Max Antonov - Product Management & Leadership

Max Antonov
I'm a father of three from Sydney, a Product Director and a Product Coach. I write about product management and run the Product Manager community.

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Product Management

  1. Aug 16, 2024

    Lead with Problems, Not Solutions

    A playbook for product managers and tech leads who want faster innovation and deeper team buy-in. Protecting Discovery: A Playbook for Product Managers Audience: Early-career and seasoned Product Man...
  2. Jun 27, 2024

    TL;DR

    Role clarity is oxygen. Let PMs own direction and PDs own experience. Protect calendars, write before debating, adjust volume by phase and track one metric that matters. Ship faster, sleep better.

    1. Draw the Line Early

    Product Manager (PM)

    • Core focus: market and viability risk
    • Typical questions: “Will people pay for this?” “Does it move the North-Star metric?”
    • Key output: one-pager covering purpose, success metrics and trade-offs

    Product Designer (PD)

    • Core focus: usability and desirability risk
    • Typical questions: “Can customers complete the task?” “Where do they stumble?”
    • Key output: clickable prototype showing flow, copy and edge states

    2. Guard the Calendars

    Red flag: PM trapped in Figma tweaking icons. Red flag: PD buried in cost–benefit spreadsheets. Fast filter:

    • If the task changes product vision, it belongs to the PM.
    • If the task changes product surface, it belongs to the PD.

    This discipline frees the roadmap and keeps creative energy high.

    3. Write First, Talk Second

    • PM posts a succinct one-pager to Slack outlining problem statement, success measures and known constraints.
    • PD replies with a Figma link showing interactive flow, micro-copy and empty-state behaviour.
    • Only then schedule a 30-minute debate. Decisions lock in, iteration time halves.

    4. Phase-Based Volume Control

    • Framing / Discovery – PM's voice dominates; market-sizing memo appears.
    • Ideation & Prototyping – PD leads; high-fidelity Figma frames drop.
    • Build & Polish – PD still loudest; design-system tokens freeze.
    • Launch & Iterate – PM turns the volume back up; KPI dashboard lights up.

    5. Share One Scorecard

    Choose a single, public metric - activation lift, task-success rate or first-week retention. Both crafts pull the same lever, killing silos and politics.

    6. Outcomes You Can Expect

    • 25–40 % faster time-to-decision (anecdotal data from five Aussie SaaS teams).
    • Higher designer morale: fewer context switches, deeper craft.
    • Sharper product bets: PMs stay market-obsessed, avoiding “feature museum” creep.

    Recommended Tools & Rituals

    • Figma for rapid prototypes (PD).
    • Miro/FigJam for story mapping (shared).
    • Amplitude or Mixpanel for the single metric (PM).
    • Weekly 15-minute “Line-Check” stand-up: confirm who owns which decisions this sprint.
  3. May 9, 2024

    Dedicated QA creates more problems than it solves.

    When a dev team owns quality, accountability stays in the right hands. Bugs are fewer, fixes are faster and processes tighten.

    Introducing dedicated QA shifts that balance.

    Developers grow complacent, relying on testers to catch mistakes. Tools diverge, creating inefficiencies. QA often duplicates what devs should already handle.

    Quality isn't a separate role. It's a shared responsibility embedded in every line of code.

    You don't need QA
  4. Mar 12, 2023

    Raising Problem Awareness for Niche Products

    The look on someone's face when they finally get it is hard to describe. You explain what Backpocket does, a payment option that makes group events easier, no more chasing, no more wondering who's pai...
  5. Feb 4, 2020

    Skills Over Tools, People Over Certificates

    Product management advice often focuses on mastering tools, but tools are just a means to an end. Spending too much time on them can distract from what matters most—understanding customers and solving...
  6. Apr 5, 2017

    The benefit of a small product team

    In an organisation, when a decision to create a new product is made, there is a high chance that one of the existing teams will be allocated to the task right away. Management expectation is always hi...
  7. Mar 14, 2017

    Creating Successful Products in a Corporation

    How do you go about improving your chances of creating a successful product in a corporation? Have you ever tried to create a new digital product in a large corporation? You have? Well then, you know...
  8. Mar 14, 2017

    Running Lean: Forget the business problem...for now

    Often in companies of different sizes, the product team is either forced, or voluntarily switches, to ‘solution mode’ hoping to solve a business challenge. A much better way forward is to fully unders...
  9. Mar 1, 2016

    The First 2 Weeks in a Product Role

    Starting a new job is often thrilling and overwhelming. Like a rollercoaster ride, I get pumped up and excited to get on but also my heart starts pounding and palms get sweaty. Do you get the same fe...
Fractional Product Leadership.