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

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Your Roadmap is a Prototype for Your Strategy

Sep 30th, 2025 Product Janna Bastow 17 min read

When I talk about Lean Roadmapping, I always come back to the principle that makes Lean so effective: build, measure, learn. Out of those three, the real magic is in…

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Product Metrics to Use Instead of Vanity Metrics

Sep 25th, 2025 Product Janna Bastow 16 min read

Product metrics are the compass of product management. They show how customers interact with your product, what value they get from it, and how those behaviors connect to business outcomes.…

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The Problem with the Perfect Roadmap

Sep 18th, 2025 Product Janna Bastow 12 min read

Perfect roadmaps fail because they waste time on polish, discourage change, and hide uncertainty instead of guiding strategy. In product management, perfection comes at a cost. I know because I…

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The Problem with the Perfect Roadmap

Sep 18th, 2025 Product Janna Bastow 12 min read

Perfect roadmaps fail because they waste time on polish, discourage change, and hide uncertainty instead of guiding strategy. In product management, perfection comes at a cost. I know because I…

The post The Problem with the Perfect Roadmap appeared first on ProdPad.

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Product Roadmap Examples

Sep 2nd, 2025 Product Janna Bastow 40 min read

If you’ve ever looked at a product roadmap and thought, “This looks more like a delivery checklist than a strategy”, you’re not alone. Too many roadmaps are still little more…

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Ethics in AI: The New Frontier for Product Managers

Aug 28th, 2025 Product Janna Bastow 20 min read

We’ve always said the job of a Product Manager is to sit at the intersection of what’s technically feasible, what’s desirable to users, and what’s viable for the business. That…

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The One Big Reason Your Team is Stuck

Aug 26th, 2025 Product Janna Bastow 12 min read

Product teams are asked to do the impossible. On paper, they’re responsible for making sure the business succeeds. They’re tasked with aligning strategy, figuring out what customers need, testing, learning,…

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Early-Stage Feedback: Fast, Scrappy Ways to Get Ahead

Aug 21st, 2025 Product Janna Bastow 15 min read

I love the scrappy stage of product building. At the very beginning, you don’t have the luxury of steady inbound early-stage feedback. You’re not swimming in NPS scores, review data,…

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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…

The post Nailing the Painted Door Test: When and How to Fake it Before You Make It appeared first on ProdPad.

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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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