Getting Product Management Sh*t Done with ChatGPT

No, ChatGPT Isn’t a Threat to Product Management

Let’s dispense with this myth right away. If you’re a Product Manager and you’re worried that the new wave of “generative AI” tools is coming for your career, you can relax.

Yes, software programs like ChatGPT can analyze gazillions of data points and even produce some clever insights. But successful product management is still very much a human profession that requires empathy, lived experience, and a passion for innovation and problem-solving.

Can a Tesla drive itself? Yes, thanks to human innovation, and still with spotty safety outcomes. Can a Tesla design itself from scratch? Not yet. That’s still your job.

In fact, you can learn how to harness the power of ChatGPT and similar AI-enabled tools to streamline and enhance your product management work. craft.io CEO Elad Simon discusses some of these strategies in the webinar “Getting Product Management Sh*t Done with ChatGPT.”

 

For now, though, let’s review some simple tips for using ChatGPT in product management. 

3 Ways Product Managers Can Benefit from ChatGPT

 

1. Get help building user personas.

We asked ChatGPT to help us write a persona for a hypothetical software product, and the results were impressive. Here’s our exchange.

We’re creating a mobile app to help employees scan receipts for business expenses. Can you give me an idea of who my user persona is and what that person might need and want from such a product?

ChatGPT:
Sure, based on the product you described, here’s an example of a user persona that might be relevant:

Name: Alex

Age: 35

Location: San Francisco, CA

Occupation: Sales Representative

Goal: To easily track and submit business expenses to the company

Challenges: Time-consuming process of manually entering receipts, difficulty remembering what expenses have been submitted

Behavior: Travels frequently for work, has to keep track of multiple receipts, prefers to use mobile apps for productivity

Attitude: Values efficiency and accuracy, wants to reduce the time spent on expense reporting, seeks a user-friendly and reliable solution. 

Given this user persona, here are some features and benefits that could be important for Alex:  

• User-friendly interface: Alex may prefer an app that is easy to use and requires little training or support. 

• OCR Technology: The app should include OCR technology that makes scanning and uploading receipts easy and accurate. 

• Categorization and tags: Alex may find it helpful to categorize and tag expenses to make them easier to find and track. 

• Automatic Reporting: The app could automatically generate expense reports and send them to the company.

• Sync with other accounting software: Alex may use other accounting software, so the app should be able to sync with other tools like QuickBooks, Xero or other accounting tools.

• Cloud storage: The app should provide secure cloud storage to keep the receipts safe, trackable, and retrievable whenever needed.

Of course, this would represent only a first step in your work creating your app’s persona. You’d still need to do your own research, including speaking with (or surveying) people in your target user group, and then make sure your user persona reflects that real-world feedback.

But clearly, ChatGPT can help here by giving you a place to start, so you’re not staring at a blank screen. 

2. Find data to support your product strategy.

Again, we put this theory to the test by asking ChatGPT a data-related question.

craft.io:
Can you tell us how many businesses in Europe purchase cloud backup and disaster recovery (DR) solutions each year?

ChatGPT:
I’m sorry, but as an AI language model, I don’t have access to real-time or historical data on the exact number of businesses in Europe that purchase cloud backup and disaster recovery solutions each year.

However, according to some market research reports, the cloud backup and disaster recovery solutions market in Europe is expected to experience growth in the coming years. In 2020, the market was valued at around $2.7 billion and is projected to reach $4.4 billion by 2025, with a CAGR of 10.4% during the forecast period.

The adoption rate of cloud backup and disaster recovery solutions can vary greatly depending on factors such as the size of the business, industry, and region. Additionally, not all businesses may publicly disclose their purchase or use of such solutions, making it difficult to determine an exact number.

If you’re interested in finding more specific data on this topic, I recommend consulting market research reports, industry associations, or other authoritative sources that track such information.

And again, this would represent only a first step in your research. We chose this question in part because we know ChatGPT can’t give us the proprietary work of research firms such as Gartner, which is where you’ll have to go (and pay) for specific answers like this.

But the program did find somewhat-helpful data points indicating an overall growth trend in the type of B2B solution purchases we’re interested in.

If you’re a Product Manager responsible for cloud backup solutions, and you need to present evidence to earn stakeholders’ approval to invest in adding functionality to your existing products (or to build new ones), these stats could prove useful in a product roadmap meeting. 

3. Help identify gaps in your market.

For this one, we can’t overstate the importance of thinking of ChatGPT only as a brainstorming partner. No AI program can tell you how to build your next product or what functionality you should prioritize on your roadmap. That’s still your job as a Product Manager. 

But, yeah, ChatGPT can be a helpful partner here as well. We asked it to do some legwork to help us identify potential voids in a hypothetical market.

Our team is making a calendar application for professionals. Can you tell us the most common complaints customers have about other calendar apps?

ChatGPT:
Sure! Based on user feedback and reviews, here are some of the most common complaints that customers have about other calendar applications:

• Poor user experience: Many users find that some calendar apps are confusing to navigate or have cluttered interfaces, making it difficult to quickly find and schedule events. 

• Limited features: Some users complain that certain calendar apps lack important features or integrations, such as task lists, note-taking, and file attachments.

• Syncing issues: Users sometimes experience syncing issues between their calendar app and other devices or services, causing events or reminders to be missed.

• Notifications overload: Some calendar apps may overwhelm users with excessive notifications or reminders, making it difficult to prioritize or manage their schedule.

• Privacy and security concerns: Users may be concerned about the security and privacy of their data when using a calendar app, particularly if the app requires access to sensitive information like location data or email accounts.

• Inflexible settings: Users may find that certain calendar apps don’t offer enough customization or flexibility in terms of settings, such as the ability to change default event durations or time zones.

Once again, nothing mind-blowing or revelatory here. And you’d need to check this list against  other sources — first and foremost by talking directly with your customers or, if you’re still in the planning stages of a new product, interviewing representatives of your user persona. You never want to make a product decision solely based on something an AI bot spits out.

But as you can see, ChatGPT can be a useful, hardworking researcher and brainstorming partner for an intelligent Product Manager.

So our bottom-line message is this: Don’t think of AI as a threat to product management. Embrace it as a partner, and harness its skills to make your work more efficient.

For more insights on ChatGPT and product management, watch the webinar.