Product Management Resources

Whether you’re deep into the product management or just starting out, there are plenty of resources available to learn more about this career path. Here are some valuable resources books, tools, and important terms to help guide your product management career journey.

Books

Inspired: How to Create Products Customers Love

Perfect for: This is one of the most popular books on the subject and should be read by any aspiring product manager. Written by one of the biggest thought leaders on product management, this book gives you an in-depth guide on what it takes to build successful products.

Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products

Perfect for: This national bestseller is perfect for anyone who is interested in any and every part of a product lifecycle. It offers valuable insight on the factor that makes product so irresistible to customers. It also offers case studies on successful products that have applied the knowledge offered in the book.

Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days

Perfect for: This book is the best option for aspiring product managers who love to find ways to work more efficiently. It’ll walk you through the 5-day sprint process the author’s developed, helping you approach challenges with a product manager’s mindset.

Tools

There are tons of product management tools available right now. As you go through your options, make sure to pick a tool that meets your team’s needs.

Product Management Tools

These are some of the most popular product management tools available:

  • Jira
  • ProductPlan
  • ProductBoard

Communication Tools

Communication is a huge part of your job as a product manager. As such, you need to have the right tools in place to ensure effective communication with your team. These are some of the widely used communication tools:

  • Slack
  • Zoom
  • Gmail or Outlook

Productivity Tools

All jobs require you to be productive, and product management is no exception. As you go through the product lifecycle process, use productivity tools that will help you make the most of your time and energy. Here are some great productivity tools to get started:

  • IFTTT
  • Todoist
  • Freedom

Terms

As an aspiring product manager, you might have a difficult time understanding the jargon that surrounds the role. This is normal. Here are some of the important terms you need to understand to learn more about product management:

  • UX: Refers to the overall experience that a person has with a product
  • UI: Refers to the layout that a user interacts with (buttons, images, text entry fields, etc.)
  • CX: Refers to the experience the customer has with the company

There are many more terms to learn, but this starting point will help you understand the product management process a little better.