15 great articles about SaaS product management
3 MIN READ
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Updated on January 4, 2018
If there is one thing that I’ve come to learn with SaaS, is that the learning never stops. The actions you take along the way can shape the future of your product and determine the performance of your company.
Whether you are burning the midnight oil building your startup or are already in the market testing the waters, these 15 great articles will help you wade through the challenges of SaaS product management.
Eleven Secrets of SaaS Product Design
– A successful SaaS product is more than the UI and features. Follow Joel York and discover the wholesome design process that will significantly improve your chances of product design success.
SaaS Product Management Challenges
– This article by Barry Paquet from QuantumWhisper highlights how the SaaS industry is changing and how product management skills and responsibilities are evolving under SaaS.
Why Steve Jobs Never Listened to His Customers
– Can you go against the grain and build an awesome startup by ignoring your customers? This thought-provoking article by HelpScout will make your rethink your reasons for shelving those plans or features you have for your SaaS.
The SaaS Development Lifecycle
– Before you build your SaaS product, you should understand the typical SaaS lifecycle. This is crucial to knowing the important activities to do as well as the actors involved in every stage. This article at Infoq gives an overview of any SaaS product.
Does your product suck? Stop adding new features and “zoom in” instead
– When you think you have done everything that you can with your product, it is time to “zoom in” to make customers see its value and in the process, improve your traction. Andrew Chen goes deeper on what you need to do to give your SaaS the spark it needs without adding new features.
Highlights and Tips from the State of Product Management Event
– Find out the top SaaS product management trends, how to get customer feedback, tips on getting a great product manager and more items discussed at the State of Product Management (2013).
In SaaS, Product Management is Essential, Not Optional
– You can discover the needs of your users through various ways such as surveys, polls and so on. However, getting feedback from your current users does not provide insight on your prospective users. Find out how a product manager can help you identify the needs of your prospective users.
Product Management is a Company, Not a Department
– Many SaaS startups find it difficult to get the right Product Manager. Why is this so? Read Joe Kinsella’s take on why it is difficult to find a good product manager.
How Product Management Can Save SaaS
– With the industry shift to SaaS products, product management is important to remaining competitive. This article by 280Group looks at ways in which SaaS product managers can add value to their products.
Creating and Managing Frequent High Quality SaaS Products
– Adding new features or product releases are the norm in the SaaS business model. However, adding any functionality can impact all customers that use the service. Find out how to create new product changes and releases without increasing churn.
Building Smarter Software: Proactively Deliver Insights
– Does your SaaS product really address the needs of your users? Find out how you can proactively build smart data analytics software that can automatically and proactively deliver insights to your users.
– Can the UI and overall design of your SaaS app affect user uptake and engagement? Read this case study by Jason Cohen of A Smart Bear on what he learned when he redesigned his software UI and whether design really matters.
Best Practices in Startup Product Management
– Get insight from Dan Olsen (former product manager at Intuit) on the roles of a product manager and how lean startup intertwines with product management. Find out how to assess customer value, validate ideas with customers and more.
5 Tips for Improving your SaaS Software Implementations
– Product implementation plays a crucial role in SaaS success. Frustrated customers can move to other solutions, increasing your churn rate. This article by Workforce Management Channel highlights tips that can help you complete successful SaaS implementation for your clients.
4 “Running Lean” Tips to Avoid Startup Product Failure
– “Lean startup” is one of the fool-proof ways of building a successful SaaS product. Ash Murya’s book “Running Lean” is meant to help SaaS startups avoid product failure. Read this article to find out the key learning points that early stage promoters on the Lean Canvas recommend.
