Software for product management is an administrative tool used to produce Products and enhance a company's interests rapidly and effectively, along with successfully enhancing Business Profits. These tools allow product managers and their teams to gather fresh concepts and develop detailed strategies to turn them into actual products. Although product managers and product teams often employ these tools, marketing and sales are also using them to gain a clear understanding of how products are developed.
Product Management is used for Product Analysis, Development Tracking, and Roadmapping. Whenever we concern tools for product managers, we often mean the basic handful of tools that the majority of us utilize daily. These product management tools typically consist of software for product analytics, development tracking, and road mapping. However, a product manager's duties go beyond simply gathering product perspicuity, surveying the backlog, and evaluating the product plan. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced product manager, you should utilize the right tool to ensure you are not overlooking a crucial aspect of your job.
Product managers are frequently in charge of organizing the examination, choice, and purchase of product management solutions for usage inside their company. It might be challenging to choose the best product management solution, though.
Considerations Before Choosing Product Management Tools
Now let’s move ahead and know what considerations should be taken before choosing tools for Product Management. Depending on the requirements of the business, each product firm will have a unique collection of tools in its accumulation. The set of tools that the product team employs to manage their operations is known as Product Management tool accumulation. These tools are frequently integrated, where they perform well together and complement one another. The product development efforts may succeed or fail greatly depending on the choice of product management tools. So to have a successful product, there should be some considerations to follow up on before choosing a management tool.
So let's take a look at the concerns, one must heed before choosing a Product Management tool.
- Recognize the demands of your product management staff- Making a charter with a list of questions for your new product management tool is an intelligent method to assess the requirements of your product management team. The charter will aid in outlining particular demands and may be used as a benchmark for assessing items.
- Product Research- It's time to research the various product possibilities after you have a clearer idea of your demands and criteria for a Product. Reading product reviews and seeing product demonstrations are the most significant ways to accomplish this. You will have a deeper grasp of the features and how each product functions by doing the research for the product.
- Consider items depending on Product needs- Following your research, it's time to analyze the items in light of your unique needs. Start by grading each item according to how effectively it satisfies your needs. To rank the various items, you may add a column to each need to rank the various items. This stage will enable you to evaluate and contrast several solutions and decide which product management suite is best for your team.
- Aim to stay within your budget- When looking at product management solutions, budget is always an important consideration, but if you work for a startup or smaller firm, it's much more crucial. Keep in mind that some of the top goods could have steep asking prices as well as ongoing costs. The simplest method to achieve this is to set a predetermined budget for your product tool and use it as a guide when weighing various possibilities.
- Effortless Use- Make sure the tool you choose is simple to use before you buy it! Although it should be obvious, certain technologies are quite complex and need users to undergo many days of training. The technology that works best for you and your team will be one that you find simple to use. Many tools allow you to try them out for free so you may decide whether to buy them before you use them.
- Reporting in Real Time- Find a product tool that offers real-time reporting to save time. Creating reports that reflect the product's current condition will gather data from many parts of the product management systems.
- A Reputable Interface- Although there are a lot of tools available, some of them appear somewhat dated. Expandability needs to be your main criterion when selecting a tool. Opting for something attractive-looking doesn't hurt, either.
- Security- Scalability is great, but if your data isn't secure, neither is the integrity of your product. Examine the security features that your desired tool supplier offers. To keep your client data private and isolated from everyone else's, choose a different dedicated hosting platform.
How do you assess and determine which tools are best for your team?
Consider your firm and product's size and development stage as a starting point. A tiny firm with one product manager, for instance, probably won't require or have the funds for numerous tools. You could pick a few applications that provide a wide range of integrations and features. A huge organization, on the other hand, would require specific tools created for complex work streams and several teams. The tools for product Management are chosen based on the functionalities they serve to make Product management easier as per the lifecycle of the product.
Tools and their Functionalities
So let’s take a look at the functionalities of Product Management Tools and the best tools available for that functionality.
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User Tracking and Analysis
User tracking enables you to follow online visitors while they browse your website anonymously and via a variety of methods. A product manager's research-creation process includes user tracking in terms of analysis. A wide range of tools is accessible for tracking and gathering data about the demands of the user for the Product. These tools may be quite useful for gathering information and understanding how users of your software or visitors to your website interact with your offerings and content. Platforms for product analytics collect and assist you in analyzing what those consumers do, but merely what they say and think. You'll want a product management platform, such as DoneDone, that provides distinct analytics and insight into how consumers utilize your product. User tracking & Analytics can be done using Pendo.
The tool used for User Tracking and Analysis is Pendo.
Pendo assists businesses in determining who is using the features and products they are developing. You can find out which features people like and don't like, as well as how they move across your product range, with the help of our product analytics tools. Additionally, you may examine how product adoption differs depending on an account, a user's job, or their attitude. Their objective is to provide product teams with the knowledge they need to do their duties more effectively and make daily decisions with less difficulty. Although in-app messaging provides our consumers a method to quickly and simply put these insights into action, product analytics are fascinating and powerful. In the end, your capacity to experiment and influence behavior change within your product is what will help you grow your company and give your consumers better experiences.
Apart from Pendo, The other tools that can be used for User tracking and Analytics are:
- Amplitude
- Gainsight
- Google Analytics
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Product Strategy and Roadmapping
This is a basic exercise in product management. Even though PMs are renowned for their adaptability, mapping out your course reveals the type of stakeholder negotiating abilities and data-driven planning that make Product Management so successful. Our knowledge of PMs' experiences indicates that Productboard goes toward "the making things easier side." AHA is also practical and founded on reliable theoretical understandings of how product managers operate. When choosing your road mapping tool, remember that product managers are reportedly trusted by Airtable, air focus, and Roadmunk.
The tool used for Product Strategy and Roadmapping is ProductBoard.
ProductBoard is used to prioritize features, create roadmaps, collect customer input, and validate concepts. all the tools required to create a user-centered product. The road mapping capabilities of Productboard are noteworthy. Depending on how you operate, you can organize product features into release, sprint, period, or now/next/later buckets, and you may customize roadmaps for different audiences. For instance, you may develop roadmaps that are customer-centered or that are expressly geared for leadership.
The other tools used for Product Strategy and roadmap development are
- ProductPlan
- Roadmunk
- Airfocus
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Flowcharting
Even while not all product managers utilize flowchart and diagram software, it is still an excellent approach to do a task that many PMs ignore but really shouldn't. You and your organization will benefit from having a greater understanding of the whole client experience with your business after creating a customer journey map. A correctly made journey map will display every interaction a person has with your business, from their initial visit to your website (or their first phone contact from a sales representative) through their eventual purchase and use of your product.
The tool used for Flowcharting is Microsoft Visio.
Visio’s flowcharting and diagramming capabilities can be useful for outlining any particular elements of a user's workflow or experience with your product. The flowcharts you generate using these tools may then help you get insights into how to strategically prioritize your product roadmap since they provide a visual representation of that workflow or experience rather than just a list of the stages your client will take.
Apart from Microsoft Visio, the other good tool that can be used for flowcharting in Product management is OmniGraffle
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Presentation
Key communication skill for a product manager is the ability to present. It is a component of conveying the product strategy to the company and the team developing the product. Additionally, it is a component of consumer communication. We frequently draw attention to the poor performance of roadmap presentation tools. However, this does not imply that Keynote or PowerPoint shouldn't occupy a significant position in your toolbox for product management.
For distributing your high-level goals, ideas, and plans within your company and to external audiences like clients, presentation decks may be quite helpful. For instance, vision boards may be a potent tool for selling a group of executive stakeholders the vision of your product. Additionally, using presentations to teach salespeople or educate industry analysts about your product may be quite successful.
The best tool for Presentation is Microsoft Powerpoint.
One of the most often used tools for presentations is PowerPoint. It is a component of the Microsoft Office package and is usable for domestic, commercial, and academic uses. PowerPoint dominated the presentation industry and was most well-known for its templates and usability.
This program enables anybody, from amateurs to experts, to create presentations utilizing text, graphics, video, audio, and data tables. You may deliver the presentation as you like by using a range of animations and transitions.
Other than Powerpoint, Keynote, Google slide, and Slideshare are tools that can also be used for presentations.
- Keynote
- Google Slide
- Slideshare
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Prototyping and Wireframe
Design teams experiment by turning their ideas into physical prototypes, which might range from paper to digital. To capture design concepts and user testing, teams create prototypes with varying levels of realism. You may improve and evaluate your ideas using prototypes, allowing your company to release the proper items. You must put a lot of effort into demonstrating that your product concept can be realized before bringing it to fruition. More technologies are emerging as a result of the growing significance of user design and easy consumer journeys. They also employ techniques to minimize discomfort and streamline the delivery process.
The number of web-based apps available has increased due to this popularity. Some, nevertheless, are a little questionable in terms of usefulness. Most people are using multi-purpose applications that may be used for prototyping, designing, and whiteboarding. If you're searching for a versatile tool that is also great for prototyping, we may suggest Figma.
The best tool used for Prototyping and Wireframing is Balsamiq.
Balsamiq Wireframes is a quick, low-fidelity UI wireframing tool that simulates sketching on a whiteboard or notepad while using a computer. It effectively pushes you to put your attention on structure and substance rather than wasting time on early debates about colors and details. With wireframes, you may quickly produce new ideas, discard the subpar ones, and identify the best solutions.
The alternatives of Balsamiq for prototyping and wireframing are:
- Sketch
- Invision
- AdobeXD
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Product Development
Product development involves bringing a new thing or item to market or enhancing already-available goods to boost sales. A product is initially merely a sample. For a firm to become something that can be sold on the market, a lot of time and money must be invested. The idea, design, development, and marketing of newly developed or freshly renamed goods or services are all phases in the process known as product development, sometimes known as new product management. The entire process of creating a product, from conception through market launch, is referred to as product development. Product research makes the difference between a product's success and failure, both at launch and throughout the product life cycle, by helping you understand the requirements and desires of your consumers and keeping an eye on the competitive landscape and environment of your market.
The best tool used for Product development is Rally.
The foundation of Value Stream Management is Rally. By enabling business leaders to address challenging issues like how to prioritize capabilities related to development, how capabilities relate to development outcomes, how to track how capabilities progress from planning to delivery, and how to find opportunities to optimize flow, Rally's insight contributes to value stream management. Rally is used by value streams to make complicated processes transparent and enable swift business pivots based on data-driven choices.
The Alternative to Rally for Product development is Azure.
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Project Management
A Project Manager oversees several projects that are necessary to achieve the various goals that a product manager sets for it in terms of vision, goals, and business trajectory. The project manager is therefore more of a man of action whereas the product manager is more of a master strategist. Making a distinction between projects and products might be helpful. Though Product Management & Project Management are two different jobs, still there would be some interactive work. No Product manager can operate without the zero work support of a Project Manager.
The tool used for Project Management is Jira.
Jira brings teams together for everything from agile software development and customer service to start-ups and companies. Jira assists teams in planning, assigning, tracking, reporting, and managing work. Jira Software, the top solution for agile teams, helps software teams develop better. A workflow is the first step in managing projects and tasks in project management software. Workflows outline your procedure and make task tracking possible for your team. Visualize your process so that your team is aware of the status of tasks and projects. Projects frequently contain "checkpoints" or milestones that must be met to maintain the overall project's direction. Versions are milestones in Jira Work Management. After creating versions, you may group work into several versions.
Other than Jira, the tools that are used for Project Management are:
- Pivotal
- Monday.com
- Diagrams.net
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Collaboration
Working in the product sector offers some of the most intriguing opportunities for cross-functional collaboration. Although there are difficulties, which we'll discuss momentarily, it exposes everyone engaged to every step of the product development and launch process. UX designers have the chance to learn more about marketing, and engineers have the chance to learn more about UX design.
The tool used for Collaboration for product management is Trello.
Trello is one of the more powerful project management applications that aim to improve teamwork inside and between departments.
Trello allows you to manage several projects and arrange various activities by allowing you to create boards, lists, and cards. To get a clear picture of everything that is happening, you may also set up calendars, make checklists, and assign productivity indicators. Trello has built-in automation for the best processes and the least amount of manual effort, like many other top products today. Trello is an essential component of your product management stack since the job of the product manager involves coordinating a lot of various moving elements.
The alternatives for Trello for collaboration are:
- GoToMeeting
- Dropbox
- Zoom
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User Experience and Testing
In the field of product management, the phrase "user testing" is frequently used. Usability testing is frequently used interchangeably with user testing. During the user testing phase of the design process, you analyze your product or service using actual customers to develop user-centered designs. Through this technique, you may learn how your target market behaves when using your product, giving you useful information for the development process.
The best tool used for user experience and testing is Adobe Target.
Adobe Target is a rule-based testing and targeting tool that can be integrated with Analytics and provide reports for marketing offers, customization, and UX testing. This feature enables marketers to determine which offers, experiences, and messages are engaging customers. It has a user interface, integrated best practices, and powerful features for tracking site traffic. It allows for more conversion and properly filters results according to its self-learning algorithmic methodology. The tailoring of consumer interactions across all marketing channels and business contact points may also be automated.
Other tools that can be used for User experience and testing are:
- Helio
- Hotjar
- UXCam
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Customer Feedback and Survey
Getting feedback from customers involves talking to them and asking them what they think of a good or service. To properly comprehend their behavior and demands, it is crucial to pay attention to their thoughts and feelings. It is crucial for product managers because before you can offer a helpful solution, you must embrace your people and understand the suffering caused by their issues. It's helpful to have a defined goal before pursuing a certain feedback technique. Outlining your learning objectives can help you concentrate on your study and choose which potential or current clients you should contact. This is particularly important if your product or service appeals to a wide range of demographics. This is because various client segments may experience your product in drastically different ways. Therefore, it's crucial to be specific about who you want to talk to and what you hope to discover about their needs and expectations.
The tool used for Customer feedback and survey is SurveyMonkey.
SurveyMonkey helps managers obtain viewpoints and get insightful wisdom for the customers and users. For every audience, SurveyMonkey is simple to build polls, quizzes, and Surveys. Using a tool, it's easier to obtain using a web link, email, mobile chat, social media, and other channels. It is a sophisticated analytic tool that automatically examines your data and helps export your data or integrate it with your preferred apps. It makes smarter decisions based on facts by utilizing your insights.
Other than SurveyMonkey, the tools that can be used for customer feedback and surveys are:
- Typeforms
- Google Forms
- Form stack
Now let’s take a Look at the tools that serve multiple purposes in terms of Product Management.
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Slack
To strengthen product organization, Slack has emerged as the most crucial tool. Slack is utilized to cut down on pointless meetings, facilitate teamwork, make information widely available, and involve our consumers in the creation of new products. By acting as a central communication, reporting, and file center, the software boosts efficiency for both small and big teams. Slack Connect streamlines communication by bringing everyone into your virtual headquarters to complete tasks, breaking down organizational walls. From debating the finer points of a contract to analyzing the most recent drawings from your creative agency, Slack Connect enables real-time collaboration.
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Canva
Branding image creation is as easy as dragging and dropping using Canva. It will just take a few minutes to do what used to take a lot of work, whether you decide to utilize your logo, social media accounts, or a hashtag. The transparency option in Canva also makes branding your Product seem slick and unobtrusive to the viewer. You can maintain brand management with Canva for Teams while enabling anybody on your team to generate on-brand visuals – even without design skills. Your team may quickly create and distribute branded designs using the thousands of professionally created templates at your disposal. Even if you have little to no experience with graphic design, Canva enables you to generate that content fast and effortlessly.
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Conclusion
In this article, we have looked at the Top Tools for Product Management. Tools are a crucial component of product management and are crucial to the success of a product for a company. Tools keep everyone on the same page, increase documentation, and promote product vision transparency throughout the business. They make it easier for teams to collaborate and provide product managers the ability to make choices based on consumer information. But before choosing the tools for Product Management, there are usually a few measures to keep in mind.
To become a Certified Product Manager, you can refer to Professional Certification in Product Management Simplilearn’s Course.
Do you have any questions about this article on ‘Top Tools for Product Management’? If yes, feel free to mention them in the comment section at the bottom of this page. Our expert team will help you solve your queries at the earliest.
