The assorted notes and observations of Janna Bastow. Canadian living in the UK. Everything product, and then some.

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Nailing the Painted Door Test: When and How to Fake it Before You Make It

Aug 5th, 2025 Product Janna Bastow 18 min read

I don’t have to tell you this… building a feature no one wants is one of the most frustrating, costly mistakes in Product Management. So how do you stop that…

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7 Product Strategy Examples

Jul 17th, 2025 Product Janna Bastow 31 min read

What does a world-class product strategy actually look like in practice – not just in theory? It stands to reason that winning Product Teams build and communicate strategies that drive…

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Fighting the Enshittification of Products: Why Good Products Go Bad and What to Do About It

Jul 3rd, 2025 Product Janna Bastow 15 min read

Most of us have felt the creeping dread when a product we once loved starts to suck. The features that drew us in get buried. Pop-ups appear out of nowhere.…

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AI Prototyping for Product Managers: How to Test a Hypothesis Fast

Jun 12th, 2025 Product Janna Bastow 27 min read

Testing product ideas used to mean lengthy specs, countless design iterations, and precious engineering time spent building something that might not even work. But not anymore. With AI prototyping, Product…

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6 Product Backlog Examples: Backlog Management Without the Chaos

Jun 5th, 2025 Product Janna Bastow 27 min read

Product backlog examples aren’t just pretty screenshots for Product Managers to drool over (though, let’s be honest, I’ve been there). They’re the difference between a team humming along with clarity…

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19 Acceptance Criteria Examples for Different Products, Formats and Scenarios 

Jun 3rd, 2025 Product Janna Bastow 41 min read

Want to ship features that actually work—and pass QA testing without blood, sweat, and tears? The secret lies in nailing your acceptance criteria. And the best way to hone your…

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Product Ideation: How to Keep Your Feature Ideas Flowing

May 29th, 2025 Product Janna Bastow 31 min read

We all want to be the Product Team that ships smart, useful, valuable features. But where do those ideas come from? And how do you avoid the trap of churning…

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15 Product Manager Interview Questions (And How to Answer Them)

May 8th, 2025 Product Janna Bastow 36 min read

Product Manager interview questions can be notoriously tricky; not because they’re designed to trip you up, but because they test how well you can think, communicate, and prioritize on the…

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Custom vs Pre-Built AI Models: What’s the Best Approach for Your AI Product?

Mar 26th, 2025 Product Janna Bastow 30 min read

AI is now the norm, fully integrated across industries and reshaping customer expectations. It’s no longer just a buzzword or something to ‘dabble in’ – it’s essential. Here’s a quick…

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Product Analysis: How to Assess a Product

Mar 11th, 2025 Product Janna Bastow 35 min read

Product analysis is a major part of Product Management. As a Product Manager, you need to know how to assess a product to evaluate what’s working and what’s not –…

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