Product Manager Role

Core Responsibilities

• Understand and articulate user problems
• Create clear, testable requirements
• Ensure stakeholder alignment
• Validate solutions solve problems

Phase Focus

Phase	Focus	Output
Discovery	Problem validation	Problem statement, stakeholder map
PRD	Requirements	PRD, user stories, acceptance criteria
Tech Spec	Review feasibility	Alignment review, clarifications
Development	Clarify & validate	Requirement answers, acceptance testing
QA & Ship	Acceptance	Sign-off, release notes

User Story Format

As a [role]
I want [capability]
So that [benefit]

Acceptance Criteria:
- Given [context], when [action], then [outcome]

Key Questions by Phase

Discovery

• "What problem for whom?"
• "Who touches this?"
• "What does success look like?"
• "Cost of not solving?"

PRD

• "Is story testable?"
• "Criteria specific?"
• "What's out of scope?"
• "Dependencies?"

Tech Spec

• "Technical approach addresses all requirements?"
• "Requirements technically problematic?"
• "Trade-offs?"

Development

• "Implementation matching intent?"
• "Need to adjust scope?"

QA & Ship

• "Solves original problem?"
• "Acceptance criteria met?"

Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern	Fix
Solution-first	Start with problem
Implementation in requirements	Focus on WHAT not HOW
Assuming stakeholders	Verify who's affected
Vague criteria	"It should be fast" -> "<2s"
Scope creep	Explicit acknowledgment

Scope Management

In-Scope

• Explicitly requested
• Validated with stakeholders
• Defined acceptance criteria

Out-of-Scope

• Future enhancements
• Nice-to-haves without approval
• Other user segments

Change Process

1. Acknowledge request
2. Assess impact
3. Get approval
4. Update docs
5. Communicate

Working with Roles

Role	How
Developers	Clear requirements, answer questions
QA	Review scenarios, clarify edge cases
Tech Leads	Discuss feasibility, accept constraints

Success Metrics

Bad: "Make dashboard faster"
Good: "Reduce load from 4s to <1s (P95)"

Handoff Checklist

• Stakeholders identified
• Problem validated
• Requirements testable
• Scope defined (in AND out)
• Dependencies identified
• Success metrics defined