PRODUCT

SKILLS
ASSESSMENT
A free framework to help you assess your product
skills and take the next step on your product learning
journey to building great products
Product Skills Assessment

Welcome to your
Product Skills Assessment
There’s no time like the present to start focusing on moving onwards and
upwards in your product career and we’re so pleased that you’re here!

About the Skills Assessment

This assessment is designed for product managers. If that’s you then great,
you’re in the right place! By working through this PDF, you’ll be able to assess
your existing product skills, identify gaps in your knowledge, and start building
a development plan so you know exactly where to go next on your product
learning journey. If somebody has shared this PDF with you or you’ve stumbled
upon it by chance, we suggest that you sign up for our Product Skills Toolkit
Email Series in order to get the most out of the assessment.
This is a self-assessment. So be honest with yourself about your own strengths
and weaknesses so that you can focus on improving where you need it most.
Get a second opinion. It can also be helpful to ask some colleagues to assess you
on these same questions so you can see where your perception and theirs differ.
The spider chart at the end is optional but can help you visualise your skills, how
the overall picture matches up to the perception of your peers, and highlight the
key gaps you might need to work on.

Assessment Authors

Emily Tate
Martin Eriksson Managing Director, Mind the Product
Chairman and Co-Founder, Mind the Product Product Coach & Trainer
Product Partner, EQT 15 Year Product Veteran
Co-Author, Product Leadership

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Product Skills Assessment

Human Skills􀍓

Critical Thinking􀍓 n/a 1 2 3 4 5

The most important skill for a great I follow processes or best I spend some time I make time to continuously
product manager is to be able to practices set by others thinking about the best question the status quo
and don’t really spend way to do something when and see if there is a better
think critically about any situation -
time thinking about we start a new initiative way to do things. I also
whether it’s questioning assumptions, whether there are better or process but otherwise think critically about how
challenging processes, knowing ways to do things. don’t tend to mess with I’m spending my time to
when to use which skill or tool, or what seems to be working. ensure I’m balancing all
even managing your own time to aspect of the product role.
make sure you are balancing the
core elements of the job.

Empathy􀍓 n/a 1 2 3 4 5
This is a critical skill for a Product I make decisions without I look at some data and I understand my customers,
Manager, whether it’s empathising taking other views into consider some people’s stakeholders, and teams.
account - either because views when making I consider their perspectives,
with our customers or our colleagues.
I don’t have time or I feel decisions, but regularly contexts, and biases by
It’s a muscle we can exercise and I know what they need find myself falling into proactively seeking different
learn to get better at. anyway. doing things without. inputs and perspectives,
and consider them when
making decisions. I regularly
practice active listening,
empathy exercises, and
immersion techniques.

Curiosity n/a 1 2 3 4 5
Always question the status quo - I do what I’m told. I like to understand I always question every
this is the desire to fully understand the motivations behind assumption, challenge ways
a problem from all angles, to want an initiative, question of working, and set aside
assumptions, and look for time to keep an eye on
to gather information from a diverse new ways of doing things. market trends, competitors,
range of sources, and to understand and industry news.
how outcomes would have an impact
on success.

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Product Skills Assessment

Human Skills􀍓
Strategic Thinking􀍓􀍔 n/a 1 2 3 4 5
At its simplest, strategic thinking I’m focused on I use my quarterly goals I proactively step back
is an ability to plan for the future. execution and delivery. to ensure my tactics are from my day to day work
achieving their intended to ensure we are headed in
For product managers it is about
outcomes and taking my the right direction, question
thinking beyond the work currently product work in the right leadership to ensure our
in progress to what comes next, and direction. goals stack up to our
ensuring that all our work aligns with strategy and vision, and
company goals, strategy, and vision. always bring the discussion
back to strategic goals.

Facilitation􀍓 n/a 1 2 3 4 5
As generalists in a room full of I let people argue and do I have a few facilitation I have a toolkit of
specialists one of the product what the senior person tools but still struggle workshop formats and
decides. to get everyone on facilitation techniques and
manager superpowers is to bring
the same page or I know when which each
together our team and stakeholders to contradict senior is relevant. I facilitate 1:1
to bring out their insights, get leadership when we and group conversations
everyone on the same page, and disagree. to ensure maximum
drive to decisions. productivity in any meeting.

Communication n/a 1 2 3 4 5
Communication is critical to product I wait for stakeholders to I update the team I schedule regular
management so that we can make come to me for updates. periodically, but often updates with my team
sure our team and stakeholders know forget about my and stakeholders across
stakeholders until there multiple channels and
what we’re doing, why we’re doing is a problem. customise the content
it, and whether we’re achieving the and cadence of my updates
goals we’ve set out or not. for each audience.

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Product Skills Assessment

Human
Leadership􀍔 Skills􀍓 n/a 1 2 3 4 5
For product managers, leadership is I manage my team’s work I make sure our work I set a vision for my product
about setting a direction and getting directly - they don’t know always ties back to higher area together with the team
what I know. order company goals based on our company
everyone to rally around that goal.
and vision. vision, strategy, and goals.
We can’t rely on authority, but instead I work with them to execute
need to be able to influence. towards our shared goals,
always reminding them
of the vision and stories
behind why we’re doing
what we’re doing.

Coaching n/a 1 2 3 4 5
Helping other product people excel is I can explain basics to I know how to train other I am able to unlock
at the core of being a product leader others, but have trouble product managers on our the potential in other
teaching complex team’s exist processes. product people, helping
but something all product managers
concepts or really them in their growth and
should practice. conveying why. development, and working
with them to be the most
effective product manager
they can be.

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Product Skills Assessment

Technical Skills􀍓

Metrics􀍓 n/a 1 2 3 4 5
Everything we do as product I use basic metric and I understand how to I understand how to
managers should be driven by KPIs that are given to me develop metrics that are segment customers, use
by leadership. specific, measurable, cohort analysis, statistical
evidence, so understanding our
actionable, relevant, and significance, correlation
metrics and how to use them to timely. vs causation, leading vs
make decisions is critical. lagging indicators, and
more in order to answer
the questions I have.

Hypotheses & Testing n/a 1 2 3 4 5

One of the best ways to become I focus on delivering new I do some evaluative I understand how to
evidence driven and outcome features and priorities testing of ideas like A/B formulate good hypotheses
instead of testing. testing, and watch the and how they help us test
focused is to start thinking about
metrics of features I’ve assumptions and focus on
our work as a series of hypotheses built to see if they’re outcomes. I also know how
and how to test them. Formulating working. to plan experiments to
hypotheses, identifying assumptions, validate those hypotheses,
and creating plans to test them is and which types of
experiments are the most
therefore another key skill. useful in different scenarios.

User Research n/a 1 2 3 4 5

The best evidence comes from I don’t have time or I do user research on an I understand how to
user research, and even if you have access to users in order ad-hoc basis. balance generative user
researchers on your team product to do research. research with evaluative
experiments in a continuous
managers need to understand how process throughout the
to do this research ourselves if we product development
want to understand our customers. lifecycle while minimising
bias in that process.

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Product Skills Assessment

Technical
Prioritisation n/a 1 2 3 4 5
It is critical for product managers to I listen to what my I have a preferred I understand how to
make sure that we are working on stakeholders want and prioritisation framework develop a prioritisation
and use it for everything. framework as a tool for
the most important thing at any given let that drive the priority.
alignment with company
moment, balancing effort vs impact goals within my team and
in alignment with company goals. with my stakeholders, when
to use which of the many
prioritisation tools out there,
and how to clearly and
effectively communicate
those priorities.

Delivery n/a 1 2 3 4 5
Knowing what to build is just half I don’t get involved in I use Scrum, Kanban, XP, I understand the pros and
the battle - we also need to know delivery and leave that to or similar and feel it’s cons of Scrum, Kanban, etc
the engineering lead or important to follow the and work together with
how to build it and how to best
scrum master. rules of those frameworks. my whole team on how we
work together with our designers, want to work together, how
engineers, etc in order to do that. we document decisions
and stories, etc. I use
retrospectives and other
tools to constantly iterate
and test if there are better
ways for us to do so.

Product Marketing n/a 1 2 3 4 5

In today’s crowded market, it’s I leave it up to Marketing I work with Marketing I proactively make
important to know how to position to drive customers on how best to prepare positioning and pricing part
and price your product for success, growth and adoption. comms for any product of the product process, think
launch but let them lead about how the market will
and work together with marketing to the process. find and buy my product,
communicate new features, product and work closely with
launches, and why your product is Marketing on launch plans,
copy, and comms plans.
right for the customer.

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Product Skills Assessment

How to Visualise Your Skills

This spider chart is optional but can help you visualise your skills, how the overall
picture matches up to the perception of your peers, and highlight the key gaps
you might need to work on.

Coaching
Product Marketing 5 Empathy

4
Delivery Curiosity
3

Prioritisation Facilitation
1

User Research Critical Thinking

Hypotheses & Testing Communication

Metrics Leadership
Strategic Thinking

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Product Skills Assessment

Unlock the full Assessing your

Product Skills module
This PDF is just a small part of our larger Assessing your Product Skills module from
Mind the Product’s self-paced, online Training Library, where you can also dive into
other invaluable topics designed to guide you through the core skills that every
product manager should have.
Whether you’re an experienced product leader or in your first product job,
we can all do with an easy way to brush up our skills and remind ourselves
of first principles. Through these modules, you’ll gain the confidence you need
to lead more effectively, find solutions to problems with ease, and ultimately
build better products.

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in a community of engaged product professionals ready to learn with you
and share their experiences, helping you to tackle your problems together.

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