Escaping the Build Trap: How Effective Product Management Creates Real Value

Simply put, this book gets to the heart of Product Management today. Melissa tackles this head on. She does so succinctly and effortlessly. First, Melissa sets the table with one of the most common problems facing folks in corporate America today: The "Build Trap" (output over outcomes). This is something the broader corporate world faces, not just firms operating in the of digital space. From there she moves to covering Product Management as a leading role in firms. She covers the bad, the great, and offers some thoughts on career paths. What I specifically appreciated was highlighting the fact that a great product manager does not have to have a large staff or even a staff at all. A great Product Manager influences, questions, experiments, and even questions the analysis of results. Melissa gives a nice overview of how one connects Product Vision through to execution and how Product Management helps lead this. In many organizations, we find PMOs or tech leaders dividing up these into "phases" or assigning them to silos. Melissa dispenses with that and leaves the ownership where it belongs: a Product Management organization that helps lead the teams in the right direction (that direction being the customer). She follows this up with some tips for how to approach Problem and Solutions exploration. Her thoughts and examples on using a Product Kata (adapted from Mike Rother's work) is helpful and can easily help focus a team on how to get to effective solutions more crisply. Finally, her overview of what a good Product Management Organization looks like cuts to the chase. It's a very solid overview of what "good" looks like. It's not a nirvana state to never be attained, but a realistic view into where companies can get to. As a practicing Agilist, I appreciated this book since it is not an encyclopedia of Product Management, but rather it is a great overview of it. No author can solve your problem with their pre-baked solution. However, Melissa does not try to do that in her book. She provides a framework and mindset that helps people to consider ways to solve their own problems. This book is one that I can readily hand out to help start conversations, spark discussions, and paint a picture of where we need to go. Also it will help to align my fellow coaches, tech leaders, and product leaders AWAY from the Build Trap and towards real value delivery.

This is one of the best Product books I have read. It helps you understand the entire process. I've been in Product for 10+ years of my 25 year career and consistently found validation with Melissa's book. Many times I've had to defend Product as a function and push to get a seat at the table so Executives can understand and support the best practices Melissa lays out in here book. Many CEOs come from Sales, Engineering, Operations and other background and this book helps provide a framework so they can support the Product team be successful and lead to growth for the company. Many software teams are too feature focused with too little input from actual customers. Without understanding the motivations of the customer in their environment, what they value and what problems you can help solve for them, your Product team is throwing darts at a dart board. Melissa's story telling with the fictional company helps provide insight into what it can really be like when a company gets stuck in the "Build Trap". It's also helps you see that you are stuck and how you can get out of it...and it seems doable! Thanks Melissa for sharing your experiences and expertise through this book. I look forward to your next one!

Team leaders, product managers or anyone looking to adopt more product and customer centric ways of work should read this book. It provides a more practical and actionable guide toward product development in an agile context than other text’s I have read. The insight in this book is comprehensive talking about both the processes and practices as well as role descriptions which are most helpful. The Build Trap the author refers to describes situations where companies become stuck measuring their success by outputs rather than outcomes. This view is important, particularly in software development where the focus has been on shipping things, more than the results created by those things. The book draws on the author’s experience working with mid sized tech companies. Much of that advice goes something like this, company A had a problem, I came in, the problem was X, we solved it. That simplistic form of case study is the reason this is not a five star book. We do not get a chance to see or experience the struggles of others — struggles we will face adopting the advice in this book. The book has the frameworks, approaches and structure to help one institutionalize these practices. It is also short and focused, not a text book. Recommended for anyone looking to move toward more product, customer and outcome centric work.

Absolutely perfect! Sharing all these case studies, the author is giving you solid examples of what to do and what to avoid. Excellently written, extensive, detailed & perfect to boost your product management career. I now know that a lot of product people have the same problems like me, and I can solve them! Thank you Melissa!

One of the best PM books I've read. Fantastic, thorough and the fictional company laid out in the book was a perfect scenario example of what a lot of companies experience when not aligned from top to bottom. Thank you for writing this eye opening gem of a book.

I first encountered Melissa Perri when I joined a workshop on mobile UX at Agile 2015 that she was co-facilitating. I didn’t realize how little I knew about UX design until that workshop! Not long afterwards, I first heard her give a keynote on the Build Trap. Maybe other people were talking about focusing on outcomes rather than outputs, but I first heard it from Melissa. All of that prodded me to approach the designers on my own software delivery team and learn more by working with them. I changed my approach to testing. I started thinking about “How is this valuable to the customer” rather than “OK, the product owner wants this feature, how will I test it”. This book is about creating an effective product management organization. However, it is valuable to every team member, not only the product manager. Each of us should be thinking about what problems customers want to solve and how we can deliver chunks of that value frequently and sustainably. As a tester, I feel I have a lot to learn from the “great project manager” that Melissa describes in this book - able to collaborate with business stakeholders, technical team members, and designers. The kinds of questions that great product managers ask, as described here, inspire me to ask better questions from a testing perspective. Techniques like the Product Kata are practical ways for teams to build a vision through continual learning and involving everyone in the organization. When we’re heads down in the trenches developing software, it’s easy to lose track of what’s valuable to the business and customers. The real-life examples here, with hypotheses supported by ways to measure progress, let readers see how we can apply these on our own teams. The techniques for solution exploration are such effective ways to guide software development with business-facing tests and experiments. I’m lucky to have seen experiments like this succeed “in the wild”. No matter what your role on a team, particularly an agile team, the insights in this book will help you do a better job of getting value to your customer frequently.

Great framework for thinking through how to escape the build trap, offered at the right depth as an introduction, for Product Leaders at all levels.

Melissa Perri’s "Escaping the Build Trap" is a must-read for anyone involved in product management, from aspiring product managers to seasoned professionals. The book addresses a common issue in the industry—companies focusing too much on building features instead of solving real customer problems. Perri explains that the “build trap” is a state where organizations become obsessed with delivering more and more features, thinking this will drive success. Instead, she advocates for a shift toward creating value, which requires strategic product management and a deep understanding of customer needs. Through clear explanations, real-world examples, and practical frameworks, Perri guides readers on how to move from a feature factory mindset to one that focuses on outcomes. One of the key takeaways is the importance of defining a clear product vision and empowering product teams to operate with autonomy. Perri also emphasizes the need for continuous discovery to ensure that the team is always aligned with user problems and the business strategy. The book is accessible yet comprehensive, offering actionable insights that can be applied in various organizational contexts. Overall, "Escaping the Build Trap" is an essential guide for those looking to create meaningful products and drive real business impact, rather than simply adding to an endless backlog of features.

"Escaping the Build Trap: How Effective Product Management Creates Real Value" è un libro che offre una prospettiva preziosa sul ruolo del product manager e sulla creazione di valore reale per i clienti. Scritto da Melissa Perri, questo libro fornisce una guida chiara su come adottare pratiche orientate al cliente e focalizzate sugli obiettivi anziché sugli output. Nell'attuale mercato competitivo, le organizzazioni devono adottare una cultura incentrata sul cliente, che metta l'accento sugli esiti piuttosto che sugli output. Le aziende che vivono e muoiono in base agli output spesso cadono nella "trappola della costruzione", producendo funzionalità per rispettare una pianificazione temporale piuttosto che soddisfare le esigenze del cliente. In questo libro, Melissa Perri spiega come creare le basi per una gestione del prodotto eccellente possa aiutare le aziende a risolvere i veri problemi dei clienti e raggiungere gli obiettivi aziendali. Attraverso una comprensione approfondita di come comunicare e collaborare all'interno della struttura aziendale, è possibile creare una cultura del prodotto che beneficia sia l'azienda che il cliente. Il libro presenta principi di product management che possono essere applicati a qualsiasi organizzazione, grande o piccola. Diviso in cinque parti, il libro esplora: Perché le organizzazioni si concentrano sulla produzione di funzionalità anziché sulla valorizzazione di tali funzionalità Come creare un'organizzazione di prodotto scalabile Come la strategia del prodotto collega la visione aziendale e gli obiettivi economici alle attività del prodotto Come identificare e perseguire le opportunità giuste per generare valore attraverso un framework produttivo iterativo Come costruire una cultura incentrata su risultati di successo anziché sugli output Ho trovato "Escaping the Build Trap" un libro estremamente informativo e di grande valore. L'autrice fornisce una visione chiara dei problemi comuni che le aziende affrontano nel processo di sviluppo del prodotto e offre soluzioni pratiche per superare le sfide. Le storie e gli esempi presentati nel libro rendono facile comprendere l'importanza di una gestione del prodotto orientata al valore. Consiglio vivamente questo libro a tutti i product manager, ma anche a chiunque sia coinvolto nel processo di sviluppo del prodotto. Le lezioni apprese possono essere applicate a qualsiasi contesto e l'approccio proposto da Melissa Perri aiuta a creare una cultura aziendale focalizzata su risultati di successo. Per questi motivi, assegno a "Escaping the Build Trap" 5 stelle su 5. È un libro che merita di essere letto e applicato per creare valore reale attraverso un'efficace product management.

O livro aborda várias etapas do papel de uma pessoa de produto e ajuda a pensar em processos que podem auxiliar na atribuição de valor do trabalho de uma pessoa product manager. Ele também explica, de forma clara o que é a armadilha e como sair dela, com exemplos muito bons. Enfim, eu recomendo a leitura!

This is honestly one of the best product management books I have read. In a clear and concise style, Melissa explains what is product management, how it fits within an organisation and what tit menas to be a PM from junior to very senior levels. I particularly like the holistic approach of the bok, it presents product management as an integral aprt of the organisation and it is not just a collection of methodologies and tips. I reccomend product people to read it and to try to convince your C-levels to read it too!

This book is a must-have for any Product Manager, wherever you are in your career. I would call it a Product Management fluency handbook. At the core of the book, it highlights the most important characteristics of a good Product Manager and how organizations should aspire to become more outcome-based and product-led, as opposed to just feature factories. It also covers various issues around agile frameworks, product management talent pipelines, and potential careers paths. The Product Kata is a standout for me, it is a fresh application of the Toyota improvement Kata for Product Management. I will never forget the phrase “Peanut Buttering” and how one should always try to avoid it, no matter the size of the organization.

Soy Professional Scrum Trainer y he leído muchísimos libros sobre Scrum y Agile, pero me faltaba perspectiva de los autores líderes de Producto como Marty Cagan, Jeff Gothelf o Melissa Perri. Leí este libro en 2019 y os los recomiendo. Os dará una buena base de como funcionan las organizaciones orientadas a producto (product-led), que en el fondo son lo mismo que las organizaciones Agile. Está estructurado en 5 partes: 1. Que es la "trampa de construir": como muchas organizaciones priorizan la ejecución de planes sobre el impacto de los productos en los clientes. 2. El rol del Product Manager: cual es la misión y contexto del Product Manager, o su carrera profesional. 3. Estrategia: como definir un marco estratégico para la toma de decisiones, y como este marco ayuda a linear a equipos y dirección. 4. El proceso de Product Management: basado en el enfoque de Product Kata, muestra como entender el problema y buscar soluciones, a través de un proceso de marcar una dirección y comprobar repetitivamente con métricas si se avanza hacia la solución de los problemas. 5- La organización "product-led": como funcionan las organizaciones más centradas en el usuario a nivel de incentivos, seguridad para experimentar y aprender, presupuestación y toma de decisiones pensando en el cliente. Como resumen, tanto si estáis trabajando como Product Managers digitales, Agile Coaches o Scrum Masters y roles relacionados, este libro os ayudará a mejorar en vuestros roles con una lectura amena y clara.