Anna Buldakova
All levels

Reading list

Books for junior Product Managers

Junior PMs is a stage when you have less than 2 years of experience, and the goal is:

  • to get a good exposure to different kinds of products;
  • to understand what impeccable execution means;
  • to learn about different functions in the product team and how they come together to drive impact.

Before you move on to the next stage, you should have a clear view on how to use marketing, data analysis and user research to understand what product you should build and why, and how to work with engineers and designers to build the right one.

Books

  • Cover of Inspired: How to create tech products customers love

    Inspired: How to create tech products customers love

    by M.Cagan

    If you could only read one book at this stage, take this one. A holistic view on product development and a close up of the most important parts.

  • Cover of Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation

    Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation

    by T.Brown

    An introduction to design thinking and how it is used to inspire innovation in business.

  • Cover of How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business

    How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business

    by D.Hubbard

    For PMs, it is essential to understand how to use data to make decisions. If you are still at the very beginning of this path, this book will allow you to build a strong foundation for developing such a skill.

  • Cover of Predictably Irrational

    Predictably Irrational

    by D.Ariely

    Understanding human behaviours is at the core of product management. This book lays the foundation for understanding human irrationality, biases and perceptions. If you want a more in-depth and scientific view, follow up with “Thinking, Fast and Slow”.

  • Cover of Don’t make me think

    Don’t make me think

    by S.Krug

    A classic on usability and why it matters for the business. If you need to do usability testing by yourself, follow up with “Rocket Surgery Made Easy”.

  • Cover of The power of habit

    The power of habit

    by C.Duhigg

    Learning about habits is essential for building retentive products. Use this book to build an initial understanding of how habits are formed, and follow up with “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products” for more practical examples, or B.J.Fogg’s Behaviour Model (for example, this) for more scientific details.

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