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Mastering Retention Podcast

Ep.80: Defining Product Management

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9Vnnm32Dw0⁠

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🎙️ Mastering Retention Podcast: The Role of Product Managers in Gaming with Maria from Metacast

Host: Tom Hammond, Co-founder of UserWise

Guest: Maria, Product Manager at Hutch Games

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Introduction

👋 About Maria:

Grew up in Portugal with limited access to the gaming industry.

Initially worked in fisheries and later transitioned into tech.

Broke into the gaming industry as a Product Manager at Jagex.

Currently a Product Manager at Hutch Games, working on Top Drives.

🚗 About Top Drives:

A unique card collection game based on real cars and real stats.

Players collect and race cars against opponents in simulated races.

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Understanding the Role of Product Managers

📌 Clarifying Product Manager vs. Product Owner:

Discussed the confusion between the roles.

Maria views a Product Owner as a Product Manager working within a Scrum framework.

🔀 Intersection of Business, Design, and Technology:

Product Managers operate at the crossroads of these three pillars.

Responsible for aligning product vision, strategy, and feature design.

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Building a High-Performing Product Management Team

🤝 Collaboration with Game Directors:

Importance of combining different skill sets and strengths.

Product Managers should complement Game Directors, bringing in expertise in areas like data analysis or business strategy.

🎯 Traits of a Good Product Manager:

Natural Curiosity: Always asking "why" and seeking to understand underlying reasons.

Being Opinionated Yet Open: Forming hypotheses but eager to prove themselves wrong through testing and data.

Big Picture Thinking with Attention to Detail: Ability to zoom in and out between strategy and specific feature details.

🛠️ Developing Necessary Skills:

Skills can be trained through practice and going through the full product development process.

Emphasis on learning to ask the right questions at different stages.

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Product Management at Different Product Stages

🚀 Early-Stage vs. Scaling Products:

Different mindsets and skills are needed for products at various maturity levels.

Early-stage PMs thrive in chaotic environments and are motivated by creating massive changes.

Scaling-stage PMs focus on incremental improvements and optimizing existing systems.

🕒 When to Hire a Product Manager:

Not always necessary in very early stages if team members have a product mindset.

Essential when teams need guidance on product processes, especially during soft launch stages.

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Hiring and Onboarding Product Managers

🔍 Challenges in Hiring:

Variability in PM roles across companies makes hiring difficult.

Roles can range from data-focused to strategy and design-oriented positions.

📝 Assessing Candidates:

Use practical scenarios and problem-solving questions to understand their thought process.

Focus on their logic, reasoning, and approach to unexpected problems.

🎮 Example Interview Techniques:

Presenting real-world scenarios from games to evaluate their analytical skills.

Using games or puzzles to observe how candidates tackle optimization problems.

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Defining Roadmaps and Live Content

🗺️ Roadmap Planning:

Start with a clear strategy and specific metrics to improve.

Conduct discovery processes, including market analysis and understanding player behavior.

Prioritize ideas based on how they align with strategic goals and potential ROI.

📆 LiveOps Cadence:

Aim to make the game more enjoyable while increasing monetization.

Balance the intensity of events to prevent player burnout.

Use data-driven approaches to plan and adjust the LiveOps calendar.

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Balancing Enjoyment and Monetization

💡 Strategies for Improvement:

Ensure players feel rewarded for both engagement and skill.

Adjust difficulty and rewards to maintain a satisfying player experience.

Understand the game economy and player investment to optimize monetization.

🎯 Case Study Example:

Discussed a high-intensity rhythm game similar to Beatstar.

Suggested adding progression rewards to enhance player engagement and motivation to spend.

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Importance of Testing and Iteration

🔄 Continuous Improvement:

Emphasized the need to test hypotheses and iterate based on data.

Recognized that not all ideas will lead to significant impact, highlighting the importance of agility.

⚖️ Managing Risks in Testing:

Be cautious when testing changes that might disrupt ingrained player behaviors.

Evaluate the potential risks versus the value of the insights gained.

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Tips for Improving Player Retention

🔑 Maria's Advice:

Know Your Strategy: Have a clear and defined anchor for your product.

Stick to Your Goals: Let your strategy guide your experiments and iterations.

Avoid Being Scatterbrained: Without a focused strategy, efforts can become disjointed and less effective.

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Conclusion

🌟 Final Thoughts:

Highlighted the multifaceted role of product managers in gaming.

Stressed the importance of aligning team efforts with strategic objectives.

Encouraged continuous learning and adaptation in product management.

📞 Connecting with Maria:

LinkedIn: Reach out to Maria for discussions on product management.

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