The Product Ops books and other resources
As we kick of the new year, I realised it’s been a while since I shared any resources to help out Product Operations professionals and even worse, I have yet to discuss the Product Ops book by Melissa Perri and Denise Tilles… (I dropped the ball)
So let’s fix that!
Product Operations: How successful companies build better products at scale
The highly anticipated book was launched near the end of last year and is available on Amazon to order!
Melissa Perri, who is well know for her book “Escaping the Build trap”, teamed up with fellow product professional Denise Tilles to write the first oficial book to explore the world of Product Operations.
Disclaimer: I contributed a bit to the book and am quoted in the book on 2 or 3 occasions. But I’ve tried to be as objective as possible in my thoughts on the book.
Where do I start? Is this the book that will solve every challenge or answer every question you have related to Product Operations?
Yes and No.
Based on my own experience, I probably would have written a very different book, however, when reading it and the examples presented, I can understand why Melissa and Denise structured it as they did. It makes sense.
The book does it’s best to present as full a picture of what Product Ops is, why it’s important and how it can be applied and grow within the organisation.
There’s a lot to take in, but they’ve managed to do an impeccable job of structuring the content into easily consumable bits, with very practical examples that could be applied in many orgs right away.
Another aspect I enjoyed was the actual continuous storyline where we follow the hypothetical implementation and growth of Product Operations in a mythical organisation.
I spent quite some time highlighting takeaways and things I would like to try myself.
It’s a rich resource and a really good start for anyone interested in knowing the value, where to start and the potential of Product Operations.
Big thumbs up and Highly recommended.
Like most books, this is the beginning and as you learn more, the more realise you don’t know and so, hopefully the next set of available resources will help you on that journey.
Other Resources
These are various resources that I’ve found to be useful and I may be biased on some of them because I contributed, but don’t let that deter you from the great content.
John Cutler’s Newsletter
If you’ve been in product for a while, chances are you already know about John and his newsletter “The Beautiful Mess”, however, if you don’t, I recommend you sign up.
John is a leading voice in everything around product and product development and his depth and breadth of knowledge are almost unparalleled.
It’s very useful to see how John explores concepts from the theoretical to the practical.
I’ve been following John for quite a few years and it’s always helped me expand the way I think of the challenges I face.
Pendo Resources
The team at Pendo led by Christine Itwaru has done a stellar job of shedding a spotlight on Product Operations and they created some of the earliest content when there wasn’t any content to find.
Since then, Pendo has created some certifications on various product related topics.
Check them out if you have the chance.
Product Ops Podcast
Created and hosted by Gerisha Nadaraju, this podcast already has 3 seasons available and Gerisha makes an effort to have a different theme to each season.
Gerisha has spoken to so many well known Product Ops and Product folks that you can learn from and apply to your journey.
Past guests include Denise Tilles, Melissa Perry, Teresa Torres, Christine Itwaru, Anabela Cesário and many more.
PLA Product Ops Portal
The Product-led Alliance has made a huge effort to develop content to support Product Operations professionals and have created the Product Ops Portal to house all that content.
More than that, you will find reports on the state of product ops and many other Ops related content.
And as if that isn’t enough, you can sign up for the community Slack channel and connect with others in Product Ops.
Simon Hilton resources
A very active voice in the Product Ops community, Simon has done a stellar job of creating useful resources to help product operations professionals.
On his website, you can find link to 3 e-books that Simon has created:
The Product Culture Pyramid
The Product Strategy Bridge
The Product Ops Pillars
More than that, Simon also hosts the Product Ops People podcast!
There’s so much richness!
Dragonboat resources
Many of you may know Dragonboat as the Product Portfolio Management tool, however, what some of you might not know is their founder Becky Flint was previously a Product Operations professional and created the tool based on many of her experiences.
But more than that, Dragonboat has created some useful content, written the Product Ops Playbook and also created the Product Ops HQ community that hosts online events and meetups for Product Ops professionals all over the world at different levels of their journey.
Product Ops Manifesto
What happens when a group of Product Operations leaders from around the world get together to try and help give Product Operations professionals a lighthouse to help manoeuvre the reasonably knew and shifting world of Product Operations?
The Product Ops Manifesto, spearheaded by Antonia Landi, is a work of passion that tries to answer the question, what are my guiding principles?
If you want, you can also add your digital signature to the Manifesto!
Product Ops Professional Hub
Another passion project spearheaded by Graham Reed that brings together a group of product operations professionals together to provide the Product Operations community with even more resources and guidelines is the Product Ops Professional Hub.
Here you can find some definitions, guiding pillars and product ops north star as part of the core resources.
More than that, you will find resources for hiring manager and resource to help implement product operations.
And of course… This Newsletter 😊
Hehe… hopefully this newsletter is a good resource for Product Operations professionals. Here is some previous content that may be particularly useful:
Any other resources that I forgot? Let me know and I’ll add them to the list.
P.S. This list is also helpful for me so I don’t forget any