Essential Tactics for Product Management in Gaming

Essential Tactics for Product Management in Gaming

Paul Chong Senior Product Manager, Zynga November 18, 2013

Agenda

• Introductions
• What is Product Management in Gaming?
• What do Gaming PMs actually do?
• PM Interview Tips
• Session Q&A

Introductions...

• Product Manager at Zynga
• Focused on Monetization and Growth
• Non-Technical Background - management consulting and finance

What about you?

• Your Name
• What you do
• One thing you hope to get out of this class

What is Product Management?

• “to discover a product that is valuable, usable and feasible” – Marty Cagan

User Experience

• Player Surveys
• Focus Groups
• In-Game Data
• Partner with Design and Community Teams on player insights

Tech

• Interact with engineering team
• Communicate feature roadmap
• Play test features
• Collaborate with Engineering Team on feature roadmap

Business

• Define key metrics
• Work with management to set quarterly targets
• Be accountable for results
• Consult with Marketing and Sales Teams on distribution

What Metrics do PMs Monitor?

• DAU (Daily Active Users)
• New Game Installs
• Player Retention
• Engagement
• Revenue (Gross vs Net)

Case Study: Monetization

• Monetization Dependencies:
• Players' Core Compulsion
• Game Genre
• Game Core Loop Activity:
• Create a Monetization Strategy

What Do PMs Actually Do?

1. PLAN

Product Plan and Roadmap is set by the PM

• “Picasso had a saying – ‘good artists copy, great artists steal’ – and we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas.” - Steve Jobs
• Product ideation and concept development is drawn from unmet user needs
• Product spec outlines how the product will function and look
• Business case forecasts expected outcomes of product

Case Study: Game Concepts

• Develop a Game Concept:
• Define Game Genre/Competitor Games
• Target Demographic
• Game Core Loop
• Monetization Model

2. BUILD

Product Development has increasingly tended towards Agile

• Agile espouses the development of products through iterative and incremental improvements
• PM responsible for defining minimum product requirements

Case Study: MVP

• Minimum Viable Product:
• Distributed to customers
• Validate Learning
• Min. Cost/Max. Speed Activity:
• Design Game MVP

3. TEST

Learning can be accelerated through testing and experimentation

• A/B tests draw statistically significant design decisions
• Key to a good A/B Test is in its design (unbiased flow groups, meaningful variants)

Case Study: A/B Testing

• Objective:
• Develop experiments to optimize a central feature in your game Activity:
• Game feature being tested
• Test Variants descriptions
• Metric used to determine winning variant

4. LAUNCH

Distribution is a crucial determinant of whether or not a product succeeds

• Product distribution is one of Peter Thiel’s three startup ‘Secrets’
• Distribution is all about surfacing: how do you get your product in front of your target audience?
• Good PMs are also competent growth hackers!

Case Study: Distribution

• Objective:
• Develop a distribution strategy for your game Define the Targeted Distribution Channels:
• App Rankings
• Organic/Paid Search
• Referrals/WoM
• Viral Channels
• Paid Acquisition

5. ANALYZE

PMs are responsible for closing the feedback loop after product launch

• Results delivered by product are quantified, compared to original business case
• Analysis presented in terms of a funnel [see next slide]
• Best lessons often drawn from under performing features

Funnel Idea

Case Study: Funnel Analysis

How to land a position as a Gaming PM

• Network (WoM referrals strongest way to land an interview)
• Play games and learn about developments in gaming industry

• State what you play in your resume - Studios love applicants who play their games
• Craft a coherent story connecting your previous experiences

• Be cognizant of what qualities Studio is looking for: analytical, creative, good product sense, and personable

How to land a position as a Gaming PM (cont.)

• Skills that are nice to have:
  • Experience writing queries in SQL
  • Cross-functional experience, especially working with developers
  • Knowledge of growth hacking
• Example Interview Questions:
  • Market Sizing (App Store)
  • Problem Solving (Dice)

Interview Questions: Example Answers

• Verbalize your thought process
• State assumptions
• Provide a recommendation (even if it’s way off!)
• List limitations of recommendation

Q&A

Candy Crush Deconstructed

• Easy Access - synced across mobile/web and offline/online
• Simple to understand (fast learning curve)
• Fully loaded virality
• Leverages classic game mechanics (map, leaderboard, competition etc.)