The hottest Product Management Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Business Topics

Leverage Points for solving complex problems

Turnaround • 277 implied HN points • 01 Aug 22
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Complex problems require moving away from linear thinking and embracing complexity thinking that involves understanding interconnections and dependencies.
  2. Leverage points in a system are areas where small changes can cause significant overall impact. These include adjusting parameters, dealing with stock buffers, considering system structures, managing feedback loops, controlling information flows, setting incentives and rules, enabling self-organization, and aligning with system goals and paradigms.
  3. Differentiating between complicated and complex systems is crucial in problem-solving. In complex interconnected systems, problem statements often fall into categories such as coupled, causal, or standalone.

The Symphony of Strategic Roadmapping: A Personal Perspective on Product Prioritization

Product Power by Samet Ozkale • 78 implied HN points • 21 Dec 23
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Product roadmapping is like conducting a symphony with prioritization setting the rhythm.
  2. Key elements of a product roadmap include vision, strategy, roadmap, prioritization, and backlog.
  3. Balancing stakeholder needs in roadmapping, aligning short-term goals with long-term vision, and agile adaptation are crucial for successful product development.

Research -> Reality. AI Engineers.

potentialmind • 19 implied HN points • 18 May 24
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. The demand for AI Engineers is skyrocketing due to advancements in AI, making it a high-demand engineering job of the decade.
  2. To excel in AI Engineering, practical knowledge and hands-on experience are prioritized over traditional academic qualifications like PhDs or specific courses like PyTorch.
  3. Modern applied AI is changing the landscape, making it easier for software engineers and product managers to leverage large language models and AI frameworks without extensive data collection.
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New Generation Product Leader Model

Product Power by Samet Ozkale • 98 implied HN points • 16 Feb 23
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Product leaders should focus on data-driven and customer-centric approach in product development.
  2. Understanding the user through research and user feedback is crucial for making informed decisions and solving real problems.
  3. Cross-functional collaboration and transparent accountability are essential for fostering innovation and delivering results in product management.

Notes on Product management theater | Marty Cagan (Lenny's Podcast)

The Beautiful Mess • 330 implied HN points • 17 Mar 24
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Common principles and practices among top product companies exist but may not fully capture the uniqueness and nuances of each company's success.
  2. During challenging times like the pandemic, companies may overhire, lower hiring standards, and create unnecessary roles instead of addressing core issues.
  3. Companies globally should strive to evolve product development methods based on customer needs, regardless of their location, and individuals should take more control over their product management career.

5 Pricing Ideas to Drive Upgrades

Good Better Best • 4 implied HN points • 09 Jan 26
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Use billing cycles to filter for commitment when time-to-value is long — require quarterly or longer billing for products that need setup and hands-on support so customers stay long enough to get real value.
  2. Replace seat-based caps with usage metrics that map to customer value. Charge on things like ingestion, traces, or feature usage so teams can collaborate freely while you monetize real usage.
  3. Default to self-serve onboarding and sell human onboarding as a paid option, offer flexible add-ons that are bundled at higher tiers but purchasable on lower tiers, and when raising prices move the whole ladder with bigger increases at the entry level to drive upgrades.

Intentionally Building Your Product Stack

Nadia’s Substack • 19 implied HN points • 06 May 24
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. When setting up your technology stack, choose tools that best serve both your product and team.
  2. As AI becomes more prevalent in software development, product managers and founders need to adapt their product stacks.
  3. Regularly update and tailor your product stack based on your team's needs, growth, and the evolving technology landscape.

How to be the favorite engineer among your product manager and designer

High Growth Engineer • 465 implied HN points • 27 Aug 23
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Collaboration with product managers and designers can be challenging due to differing priorities and project impacts.
  2. Engineers often face the dilemma of balancing what they can do, what the PM wants, and what the PM thinks they can do.
  3. Maintaining a good relationship and meeting deadlines are key aspects of being a favored engineer among product managers and designers.

Choosing the right UX metrics - Part 2

UX Psychology • 158 implied HN points • 03 Oct 22
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Identifying clear goals is crucial in choosing the right UX metrics, involving team and stakeholders can help define meaningful and actionable metrics.
  2. Mapping goals to signals helps track progress towards goals; gathering user feedback and reviews can be essential signals to measure UX success.
  3. Refining signals into specific metrics is the final step, where data scientists can assist in ensuring metrics are measured accurately; focus on key metrics and avoid adding unnecessary data.

🎉 Happy New Year! Your Top Articles of 2025 + A Big Thank You

The Product Channel By Sid Saladi • 6 implied HN points • 01 Jan 26
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. The community grew to over 10,000 subscribers and added paid subscriptions, showing strong reader support.
  2. A large library of practical AI and product management resources was published, including a 10-part Ultimate AI Guide and 101 guides for Perplexity, Claude, and ChatGPT to help PMs use AI effectively.
  3. New products and hands-on experiments were launched—GetPrompts and ProductGPT led the way, with Vibe Coding deep dives and AI browser workflow testing making real-world AI tools easier to adopt.

Why sprints are taking the joy out of building software

Leading Developers • 147 implied HN points • 29 Oct 24
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Sprints can make software development feel rushed and stressful. Teams often end up prioritizing completing tasks over enjoying the process of creating.
  2. Agile isn't just about following the sprint process; it's more about flexibility and responding to change. Focusing too much on the sprint leads to sticking to the rules instead of adapting to needs.
  3. Instead of traditional sprints, teams might benefit from cycles where they take their time, release when ready, and allow some room for creativity and quality work. This can create a more enjoyable work environment.

Naive metrics 📈 😶 ☁️

The SaaS Baton • 78 implied HN points • 15 Feb 23
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Prematurely focusing on a small number of metrics can create blind spots.
  2. Having too many metrics can lead to confusion and complexity in understanding their relationships.
  3. Establishing clear communication and alignment with co-founders/partners is crucial for startup success.

"Bloat is Beautiful" 🎨

The SaaS Baton • 78 implied HN points • 19 Jul 23
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Customers often desire flexibility in products, even if it means adding more complex features.
  2. In the fast-paced world of SaaS, finding multiple product-market fits is crucial for company growth and success.
  3. Collecting and addressing day-to-day sales process frictions can greatly optimize a sales organization.

Weekly Notes

Rethinking Software • 149 implied HN points • 23 Sep 24
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Story points are basically just hidden time estimates for tasks in software development. Understanding this can help with better planning and predicting when a project will be finished.
  2. Product management should be like a party host, making sure developers and customers communicate and enjoy their time together. This creates a better experience for everyone involved.
  3. There are ways for companies to run without traditional management, like the tomato processor Morning Star. This might be a model to explore for improving the software industry's workflow.

Procrustes - en francais!

Squirrel Squadron Substack • 3 implied HN points • 13 Jan 26
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Be ruthless about scope: focus your team on solving the real business problems in priority order and cut anything not necessary to be ready by the deadline.
  2. Make hard decisions early so the team can finish the core work on time rather than stretching to satisfy endless custom requests.
  3. Use a skilled account manager to manage client expectations, reframe requirements as requests, and deliver what users need instead of promising every requested feature.

How to 'test' your messaging to find Message-Market Fit

Startup Business Tips 🚀 • 25 implied HN points • 10 Aug 25
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Finding message-market fit (MMF) is crucial for SaaS businesses before they aim for product-market fit. You need to ensure your messaging connects with your ideal customers to avoid future marketing problems.
  2. To test your messaging effectively, create clear hypotheses and target relevant audiences on appropriate channels. Keep track of what messages are used and how they perform.
  3. Use structured methods to analyze results after testing. Look for significant improvements in lead conversion rates and take feedback from your sales team to refine your messaging.

AI Eats the World

The Product Channel By Sid Saladi • 6 implied HN points • 15 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. AI is the next major platform shift with huge, uncertain upside and massive infrastructure spending that reshapes who can compete.
  2. Models are converging into commodities, so the real value will come from products, distribution, and embedding AI into workflows that users actually trust.
  3. Treat AI as “infinite interns”: focus on tasks that tolerate errors, add verification or supervision, and pursue vertical unbundling where automation replaces tedious human work.

Shreyas Doshi on Product Thinking

Practical Product Discovery • 58 implied HN points • 23 Mar 23
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Product thinking involves understanding motivations and conceiving solutions based on effects you want to create.
  2. Avoid relying solely on project thinking, which focuses on plans and resources rather than user needs and creativity.
  3. To learn product thinking, prioritize real goals over deliverables, understand user needs, generate options, simulate outcomes, and study examples in the wild.

Why we archived a 5k+ Stars GitHub Open Source project

The Open Source Expert • 3 HN points • 21 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Sometimes, despite a lot of hard work and support, a project just doesn't succeed as hoped. It's important to recognize when to let go.
  2. Managing a community project and running a business can be very different. The needs of the community may not always align with business goals.
  3. Feeling overwhelmed by notifications and contributions can lead to burnout. It's key to balance community engagement with personal well-being.

Contra product management shibboleths

Logos • 19 implied HN points • 23 Feb 24
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Being too focused on data and customer research can limit creativity. It's important to use good judgment to come up with ideas and then use data to check if those ideas make sense.
  2. The rise of Chief Product Officers may not mean there's new work being done. Sometimes it's just a title change or a marketing strategy to make companies seem more innovative.
  3. Job titles do matter because they often come with recognition and better pay. People want their efforts acknowledged, and titles can help convey that value.

Introducing AI Loves Pasta, a cool AI generated content creation project

An Innovator's Sketchbook • 39 implied HN points • 13 May 23
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. AI Loves Pasta is a project exploring AI generated content creation in the area of cooking and gastronomy.
  2. The project aims to use ChatGPT for recipe creation, social media distribution, and potential monetization.
  3. The creator plans to publish an ebook in 20 weeks, build an Instagram presence, and track progress through regular updates.

Using The Fermi Problem Approach in Estimating New Product Impact

CAUSL Effect • 59 implied HN points • 08 Jun 23
💼 Business Product Management
  1. The Fermi problem approach helps estimate the impact of new product features by breaking it into smaller questions. This method allows for better understanding and clearer predictions.
  2. Using rough estimates based on educated guesses provides range estimates instead of precise answers, which can help account for uncertainty in projections.
  3. Continuous refinement of estimates with new data allows for adjustments, creating more credible and strategic insights for product management decisions.

You Should Learn How to Code

Jake [Building in NYC] • 19 implied HN points • 01 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Learning to code is easier than ever with powerful tools and a supportive community. Many resources and frameworks are available to help beginners quickly set up projects.
  2. Becoming a product engineer lets you create and deploy software rapidly, using existing APIs and tools to add functionality. You can build applications that connect to various services without starting from scratch.
  3. Software engineering offers good salaries and a growing job market. There are many opportunities for those who are willing to work, both in traditional roles and through self-employment options.

Maximizing Product Management Efficiency with ChatGPT and Generative AI

An Innovator's Sketchbook • 19 implied HN points • 28 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Leverage AI to boost personal productivity in product management through planning, execution, and user feedback analysis.
  2. Use large language models (LLMs) in product strategy for idea generation, evaluation, and decision-making.
  3. Optimize day-to-day efficiency by using AI to break down goals into manageable tasks and plan daily schedules.

How to optimize your free trial

Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged • 236 implied HN points • 10 May 23
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Collaborate with experts to conduct a thorough audit of your product-led growth strategy.
  2. Implement best practices at each stage of the free trial experience such as creating a compelling sign-up page and a goal-oriented onboarding checklist.
  3. Utilize personalized templates, value-add empty states, and contextual guidance to enhance user experience and increase conversion rates.

Introducing CodeYam: The Software Simulator

CodeYam’s Substack • 5 HN points • 04 Jun 24
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. CodeYam is a software simulator that automatically isolates every feature of your software and creates simulated data to help visualize how code changes will impact the product and users.
  2. The simulator generates interactive demos that allow developers to test code changes effectively, share progress with stakeholders, and help new team members understand the application and code faster.
  3. As AI becomes more involved in coding, the human team members will need to define, validate, and improve the product created by AI, making high-quality tools like CodeYam essential for effective communication and understanding of the software being built.

A masterclass in product sunsetting is happening in real time

Mehdeeka • 4 implied HN points • 18 Nov 25
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Linktree is buying Fingertip and will shut it down, asking users to switch to Linktree. This shows how a product can be taken off the market and what happens to its customers.
  2. Sunsetting a product, or removing it from the market, can be really tough for both businesses and customers. It's important to communicate clearly what users can expect during this process.
  3. When a product is sunsetting, companies should help customers find alternatives and make the transition easier. This might include providing support and clear information about what will happen next.

Breach simulation is a complicated market

Frankly Speaking • 50 implied HN points • 01 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. The breach simulation market is confusing because companies market their products in different ways. It's hard to understand exactly what these tools are supposed to solve for security teams.
  2. Turning security services into products is challenging. Many customers prefer high-quality services rather than automated tools because they believe they catch more sophisticated attacks.
  3. For these simulation tools to succeed, they need to show clear benefits to businesses, like saving money or preventing incidents. Right now, many organizations view them as nice-to-have rather than essential.

Papercuts: The little fixes that made a big difference at GitHub

Kathy PM • 28 implied HN points • 14 Mar 25
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Fixing small annoyances in a product can really boost user satisfaction. These little updates can make using the product feel much smoother and more enjoyable.
  2. Keeping a steady flow of updates builds excitement among users. When they see continuous improvements, it motivates them to share more feedback and helps create a positive cycle.
  3. It's important to communicate the changes you're making. Sharing updates on what has been fixed shows users that their concerns are being heard and addressed.