Product Manager Toolkit

1---
2name: product-manager-toolkit
3description: Comprehensive toolkit for product managers including RICE prioritization, customer interview analysis, PRD templates, discovery frameworks, and go-to-market strategies. Use for feature prioritization, user research synthesis, requirement documentation, and product strategy development.
4---
5 
6# Product Manager Toolkit
7 
8Essential tools and frameworks for modern product management, from discovery to delivery.
9 
10## Quick Start
11 
12### For Feature Prioritization
13```bash
14python scripts/rice_prioritizer.py sample  # Create sample CSV
15python scripts/rice_prioritizer.py sample_features.csv --capacity 15
16```
17 
18### For Interview Analysis
19```bash
20python scripts/customer_interview_analyzer.py interview_transcript.txt
21```
22 
23### For PRD Creation
241. Choose template from `references/prd_templates.md`
252. Fill in sections based on discovery work
263. Review with stakeholders
274. Version control in your PM tool
28 
29## Core Workflows
30 
31### Feature Prioritization Process
32 
331. **Gather Feature Requests**
34   - Customer feedback
35   - Sales requests
36   - Technical debt
37   - Strategic initiatives
38 
392. **Score with RICE**
40   ```bash
41   # Create CSV with: name,reach,impact,confidence,effort
42   python scripts/rice_prioritizer.py features.csv
43   ```
44   - **Reach**: Users affected per quarter
45   - **Impact**: massive/high/medium/low/minimal
46   - **Confidence**: high/medium/low
47   - **Effort**: xl/l/m/s/xs (person-months)
48 
493. **Analyze Portfolio**
50   - Review quick wins vs big bets
51   - Check effort distribution
52   - Validate against strategy
53 
544. **Generate Roadmap**
55   - Quarterly capacity planning
56   - Dependency mapping
57   - Stakeholder alignment
58 
59### Customer Discovery Process
60 
611. **Conduct Interviews**
62   - Use semi-structured format
63   - Focus on problems, not solutions
64   - Record with permission
65 
662. **Analyze Insights**
67   ```bash
68   python scripts/customer_interview_analyzer.py transcript.txt
69   ```
70   Extracts:
71   - Pain points with severity
72   - Feature requests with priority
73   - Jobs to be done
74   - Sentiment analysis
75   - Key themes and quotes
76 
773. **Synthesize Findings**
78   - Group similar pain points
79   - Identify patterns across interviews
80   - Map to opportunity areas
81 
824. **Validate Solutions**
83   - Create solution hypotheses
84   - Test with prototypes
85   - Measure actual vs expected behavior
86 
87### PRD Development Process
88 
891. **Choose Template**
90   - **Standard PRD**: Complex features (6-8 weeks)
91   - **One-Page PRD**: Simple features (2-4 weeks)
92   - **Feature Brief**: Exploration phase (1 week)
93   - **Agile Epic**: Sprint-based delivery
94 
952. **Structure Content**
96   - Problem → Solution → Success Metrics
97   - Always include out-of-scope
98   - Clear acceptance criteria
99 
1003. **Collaborate**
101   - Engineering for feasibility
102   - Design for experience
103   - Sales for market validation
104   - Support for operational impact
105 
106## Key Scripts
107 
108### rice_prioritizer.py
109Advanced RICE framework implementation with portfolio analysis.
110 
111**Features**:
112- RICE score calculation
113- Portfolio balance analysis (quick wins vs big bets)
114- Quarterly roadmap generation
115- Team capacity planning
116- Multiple output formats (text/json/csv)
117 
118**Usage Examples**:
119```bash
120# Basic prioritization
121python scripts/rice_prioritizer.py features.csv
122 
123# With custom team capacity (person-months per quarter)
124python scripts/rice_prioritizer.py features.csv --capacity 20
125 
126# Output as JSON for integration
127python scripts/rice_prioritizer.py features.csv --output json
128```
129 
130### customer_interview_analyzer.py
131NLP-based interview analysis for extracting actionable insights.
132 
133**Capabilities**:
134- Pain point extraction with severity assessment
135- Feature request identification and classification
136- Jobs-to-be-done pattern recognition
137- Sentiment analysis
138- Theme extraction
139- Competitor mentions
140- Key quotes identification
141 
142**Usage Examples**:
143```bash
144# Analyze single interview
145python scripts/customer_interview_analyzer.py interview.txt
146 
147# Output as JSON for aggregation
148python scripts/customer_interview_analyzer.py interview.txt json
149```
150 
151## Reference Documents
152 
153### prd_templates.md
154Multiple PRD formats for different contexts:
155 
1561. **Standard PRD Template**
157   - Comprehensive 11-section format
158   - Best for major features
159   - Includes technical specs
160 
1612. **One-Page PRD**
162   - Concise format for quick alignment
163   - Focus on problem/solution/metrics
164   - Good for smaller features
165 
1663. **Agile Epic Template**
167   - Sprint-based delivery
168   - User story mapping
169   - Acceptance criteria focus
170 
1714. **Feature Brief**
172   - Lightweight exploration
173   - Hypothesis-driven
174   - Pre-PRD phase
175 
176## Prioritization Frameworks
177 
178### RICE Framework
179```
180Score = (Reach × Impact × Confidence) / Effort
181 
182Reach: # of users/quarter
183Impact: 
184  - Massive = 3x
185  - High = 2x
186  - Medium = 1x
187  - Low = 0.5x
188  - Minimal = 0.25x
189Confidence:
190  - High = 100%
191  - Medium = 80%
192  - Low = 50%
193Effort: Person-months
194```
195 
196### Value vs Effort Matrix
197```
198         Low Effort    High Effort
199         
200High     QUICK WINS    BIG BETS
201Value    [Prioritize]   [Strategic]
202         
203Low      FILL-INS      TIME SINKS
204Value    [Maybe]       [Avoid]
205```
206 
207### MoSCoW Method
208- **Must Have**: Critical for launch
209- **Should Have**: Important but not critical
210- **Could Have**: Nice to have
211- **Won't Have**: Out of scope
212 
213## Discovery Frameworks
214 
215### Customer Interview Guide
216```
2171. Context Questions (5 min)
218   - Role and responsibilities
219   - Current workflow
220   - Tools used
221 
2222. Problem Exploration (15 min)
223   - Pain points
224   - Frequency and impact
225   - Current workarounds
226 
2273. Solution Validation (10 min)
228   - Reaction to concepts
229   - Value perception
230   - Willingness to pay
231 
2324. Wrap-up (5 min)
233   - Other thoughts
234   - Referrals
235   - Follow-up permission
236```
237 
238### Hypothesis Template
239```
240We believe that [building this feature]
241For [these users]
242Will [achieve this outcome]
243We'll know we're right when [metric]
244```
245 
246### Opportunity Solution Tree
247```
248Outcome
249├── Opportunity 1
250│   ├── Solution A
251│   └── Solution B
252└── Opportunity 2
253    ├── Solution C
254    └── Solution D
255```
256 
257## Metrics & Analytics
258 
259### North Star Metric Framework
2601. **Identify Core Value**: What's the #1 value to users?
2612. **Make it Measurable**: Quantifiable and trackable
2623. **Ensure It's Actionable**: Teams can influence it
2634. **Check Leading Indicator**: Predicts business success
264 
265### Funnel Analysis Template
266```
267Acquisition → Activation → Retention → Revenue → Referral
268 
269Key Metrics:
270- Conversion rate at each step
271- Drop-off points
272- Time between steps
273- Cohort variations
274```
275 
276### Feature Success Metrics
277- **Adoption**: % of users using feature
278- **Frequency**: Usage per user per time period
279- **Depth**: % of feature capability used
280- **Retention**: Continued usage over time
281- **Satisfaction**: NPS/CSAT for feature
282 
283## Best Practices
284 
285### Writing Great PRDs
2861. Start with the problem, not solution
2872. Include clear success metrics upfront
2883. Explicitly state what's out of scope
2894. Use visuals (wireframes, flows)
2905. Keep technical details in appendix
2916. Version control changes
292 
293### Effective Prioritization
2941. Mix quick wins with strategic bets
2952. Consider opportunity cost
2963. Account for dependencies
2974. Buffer for unexpected work (20%)
2985. Revisit quarterly
2996. Communicate decisions clearly
300 
301### Customer Discovery Tips
3021. Ask "why" 5 times
3032. Focus on past behavior, not future intentions
3043. Avoid leading questions
3054. Interview in their environment
3065. Look for emotional reactions
3076. Validate with data
308 
309### Stakeholder Management
3101. Identify RACI for decisions
3112. Regular async updates
3123. Demo over documentation
3134. Address concerns early
3145. Celebrate wins publicly
3156. Learn from failures openly
316 
317## Common Pitfalls to Avoid
318 
3191. **Solution-First Thinking**: Jumping to features before understanding problems
3202. **Analysis Paralysis**: Over-researching without shipping
3213. **Feature Factory**: Shipping features without measuring impact
3224. **Ignoring Technical Debt**: Not allocating time for platform health
3235. **Stakeholder Surprise**: Not communicating early and often
3246. **Metric Theater**: Optimizing vanity metrics over real value
325 
326## Integration Points
327 
328This toolkit integrates with:
329- **Analytics**: Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics
330- **Roadmapping**: ProductBoard, Aha!, Roadmunk
331- **Design**: Figma, Sketch, Miro
332- **Development**: Jira, Linear, GitHub
333- **Research**: Dovetail, UserVoice, Pendo
334- **Communication**: Slack, Notion, Confluence
335 
336## Quick Commands Cheat Sheet
337 
338```bash
339# Prioritization
340python scripts/rice_prioritizer.py features.csv --capacity 15
341 
342# Interview Analysis
343python scripts/customer_interview_analyzer.py interview.txt
344 
345# Create sample data
346python scripts/rice_prioritizer.py sample
347 
348# JSON outputs for integration
349python scripts/rice_prioritizer.py features.csv --output json
350python scripts/customer_interview_analyzer.py interview.txt json
351```
352