MUD Framework - How to create impact in your first 90 days as a product manager

🚀 Making Impact in your first 90 Days as a New Product Manager 🚀

🔍 Have you recently joined a new team or company as a Product Manager? Are you feeling lost or overwhelmed & are looking for opportunities to make an impact?

Navigating the first 90 days can be overwhelming - ramping up, meeting the team, building connections, & adapting to the culture. However, I discovered a powerful approach to help you make a significant impact from day one: the 3-step 'MUD' principle!

🔍 M: Meet Your Customer 🔍

There's no better time to connect with your customers than your 90 days at the job. Face-to-face interactions provide invaluable insights. If your customers are co-located, seize the opportunity to arrange in-person meetings. If thats not possible, setup virtual meetings

Speaking directly to customers helps you empathise with them & learn invaluable insights. It sheds light on their challenges, motivations for using your product, feedback on its strengths, & suggestions for improvements. If direct customer interaction is not possible, speaking with proxies, such as account managers, sales teams, or customer support can be just as effective

🗺️ U: User Journey 🗺️

To understand the customer experience, put yourself in their shoes & detail out each step in the journey

For example If you're part of the ride experience team, map the journey from booking the cab to the customer reaching their destination. If you’re on the payments team, map the journey for users adding a new credit card. Focus on the ”hero usecase"! For an intra-city cab, it's point-to-point pick-up & drop; for inter-city, it could be a one-way drop. Pay close attention to the user experience, the number of clicks required, potential bottlenecks etc.

📈 D: Data-Driven Insights 📈

Use data to drive deeper insights. Create funnel metrics to understand user behavior at each stage of the journey. Analyze drop in conversion.

For example, the user funnel for adding a credit card is:

a) Visit payments page

b) Initiate ”Add new credit card”

c) Enter credit card details

d) Save credit card

Digging into these metrics will give valuable insights into customer pain points & areas that need improvement. Is the drop in conversion because users struggle to find the "save" button, or because they have concerns about credit card security, or is it because they are trying to add unsupported card types? Armed with this knowledge, you can take the necessary steps to address the problem & enhance the user experience.

📊 Present Your Findings 📊

Summarize your findings & present them to your team. While some of the insights may already be known, sharing your discoveries is an excellent way to build credibility within the team. It also fosters collaboration, allowing you to gain a deeper understanding of others' perspectives on the product

In conclusion, the ‘MUD’ principle is an effective guide for product managers seeking to make a powerful impact in their first 90 days