Product Manager Skills Assessment Checklist

To assess an experienced Product Manager, one looks at a mix of leading indicators - past experience, launches, live products, who they worked alongside with, team sizes, references etc.

Here's a checklist of some non-negotiables we use:

1. Actionable Communication
When asked to describe a user experience, what level of detail do they include?

2. Nose for Design
How well do they articulate why a certain UI/UX is better than another?

3. Ownership
Are they order takers or do they run with the ball? When given a vague problem, can they expand, organize & scope it?

4. EQ & Openness to Feedback
When challenged with opposing evidence, how do they react?

5. Data Etiquette
Do they seek data to back up their view point? How do they distill it & remove bias?

6. Empathy
If I role play as the customer, how curious are they about my consumer behavior? The questions they ask reveal that.

7. Lens adjustment
Can they talk about high-level metrics as comfortably as getting into the weeds of a user flow?

8. Prioritization
Do they adopt a structured approach to favor one work item over another? What missing data do they yearn for to make an informed decision? Or do they decide purely based on gut?