Add OctoAcme Product Manager process doc

docs/octoacme-product-manager-process.md

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+# OctoAcme — Product Manager Process Guide
+
+## Purpose
+Define the structured approach for Product Managers at OctoAcme to drive customer value, manage product backlogs, and measure success throughout the product development lifecycle.
+
+## Key Responsibilities
+
+### Strategic Planning
+- Define problem statements and measurable success metrics
+- Own the product vision and communicate it effectively to stakeholders
+- Prioritize the roadmap and backlog based on customer value and business impact
+- Collaborate with stakeholders and engineering teams on trade-offs
+
+### Product Discovery & Validation
+- Conduct user research to validate assumptions and gather insights
+- Define acceptance criteria and feature specifications
+- Validate solutions through data analysis and user feedback
+- Ensure product-market fit and usability standards
+
+### Cross-functional Collaboration
+- Weekly alignment with Project Managers and engineering leads
+- Partner with design, engineering, and QA teams on feature delivery
+- Coordinate with sales, marketing, and support teams for go-to-market activities
+- Facilitate stakeholder communication and manage expectations
+
+## Planning & Backlog Management
+
+### Roadmap Planning
+- Create and maintain product roadmaps aligned with OctoAcme's customer-first principle
+- Break down features into deliverable increments following iterative delivery approach
+- Balance short-term wins with long-term strategic objectives
+- Communicate timeline dependencies and resource requirements
+
+### Backlog Prioritization
+- Use data-informed decisions to prioritize backlog items
+- Apply frameworks such as value vs. effort analysis
+- Maintain clear ownership of prioritization decisions
+- Regularly review and adjust priorities based on new insights
+
+### Backlog Item Template
+- Title:
+- Problem statement:
+- User story / Acceptance criteria:
+- Success metrics:
+- Priority (High/Medium/Low):
+- Dependencies:
+- Effort estimate (collaboration with engineering):
+
+### Sprint Planning Support
+- Participate in sprint planning to clarify requirements
+- Ensure acceptance criteria are clear and testable
+- Support Definition of Done alignment
+- Address questions and provide context during planning
+
+## Stakeholder Communication
+
+### Regular Communication Cadence
+- Weekly alignment meetings with Project Managers and engineering leads
+- Bi-weekly stakeholder updates on product progress and metrics
+- Monthly roadmap reviews and strategic planning sessions
+- Quarterly business reviews with leadership
+
+### Communication Templates
+
+**Weekly Status Update:**
+- Key accomplishments:
+- Upcoming priorities:
+- Blockers or decisions needed:
+- Metrics update:
+- Stakeholder feedback summary:
+
+**Roadmap Update:**
+- Strategic objectives:
+- Planned releases and timelines:
+- Feature priorities and rationale:
+- Dependencies and risks:
+- Success metrics and targets:
+
+### Stakeholder Management
+- Maintain stakeholder map with communication preferences
+- Provide regular updates using a single source of truth
+- Escalate issues following OctoAcme's escalation paths
+- Facilitate cross-team alignment and decision-making
+
+## Metrics & Success Measurement
+
+### Key Performance Indicators
+- Customer satisfaction and Net Promoter Score (NPS)
+- Feature adoption rates and usage metrics
+- User engagement and retention metrics
+- Business impact metrics (revenue, conversion rates, etc.)
+- Product quality metrics (bug rates, performance)
+
+### Data Collection & Analysis
+- Define measurement strategy for each feature or initiative
+- Set up tracking and analytics before feature launch
+- Create dashboards for key signals and metrics
+- Conduct regular data review sessions with stakeholders
+
+### Success Criteria Definition
+- Establish clear, measurable success criteria for each initiative
+- Use SMART goals framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound)
+- Document success metrics in Project One-pagers
+- Track progress against defined metrics and communicate results
+
+### Learning & Iteration
+- Conduct post-launch reviews to measure against success criteria
+- Gather user feedback and identify areas for improvement
+- Apply learnings to future planning and prioritization
+- Document insights and best practices for team knowledge sharing
+
+## Best Practices
+
+### Customer-First Approach
+- Always prioritize customer value and usability in decision-making
+- Regularly engage with customers through research, interviews, and feedback channels
+- Use customer insights to validate product decisions
+- Advocate for user experience in all product discussions
+
+### Data-Informed Decision Making
+- Base prioritization decisions on quantitative and qualitative data
+- Establish hypothesis-driven development approach
+- Measure impact and iterate based on evidence
+- Maintain healthy skepticism and validate assumptions
+
+### Collaborative Leadership
+- Foster psychological safety within the product team
+- Encourage feedback and open communication
+- Support team learning and continuous improvement
+- Practice transparent communication about priorities and trade-offs
+
+### Documentation & Knowledge Sharing
+- Maintain clear and up-to-date product documentation
+- Document decision rationale and context for future reference
+- Share learnings and insights with the broader product team
+- Contribute to OctoAcme's product knowledge base
+
+### Risk Management
+- Identify and communicate product risks early
+- Develop mitigation strategies for high-impact risks
+- Coordinate with Project Managers on dependency management
+- Escalate blocking issues following defined escalation paths
+
+## Integration with OctoAcme Processes
+
+### Project Lifecycle Alignment
+- **Initiation**: Contribute to Project One-pager with problem statements and success metrics
+- **Planning**: Lead backlog prioritization and acceptance criteria definition
+- **Execution**: Provide ongoing clarification and accept completed features
+- **Release**: Validate release readiness and support go-to-market activities
+- **Retrospective**: Participate in retrospectives and contribute to continuous improvement
+
+### Artifact Ownership
+- Product Vision and Strategy documents
+- Product Roadmap and Release Plans
+- Prioritized Product Backlog
+- Feature specifications and acceptance criteria
+- Success metrics and KPI dashboards
+- User research findings and insights
+
+### Cross-Role Collaboration
+- Partner with Project Managers on delivery coordination and risk management
+- Collaborate with Developers on technical feasibility and implementation approach
+- Work with QA/Testing teams on acceptance criteria validation
+- Coordinate with stakeholders on requirements gathering and feedback
+
+---
+
+This process guide should be used in conjunction with other OctoAcme documentation including the Project Management Overview, Roles and Personas, and specific process guides for planning, execution, and retrospectives.