping software, leadership, and the craft of the job. Affiliate disclosure: the book links above go through Bookshop.org, where ProductFTW is an affiliate. Bookshop.or…
- [API Evaluation Checklist for Product Managers](https://www.productftw.com/templates-api-evaluation-checklist.md)
- [Fintech Development Checklist](https://www.productftw.com/templates-fintech-breakage-checklist.md)
- [How to Conduct User Interviews](https://www.productftw.com/templates-how-to-conduct-user-interviews.md) - With Questions & Template
- [Product Brief Template](https://www.productftw.com/templates-product-brief.md) - A simple template for early-stage alignment in the Strategy phase of the PDLC.
- [Product Decision Log Template](https://www.productftw.com/templates-product-decision-log.md) - A clear, searchable record of what your team decided, why they decided it, and who was involved.
- [Product Requirements Document Template](https://www.productftw.com/templates-product-requirements-document.md) - A practical template for planning features in the Development phase of the PDLC.
- [Product FTW Templates](https://www.productftw.com/templates.md) - A collection of simple tools we use in our own product work. Everything here is practical, opinionated, and built for real teams.

## Posts
- [10 Most Popular Product Management Posts - ProductFTW #100](https://www.productftw.com/10-most-popular-product-management-posts-productftw-100.md) - ProductFTW has officially made it to 100.
- [How to Implement Credit Card Regulatory Changes - ProductFTW #99](https://www.productftw.com/how-to-implement-credit-card-regulatory-changes.md) - Regulatory changes can touch far more than your disclosures.
- [How Credit Card Interest Works (And Why It’s So Hard to Calculate) - ProductFTW #98](https://www.productftw.com/how-credit-card-interest-works.md) - Calculating credit card interest sounds simple. The math mostly is. It’s everything happening to the balance before, during, and after the math that makes it hard.
- [Non-Functional Requirements - ProductFTW #97](https://www.productftw.com/non-functional-requirements.md) - The difference between products that work and ones that work well.
- [Consumer Credit is Challenging - ProductFTW #96](https://www.productftw.com/consumer-credit-is-challenging.md) - We’ll dig into each of these in more detail over the coming year.
- [Why Product Managers Need a Decision Log (+ Free Template) - ProductFTW #95](https://www.productftw.com/decision-log-template.md) - So you don't waste time reconstructing decisions your team already made.
- [Card Onboarding Requirements: Field Validations and Error States - ProductFTW #94](https://www.productftw.com/card-onboarding-requirements-field-validations-and-error-states-productftw-94.md) - I’ve built a set of baseline requirements for a new consumer card onboarding flow, and today I’m sharing it
- [Why Customer Support Still Matters in the Age of AI - ProductFTW #93](https://www.productftw.com/why-customer-support-still-matters-in-the-age-of-ai.md) - The problem is assuming that because most solutions can be automated, every solution should be.
- [The Skills AI Can’t Learn for You - ProductFTW #92](https://www.productftw.com/the-skills-ai-cant-learn-for-you.md) - AI can make the work easier, but it can’t do the growing for you.
- [Is the Product Manager the CEO of the Product? - ProductFTW #91](https://www.productftw.com/is-the-product-manager-the-ceo-of-the-product.md) - Why Accountability Matters More Than Authority
- [When Should Repayment Emails Be Sent? - ProductFTW #90](https://www.productftw.com/when-should-repayment-emails-be-sent.md) - There isn’t a universally correct answer because every product, customer base, and servicing strategy is different.
- [From Product Tripod to Pogo Stick - ProductFTW #89](https://www.productftw.com/from-product-tripod-to-pogo-stick.md) - Product "teams" of one are becoming mainstream
- [PRD AI Prompt - ProductFTW #88](https://www.productftw.com/prd-ai-prompt.md) - The quality of your PRD has less to do with the prompt than it does with the context you provide
- [Real Life is Full of Edge Cases - ProductFTW #87](https://www.productftw.com/real-life-is-full-of-edge-cases-productftw-87.md) - Edge cases are inevitable in fintech because regulatory requirements mean you have to serve everyone
- [Product Requirements Document (PRD) Template - ProductFTW #86](https://www.productftw.com/product-requirements-document-template.md) - What my PRDs actually look like, and why the format isn't the point.
- [Are Product Requirement Documents Still Relevant -  ProductFTW #85](https://www.productftw.com/are-product-requirement-documents-still-relevant.md) - Revisiting ProductFTW #13 Two Years Later
- [The Product Management Career Path - ProductFTW #84](https://www.productftw.com/the-product-management-career-path.md) - What changes over time is the scope of the problems or products you manage and how much of the strategy you own
- [The Card PM's Day: What You Actually Do - ProductFTW #83](https://www.productftw.com/the-card-pms-day-what-you-actually-do.md) - A card PM opens the day inside other companies' loops.
- [User Interview Template - ProductFTW #82](https://www.productftw.com/user-interview-template-productftw-82.md) - With Questions & Template
- [The Biggest Mistake You Can Make During User Interviews - ProductFTW #81](https://www.productftw.com/the-biggest-mistake-you-can-make-during-user-interviews.md) - You're not running an interview if you're making a pitch.
- [Why Card Products Can’t Ship Like AI Products - ProductFTW #80](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-80-why-card-products-cant-ship-like-ai-products.md) - And What PMs Should Do About It
- [Flexibility vs. Maintainability - ProductFTW #79](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-79-flexibility-vs-maintainability.md) - Focus on maintainability and opinion rather than pure flexibility
- [There Is No Such Thing as a Good Deal on Dev - ProductFTW #78](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-78-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-good-deal-on-dev.md) - Sorry, not sorry
- [You Don't Have a Roadmap Problem. You Have a Problem-Definition Problem. - ProductFTW #77](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-77-you-dont-have-a-roadmap-problem-you-have-a-problem-definition-problem.md) - Product is for solving problems, not just generating revenue
- [Decisions Without Context Don’t Scale - ProductFTW #76](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-76-decisions-without-context-dont-scale.md) - A product manager’s guide to avoiding last-minute delays
- [Words Matter - ProductFTW #75](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-75-words-matter.md) - Getting everyone on the same page starts with helping everyone speak the same language.
- [How to Thrive as a Product Manager When the Product Already Exists - ProductFTW #74](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-74-how-to-thrive-as-a-product-manager-when-the-product-already-exists.md) - Because you cannot move something you cannot see
- [When Should Your Startup Hire a Head of Product? - ProductFTW #73](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-73-when-should-your-startup-hire-a-head-of-product.md) - It's about complexity, not funding stage.
- [Stop Hiring a Two-for-One Unicorn - ProductFTW #72](https://www.productftw.com/stop-hiring-a-two-for-one-unicorn.md) - Because unicorns aren't real
- [Why Rewards Timing Matters - ProductFTW #71](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-71-why-rewards-timing-matters.md) - A few weeks ago, we wrote about payment timing and why it is a product decision, not just an operational one. That post led to a bunch of side conversations internally about other timing decisions we make without always calling them product choices. The one that keeps coming up for me is rewards. W…
- [Do Startups Need Product Managers? - ProductFTW #70](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-70-do-startups-need-product-managers.md) - “Do we actually need a Product Manager?” If this conversation is happening, the answer is usually yes. As a consultant, I am rarely brought in when everything is working perfectly. The call usually comes when something feels off, but no one can quite name it. The team has grown, and everyone is wor…
- [Product, Project, Program Managers and Owners - ProductFTW #69](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-69-project-product-program-managers-and-owners.md) - Someone told me recently that they were a “product owner,” and it sent me down the usual spiral of titles, responsibilities, and what people actually mean when they describe what they do. Product roles have multiplied. As Scrum entered the workforce, agile became a job title, and now we have produc…
- [Credit Card Repayment Timing Is a Product Decision - ProductFTW #68](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-68-credit-card-repayment-timing-is-a-product-decision.md) - Have you ever wondered what the last possible moment is to make your credit card payment without it being late? If you haven’t, that’s great. If you’ve ever been tight on cash, waiting on a paycheck, or just mildly curious, you’ve probably assumed that the answer should be easy to find in your cred…
- [Why Credit Card Payment Options Confuse Users - ProductFTW #67](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-67-why-credit-card-payment-options-confuse-users.md) - Paying a credit card bill should be simple. Log in, pick a number, submit payment, move on with your life. In reality, repayment is one of the most complex user experiences in consumer finance. One specific aspect of that complexity is the repayment options themselves and how they are defined, pres…
- [Authentication in Fintech - ProductFTW #66](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-66-authentication-in-fintech.md) - This year at ProductFTW, we will spend more time talking about fintech and real product work. I think it is exciting to focus on the day-to-day decisions PMs have to make when money, regulation, and risk are involved. Lucky for our readers, this is something the ProductFTW team works on every singl…
- [Sticking to your Vision - ProductFTW #65](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-65-sticking-to-your-vision.md) - Vision Is a Decision, Not a Mood Every startup claims to have a vision. Very few actually behave in ways that demonstrate commitment to that vision. Most teams talk about vision the way people talk about New Year’s resolutions. It sounds inspiring in January, feels negotiable by March, and quietly…
- [You Should Be Vibe Coding - ProductFTW #64](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-64-you-should-be-vibe-coding.md) - And how I am using it to test financial products
- [A Gift from ProductFTW - ProductFTW #63](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-63-new-year-templates.md) - A collection of practical product templates we use to create alignment early, reduce friction, and keep teams focused as work gets messy.
- [Good, Fast, Cheap - ProductFTW #62](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-62-good-fast-cheap.md) - Why the Old Product Triangle Still Holds Up
- [The MVP - ProductFTW #61](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-61-the-mvp.md) - Hint: It's NOT the Most Valuable Player
- [The Importance of Working Agreements - ProductFTW #60](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-60-the-importance-of-working-agreements.md) - Working agreements are one of the most underrated tools for improving collaboration between product and technology teams. They establish clear expectations, reduce friction, and create a shared understanding of how work gets done. A strong working agreement ensures that teams speak the same languag…
- [The Nine-Box Matrix - ProductFTW #59](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-59-the-nine-box-matrix.md) - When I first became a manager of a large team, I found it difficult to assess where each team member stood without comparing them directly to one another. Every individual had different strengths, weaknesses, and potential for growth, but figuring out how to evaluate their progress and make objecti…
- [The Unhappy Path - ProductFTW #58](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-58-the-unhappy-path.md) - When building products, it is easy to focus on the happy path. The happy path is the ideal scenario where everything works as expected and the user moves seamlessly from point A to point B. It is the experience we hope for, the one we test most thoroughly, and often the one that defines the core pr…
- [The Ten Questions I Always Ask Myself as a Product Manager - ProductFTW #57](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-57-the-ten-questions-i-always-ask-myself-as-a-product-manager.md) - Recently, I was mentoring a new product manager, and I realized that every time I receive a request, whether it is a new feature, an enhancement, or even a bug fix, I instinctively run it through a mental checklist of ten questions. These questions help me decide whether it is worth investing more…
- [The Importance of Release Notes - ProductFTW #56](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-56-the-importance-of-release-notes.md) - As a product manager, you are responsible for ensuring that your product is delivered, executed, and communicated effectively. While the engineering team focuses on technical tasks within a sprint, you are the closest to understanding what is being delivered from a user perspective. That means you…
- [Why I Am Not the Biggest Fan of GraphQL - ProductFTW #55](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-55-why-i-am-not-the-biggest-fan-of-graphql.md) - I am not the most technical person. My focus is on product development, but I make it a point to dip my toes into the technical landscape so that I can ask the right questions, challenge assumptions, and ensure feasibility before committing to a feature. Recently, I have been working with partners…
- [My #1 Interview Question - ProductFTW #54](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-54-my-1-interview-question.md) - My favorite question to ask when hiring a PM
- [Knowing When to Launch - ProductFTW #53](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-53-knowing-when-to-launch.md) - The Balance Between Readiness and Reality
- [The Balance Between Product and Technical Leadership - ProductFTW #52](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-52-the-balance-between-product-and-technical-leadership.md) - How to work together to have the best outcome for your users
- [Ten Things That Always Break - ProductFTW #51](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-51-ten-things-that-always-break.md) - Plus, a few bonuses
- [Product Talks with Matthew Goldman - ProductFTW #50](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-50-product-talks-with-matthew-goldman.md) - Talking product with Matthew, serial entrepreneur and product guru
- [How to Evaluate an API as a Product Manager - ProductFTW #49](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-49-how-to-evaluate-an-api-as-a-product-manager.md) - You don't have to be an engineer to assess them
- [Product Talks with Ellen Dearborn - ProductFTW #48](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-48-product-talks-with-ellen-dearborn.md) - Talking product with Ellen, Product Principal at Totavi
- [What Makes a Good Flow Diagram? - ProductFTW #47](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-47-what-makes-a-good-flow-diagram.md) - Hint: It's not bullet points
- [Building User Authentication - ProductFTW #46](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-46-building-user-authentication.md) - You hate it, you need it, you move on
- [Product Talks with Zach Bartholomew - ProductFTW #45](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-45-product-talks-with-zach-bartholomew.md) - Talking product with Zach, VP of Product at perigon°
- [Why Great Support Creates Loyal Users - ProductFTW #44](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-44-why-great-support-creates-loyal-users.md) - What happens after launch is important, too!
- [Choosing a Task Management Tool as a Product Manager - ProductFTW #43](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-43-choosing-a-task-management-tool-as-a-product-manager.md) - We're serious tool people here; you can trust us
- [Decision Fatigue - ProductFTW #42](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-42-decision-fatigue.md) - When You Just Can’t Make One More Decision
- [Managing the Legal Files - ProductFTW #41](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-41-managing-the-legal-files.md) - How to stay organized when things are constantly changing
- [Product Talks with Felix Del Rosario - ProductFTW #40](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-40-product-talks-with-felix-del-rosario.md) - Talking product with Felix
- [Product Talks with Jessica Marquez - ProductFTW #39](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-39-product-talks-with-jessica-marquez.md) - Talking Product with Jessica, Product Principal at Totavi
- [Product Talks with Justin Bauer - ProductFTW #38](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-38-product-talks-with-justin-bauer.md) - Talking Product with Justin
- [Prioritization at Startups - ProductFTW #37](https://www.productftw.com/prioritization-at-startups-the-reality-no-one-talks-about.md) - The Reality No One Talks About
- [Bug Handling - ProductFTW #36](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-36-bug-handling.md) - Triage isn’t just about fixing the loudest complaint; it’s about aligning your decisions with the bigger picture.
- [Product Talks with Greg - ProductFTW #35](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-35-product-talks-with-greg.md) - Talking Product with Greg Isaacs, Chief Product Officer at Criteria Corp
- [Product Talks with Meredith - ProductFTW #34](https://www.productftw.com/product-talks-with-meredith.md) - Talking Product with Meredith Brown, VP, Product Management at Smartsheet
- [Product Talks with Corey - ProductFTW #33](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-33-product-talks-with-corey.md) - For our second post in the Product Talks series, we’re talking to Corey McMahon, Chief Product & Technology Officer of HopSkipDrive, a late-stage startup that provides on-demand and scheduled 1:1 transportation for youth. I met Corey when he joined AT&T Interactive through a rotation development pr…
- [Product Talks with Dave - ProductFTW #32](https://www.productftw.com/product-talks-with-dave.md) - Exploring Product Leadership with Dave Lifson, CPO at ClosedLoop.AI
- [Product Debt - ProductFTW #31](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-31-product-debt.md) - When Past Decisions Slow Future Development
- [Starting a Startup with Friends - ProductFTW #30](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-30-starting-a-startup-with-friends-lessons-from-my-journey-with-sherpio-and-beyond.md) - Lessons from My Journey with Sherpio and Beyond
- [The Product Brief - ProductFTW #29](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-29-the-product-brief.md) - Taking time to create a clear product brief ensures everyone stays on the same page.
- [The Product Development Organization of the Future - ProductFTW #28](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-28-the-product-development-organization-of-the-future.md) - Embracing New Trends in Product Development for More Effective Outcomes
- [Offshore Dev Teams and Startups - ProductFTW #27](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-27-opinion-offshore-dev-teams-and-startups.md) - Offshore teams are not a one-size-fits-all solution. They won't be able to handle every aspect of your project, nor is that what you're buying.
- [Driving Engagement - ProductFTW #26](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-26-driving-engagement.md) - Identifying Specific Problems Leads to Targeted and Successful Solutions
- [User Problems - ProductFTW #25](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-25-user-problems.md) - I see product managers attempting to mangle the problem into a problem that matters to them and that they can solve.
- [Building Great Product and Tech Relationships - ProductFTW #24](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-building-great-product-and-tech-relationships.md) - A key component of successful teams
- [Opinionated Product - ProductFTW #23](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-23-opinionated-product.md) - The balance between customer requests and your vision
- [PM Job Hunting: A Firsthand Account - ProductFTW #22](https://www.productftw.com/navigating-job-hunting-as-a-product-manager-in-2024-a-firsthand-account.md) - In today's competitive job market, finding a new role can be incredibly challenging, with many facing the added pressure of widespread layoffs and an influx of candidates vying for the same positions. Recently, I had the opportunity to interview a product manager who wished to remain anonymous. The…
- [Tips for Terrific Tickets - ProductFTW #21](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-21-tips-for-terrific-tickets.md) - Every ticket, regardless of type (e.g., bug report, user story, compliance task), should contain a good title, description, impact, prioritization, and due date.
- [The Challenges of Context Shifts - ProductFTW #20](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-20-the-challenges-of-context-shifts.md) - ProductFTW is about the skills and challenges of building software products. We can learn a lot from other types of work. A lesson from my mechanic inspired today's post about how PMs manage workloads and development cycles for their development teams. A few years ago, my mechanic told me about his…
- [Project Management (Not Product Management) - ProductFTW #19](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-19-project-management-not-product-management.md) - Note: Today, we bring you a guest post from our friend, Julia Baker. She began her career as a Project Manager at First Data. She progressed through roles such as Technical Program Manager at Yahoo!, Senior Program Manager at Amazon, and Senior Director of TPMO at ServiceTitan. Most recently, she s…
- [Should Product Managers be Technical? - ProductFTW #18](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-18-should-product-managers-be-technical.md) - Here’s a $200,000 question for you: should a Product Manager be technical? Short answer: Yes. Long Answer: Absolutely, yes.* As a former engineer with a Computer Science degree, I’m biased. But I can confidently say that my technical expertise has been a game-changer in my product management career…
- [For Whom Are You Building - ProductFTW #17](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-17-for-whom-are-you-building.md) - I love upgrading my software. As someone building software professionally, I am eager to see what everyone else is working on. My eagerness to upgrade is often to my detriment, as early versions often contain bugs or some major change by the developer that isn’t to my liking. Last week, I upgraded…
- [A Product Reading List - ProductFTW #16](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-16-a-product-reading-list.md) - This week we are sharing some product management reads that we think are helpful wherever you are in your product management journey. Blogs The Product Manager This blog provides a broad range of topics focusing on the fundamentals of product management, making it a great resource for continuous le…
- [User Stories - ProductFTW #15](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-15-user-stories.md) - A user story is a short description of a product feature from the perspective of the person who desires the new capability, typically a user or customer of the system. It’s a formula that keeps your product's who, what, and why top of mind for everyone involved in its development.
- [Presentation Skills - ProductFTW #14](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-14-presentation-skills.md) - One of the most effective ways to share critical information about a product or feature project is through presentations.
- [Mastering the Art of Requirements: PRDs that Actually Work - ProductFTW #13](https://www.productftw.com/mastering-the-art-of-requirements-prds-that-actually-work.md) - Ah, the PRD. The bane of every product manager's existence. We've all been there, staring at a blank screen, wondering how the hell we're supposed to dump all of our product knowledge into a few measly pages. And then, once we've poured our heart and soul into it, we watch in despair as it sits unt…
- [Determining the Problem to be Solved - ProductFTW #12](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-12-determining-the-problem-to-be-solved.md) - Over the last few weeks, we’ve been chatting about how to influence others and get more work done when you know the problems you’re trying to solve and the things you’re trying to build. Today, we’re diving into some foundations, before you’re even ready to build something. Remember when Zach talke…
- [Leading Without Authority as a Product Manager - ProductFTW #11](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-11-leading-without-authority-as-a-product-manager.md) - As a product manager, your success requires that a number of teams - engineering, design, marketing, just to name a few - work together in harmony, all marching to the beat of the same product vision. It’s your job to influence how resources are allocated and keep everyone focused on the most impac…
- [How to Get the Team to Estimate - ProductFTW #10](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-10-how-to-get-the-team-to-estimate.md) - In ProductFTW #9, we explored how accurate estimations can prevent burnout and frustration. It's important to clarify from the outset that, as product managers, we don't perform the estimations ourselves; rather, it's the engineers who estimate the time and effort required for tasks. Our role invol…
- [Technical Debt, Features, and Time Management - ProductFTW #9](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-9-technical-debt-features-and-time-management.md) - A frequent point of debate between product managers and technology development teams focuses on the allocation of time between developing new features and maintaining existing products. Development time, particularly in startups, is a limited resource that depends heavily on team size and must be c…
- [Is it Wrong to Use AI to Assist with Product Management? - ProductFTW #8](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-8-is-it-wrong-to-use-ai-to-assist-with-product-management.md) - We’ll explore how product management will evolve with AI, if it will replace product managers, and if relying on AI to perform job functions is ethically questionable.
- [Building Confidence in Saying "No" - ProductFTW #7](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-7-building-confidence-in-saying-no.md) - This week, I want to dig a little deeper into a topic Ellen touched on in our last post: the product management mantra that you should say “no” more than you say “yes.” It was certainly the first big lesson Matthew instilled when he hired me as a product manager at Wallaby–which felt especially unc…
- [How to Effectively Communicate as a Product Manager - ProductFTW #6](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-6-how-to-effectively-communicate-as-a-product-manager.md) - So, how did I improve my communication to a commanding-a-room level? Practice. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and communication is something that needs to be practiced almost every day. Here are ways you can practice...
- [Being the First Product Manager Part II - ProductFTW #5](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-5-being-the-first-product-manager-part-ii.md) - Remember that first week on the job? Remember getting blasted by that firehose of information and the overwhelming feeling that you might never get a handle on things? Well, get used to that feeling- it's part of the fun!
- [Being the First Product Manager - ProductFTW #4](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-4-being-the-first-product-manager.md) - As the product manager, your job is to turn this beautiful mess into a well-oiled machine that can pump out products and features that are so good that customers are ripping it out of your hands.
- [Startups vs. Big Companies - ProductFTW #3](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-3-startups-vs-big-companies.md) - Many startups, typically with a single product, only require complex cross-team coordination once they experience substantial growth.
- [The Tire Swing Cartoon - ProductFTW #2](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-2-the-tire-swing-cartoon.md) - The start of building a successful product is to know what it is you need to build in the first place, and that starts with knowing what the customer needs, not what the customer wants.
- [What is a Product Manager? - ProductFTW #1](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-1-what-is-a-product-manager.md) - A product manager leads a product from idea to market and beyond, balancing user needs with business goals.
- [Introduction to ProductFTW - ProductFTW #0](https://www.productftw.com/productftw-0-introduction-to-productftw.md) - Welcome to ProductFTW: a unique newsletter about product management in technology startups. ProductFTW is exclusively advice about how to get shit done because, in the end, product management is about shipping valuable software. Everything else is noise. We want to help product leaders be successfu…

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