TEI 118: Tools for data-driven product management – with Shah Ahmed




The Everyday Innovator Podcast for Product Managers show

Summary: Listen to the Interview<br>  <br> I call listeners to this podcast Everyday Innovators. That means something. We are wired in such a way that makes us curious about problems people have, but we don’t stop there. Our real curiosity is how can we develop a product, or enhance a product, that solves a problem and creates value for customers. This is the world of product managers and innovators. And, as an Everyday Innovator, you are part of this world.<br> Some Everyday Innovators have emailed me asking to discuss tools for product managers. There are a lot of ways to think about tools, such as the innovation tools Evan Shellshear talked about in episode 113.<br> A common request is software tools for product managers and this is the episode for that topic. To help me, I found a company that maintains a list of software tools they use in their own work. They also add to the list other tools that could be used. In all, the list contains 87 tools. To discuss what is on this list, I spoke with Shah Ahmed, a project manager at the company, which is Indicative, a behavioral data analytics company. Shah works on developing products and manages implementations of their platform.  Previously, he was a management consultant for Deloitte, focusing on large-scale technology changes for Fortune 500 companies.  His interest in building product started when he worked at a startup incubator at Cornell University during his undergrad.<br> If you have been wanting to hear about product management software tools, now is the time.<br>  <br> Practices and Ideas for Product Managers and Innovators<br> The discussion is based on the blog post, “<a href="https://www.indicative.com/essential-tools-product-managers/" target="_blank">87 Most Essential Tools for Data-Driven Product Management</a>.” We discussed tools in 11 categories:<br> <br> * Mindmapping<br> * Flowcharts &amp; Diagrams<br> * User Research<br> * Roadmapping<br> * Wireframing<br> * Prototyping<br> * Usability Testing<br> * Agile Project Management<br> * A/B Testing<br> * Heatmapping<br> * Analytics<br> <br> Listen to the interview for the discussion and refer to the original blog post for the tools in each category.<br>  <br> Useful links for product managers:<br> <br> * Indicative’s list of <a href="https://www.indicative.com/essential-tools-product-managers/" target="_blank">product management software tools</a><br> * Shah’s <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/shah-ahmed-1099a934/" target="_blank">LinkedIn profile</a><br> * <a href="https://www.indicative.com/" target="_blank">Indicative </a>— Analytics that tell you how to grow your business<br> <br>  <br> Innovation Quote<br> “There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you’ve made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you’ve made a discovery.” -Enrico Ferm<br>  <br> Thanks!<br> Thank you for being an Everyday Innovator and learning with me from the successes and failures of product innovators, managers, and developers. If you enjoyed the discussion, help out a fellow product manager by sharing it using the social media buttons you see below.<br>