Trevor Rotzien is instructor and product manager at AIPMM.
He will be speaking at the Product Management Festival on the topic of “Advanced Product Management: From Idea to Launch, The Inbound Skills – Preparing You to be a Certified Product Manager and “9 Things Exceptional Product Team Managers Do Differently”
How did you become a product manager?
As my career gradually pivoted from a technical orientation to a business orientation, I became dedicated to better asking and answering “what?”, “why?”, “how?”, “for whom?” and “when?” The pursuit of meaningful answers to these questions and desiring better customer outcomes has moved me naturally into product management.
Which role did you have before you became a product manager?
I went from software engineer to technical architect to business process consultant to product manager.
Where do you see improvements for the area of product?
Our profession is inhibited by inconsistent adoption of standard definitions and best practices. We’re caught in an unhelpful feedback loop of uneven expectations from senior management teams and our inability to consistently communicate and deliver value, in spite of the emergence of a Product Management Body of Knowledge (ProdBOK). I hope to see the profession more generally adopt and contribute to the ProdBOK which can guide the professional development of product managers and provide a basis to uniformly measure their readiness.
What would simplify your job?
What would simplify my job as a product manager is a software tool-set that actually reflects and supports how product managers work in software companies today. There are some hopeful trends, but most tools cost too much effort relative to the effort they save and the insight they provide.
What can our attendees expect from your presentation?
My presentation will offer useful advice, hopefully new perspectives and a little humor as well. We need to enjoy what we do, no?
What is the best advice you’ve received in terms of your work / personal life so far?
The best advice I’ve received in terms of work: Only what is delivered has value; don’t expect recognize for effort alone.
The best advice I’ve received in terms of personal life: What is possible is not only more than what you think is probable, it’s more than you can imagine.
Trevor Rotzien
AIPMM
As a product manager, my overriding goal is to deliver products that compete in the marketplace, delight customers, and succeed longterm. I came to product management from a technical background in software engineering. As my career progressed, I became dedicated to getting better at asking and answering “what?”, “why?”, “how?”, “for whom?” and “when?” This pursuit has driven me through most technology and business roles in the Product Lifecycle.
I’ve also spent significant time in consulting and professional services. The benefit of this wide variety of experience is understanding, firsthand, the responsibilities and perspectives of those with which I work, partner, and serve. I am an adept translator, ambassador, and leader‐by‐persuasion across diverse stakeholder groups. I add the most value to initiatives that are complex, breaking new ground, growing at a challenging pace, or all of the above.
I am a CPM (Certified Product Manager) and a CPMM (Certified Product Marketing Manager).
Specialties: Business Process Management (BPM), Business‐to‐Business (B2B), Businessto‐Consumer (B2C), Community Management, Data Management, Document Management, GIS, Innovation, Marketing, Product Development, Product Management, Product Planning, Product Strategy, Professional Services, Requirements Management, Social Media, Social
Networks, Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), Software‐as‐a‐Service (SaaS), Team Building, User Centered Design (UCD), User Experience (UX)