Cagan and Moore argue that 'transformation' is often described with labels like Agile or product-led, which fail to capture what actually changes. They propose defining transformation by three concrete shifts: how a…
Marty Cagan argues that platform product management, which means building foundation software that other companies use to create end-user solutions, is among the hardest and highest-leverage jobs in product. He first…
Marty Cagan reflects on his first weeks with the original iPhone to extract product lessons. He argues that breakthrough products cannot come from focus groups or pundits, since users only describe incremental…
Marty Cagan argues that great brands come from great products rather than from marketing alone, and that Silicon Valley companies often err by fixating on technology. He notes HP's brand was stronger when built on…
This is an index page from Marty Cagan's SVPG site introducing a series of articles on how a company can transform from merely adequate to truly excellent at product work. It groups the articles into themes…
Marty Cagan argues that product opportunities are far from exhausted, pointing to three reasons: products that frustrate users always invite better alternatives, what is technically feasible keeps shifting, and today's…
“From time to time we get criticized for making "yet another to-do list" product. Or a chat product. Or a messaging product. Or something we've kinda sorta already made before, just in a different form, combination, or approach. "How about something else? How about something bigger? How about something completely different?" David even reflected on it personally in his recent…”
Marty Cagan argues against setting a fixed percentage split between new product development and improving existing products. Instead, every investment, whether new or improvement, should be treated as a product…
Marty Cagan argues that product companies can learn a great deal from venture capital firms, which are also in the business of making product investments and maximizing returns. He contrasts VC practices with typical…
Teresa Torres and Petra Wille argue that innovation is a means rather than a goal: it matters only when it serves customers better. Using the history of the login flow, from passwords to single sign-on, Slack's magic…
Marty Cagan argues that a product team's primary scorecard metric should change depending on the stage the product is in. He describes three stages: MVP, where the only goal is winning several happy, referenceable…
Marty Cagan argues that 'product' is unclear in Internet companies, where software is intangible and large sites are split into many smaller products largely for internal organizational reasons. He proposes defining…
Marty Cagan extends Marc Andreessen's 'software is eating the world' thesis beyond software itself, arguing that modern product techniques are disrupting entrenched industries such as automotive, animation, and…
Marty Cagan argues that in many startups the CEO is the most effective head of product, especially in consumer companies, because the CEO best understands the market, customer and company and is fully committed. He…
Jorge Mazal, former CPO of Duolingo, recounts how the company reversed a slide in daily active user growth and eventually grew DAU about 4.5x over four years. The journey began with failed attempts: a…
Teresa Torres and Petra Wille use search-and-rescue research on how lost people behave as a metaphor for product teams that have lost their way. They describe five recurring moves: freezing, chasing shortcuts, following…
Teresa Torres describes a common product dilemma: a few at-risk customers request a feature that doesn't fit the product's strategy and may have more perceived than actual value. She argues that the hardest part is not…
Marty Cagan argues that web products spread worldwide quickly, but making them work well in other countries requires a different product approach than simply localizing a US product. Early companies that handed off US…
Jake Fuentes, co-founder of Cascade, reflects on the lessons from shutting down his B2B data-visualization startup after four years. He argues that failure rarely gets studied carefully, and that several decisions which…
Lenny Rachitsky argues that product differentiation is essential, drawing on Michael Porter's view that winners either operate better or perform differently from rivals. The post lays out seven practical differentiators…