I've been developing my Product Management self assessment tool for a number of years. It started off as a competency framework from an organisation I worked in. At the time it was very much framed for how to succeed as a Product Manager within that organisation. 

Over the years - I have adapted it to be more reflective of Product Management in general and used it across 100+ people to help grow them in their roles.

How it works:

In Product, we typically have 4 key areas to work on:

• Discovery

• Delivery

• Stakeholder Management and Engagement

• Vision and Strategy

The self assessment tool breaks down these 4 areas to a granular level and scores them across 4 levels.

Across each level, there is a set of competencies, skills or behaviours that indicate different levels of strength. 

The stronger you are at a certain area, the higher the skill level you will show as. 

I've adapted the Keppler score used in mental health practice as the basis of the scoring mechanism and to track your growth and self awareness over time.

How do I use it?

If you haven't already, download a copy above. You'll need a google account to access it as its based on Google Sheets.

Once you have it start scoring yourself from level 1 to level 4 by putting any content along with scoring tracks. Each level has 5 sub levels to it, for example at level 1 of quantitative analysis, the competencies are: 

- You use quant data to inform on decisions

- You can measure impact using available metrics

If I felt like I was doing this all the time, I'd score myself a 5 and then move on to level 2. If I'm not yet doing these things all the time, I'll score myself somewhere between 1 and 5. 

Once you've completed it across all areas and sub levels- make a note of your scores. 

You will have a very visual representation of your strengths and weaknesses and this will give you ideas on where to focus your growth on next.

Return to fill in the sheet blindly once every 3 months. Over time your scores will go both up and down. 

Why would my scores go Up AND Down?

As you grow and understand your strengths and weaknesses, you will see the scores in areas you have grown increase which will reflect your personal development.

Scores should also go down as you become more self reflective and realise that a strength you thought you had may not be as strong as you initially perceived.

This is positive - as Product People we need to be self reflective and we may also see that as we invest in one area - we may damage another and that may then need more investment.

You may also find that as you improve one skill you damage another and need to go back and invest in a previous strength. 

How do I use this document to learn and grow?

Once completed the sheet should clearly show you where your current strengths and weaknesses lie.

If you’re working with me as a mentor, you’ll also get a report on where your skillsets are at the moment.

There is no perfect way to grow as a Product Manager as we all have varied background and all work in different organisations. There isn’t a universal next best thing to work on - you’ll need to tailor your own growth and development to yourself.

To do this, look at the areas with the lowest score that are holding you back in your current organisation or Product and think about which would best suit you right now to grow on. Next time you fill this in, your hard work should reflect in your scores.

Want an extra challenge?

Get a mentor or colleague to fill this out for you to reflect where they think you are and compare it to where your own personal scores are. This will help you understand where people perceive you are and understand where others see your strengths and weaknesses.

Interested in a more personal mentoring relationship?

Either:

Read more about my style of mentorship