我如何通过开源来发展我的产品经理职业
开源 产品经理
![](/data/attachment/album/202205/08/112446zy420r4zutdlu0ol.jpg)



> 
> 毫不夸张地说，在开源方面获得的经验，帮助我在产品管理领域创造了一条成功的职业道路。
> 
> 
> 


我是一个充满好奇心的人，我喜欢探索科技行业的许多领域，从视觉设计、编程到产品管理。我也被开放源码的理念所吸引。因此，我很高兴与大家分享我作为一个产品经理（PM），是如何利用开源来建立我的职业生涯的。我相信我的经验可以帮助其他对产品管理感兴趣的人。


### 什么是开源软件


简单地说，开源软件是开放源代码的软件，这意味着任何人都可以检查、修改、增强和分享它的源代码。我们发表过一篇详细、[全面的文章](/article-8624-1.html) 来帮助你了解什么是开源。


我最早知道开源是很久以前了，那时，我还是一名刚入行不久的视觉设计师。我很想知道开源是什么，也很想知道如何成为它的一部分。在这种好奇心的驱使下，我接触到了一些有经验的开源贡献者和倡导者。虽然我当时没有做出贡献，但是他们让我知道了什么是社区，这对我下定决心开始贡献有很大帮助。


### 如何上手产品管理


产品管理工作貌似是一件很难上手的事情，感觉必须要戴上拳击手套，经过一番搏斗，才能强行进入这一行。然而，我从其他产品经理那里听说，与编写/调试代码块，或使用像素点生成复杂的产品设计线框相比，产品管理工作其实是更好上手的。


虽然我们的经历和经验各不相同，但是有一点可以确定：成为产品经理的道路往往是漫长而不可预知的。随着就业竞争的不断加剧，获得一个初级产品经理的职位可能会很困难。应聘者通常被要求有 2 到 3 年的经验才能加入产品团队。这时你可能会问：“我应该如何获得这些经验呢？”


来看看下面这四个策略吧，它们或许能够将你的职业生涯转向到产品管理：


1. 在一个大型组织的内部转岗。这可能需要你的经理为你说一些好话，比如，说你很适合在公司内部转岗等。你必须有证据表明你掌握了该岗位的技能。这通常被认为是获得产品管理经验的最快
2. 担任大型组织的初级产品经理角色。通过它获得实习机会，或者加入一个需要初级产品经理的关副产品管理项目，这些都很常见。
3. 你也可以尝试通过加入创业公司来上手产品管理工作。
4. 你还可以启动一个自己的副业项目来上手产品管理工作。


缺乏实践经验，就很难成为产品经理。正如开源产品经理 [David Ryan](https://twitter.com/hellodavidryan) 所说，“有一条获得实际的产品管理经验的途径，它既未被人充分利用，也很少有人意识到并利用它们”。


这条途径是什么？


### 答案就是开源


一个开放源码项目要想成功，需要的不仅仅是代码。它还包括项目战略、用户研究，以及将战略与日常工作联系起来。这些都是产品经理应该积极参加的活动。但是，在产品管理这一行里，有多少职责会分配给一个新手产品经理呢？


[Susana Videira Lopes](https://twitter.com/susanavlopes) 在她的一篇文章中指出，“获得一个入门级的产品角色，本质就是以一种建立你的信心的方式，让你加入到至产品管理这一行，同时尽早为组织提供价值”。


一个入门级的产品经理该如何参与开源项目，并为它提供价值呢？


**答案很简单：多问问题**


这里有一些你可以问的问题：


* 正在探索的是什么问题/机会？
* 如何制定解决方案来解决这个问题？
* 用什么标准来确定项目是否成功？
* 这个解决方案的服务对象是谁？
* 他们是如何被告知这个解决方案的？
* 该解决方案如何与当前和更广泛的生态系统相适应？
* 项目的文件是在哪里维护的？
* 项目维护者是否了解<ruby> 无障碍 <rt>  accessibility </rt></ruby>要求？它们是否被满足？


既然你已经获得了产品经理的所需技能，为何不应用它们呢？结合所学，表达出你深思熟虑的问题，并邀请你的团队来评估吧！你的团队可以选择那些能引起开发者和社区共鸣的问题，并优先考虑其中最重要的。


这些问题可以帮助你建立用户角色、用户旅程图、精益画布，以及更多。这种经验对发展职业潜力有很大的帮助。


### 我在 OpenUnited 的经历


[OpenUnited](https://openunited.com) 是一个以独特方式连接数字人才和工作的平台。我们与贡献者合作，帮助他们投入到高质量的开源产品，从而证明自身的特定技能。一旦他们的工作得到验证，这些有才华的贡献者就有资格在公司里从事有偿工作。


OpenUnited 是一个开源平台，为各类贡献者（包括产品经理、开发人员、设计师、商业分析师和其他人）提供服务。它致力于帮助贡献者提高技能，并为他们提供长期的高质量付费工作来源。


Miro 公司的高级产品经理 Farbod Saraf 让我加入他与合作伙伴创建的一个平台。我加入了这个项目，并了解了如何对 OpenUnited 做出贡献。我还了解了其他可以帮助我在产品管理生涯中成长的项目，并做出了我的第一次贡献。这是一次很好的经历，因为我可以迅速地开始投入到产品的某些部分，以改善平台上其他用户的体验。在我为项目做贡献的时候，我的导师 Farbod 随时为我提供任何需要的帮助，使我的工作更加轻松。


你对开源项目所做的一切贡献，都会成为你成长为产品经理过程中的有力的公共记录。对于任何想通过开源上手产品管理的人，我都强烈推荐 OpenUnited 平台。


### 如何找到开源项目


许多人认为，贡献开源只适合于开发人员，因为他们觉得找到一个可以舒适地贡献的开源项目是很难的。


即使作为一个初出茅庐的产品经理，也有好几种方法可以找到适合贡献的开源项目。这里列出了一些：


* 在产品经理社区中发言，如 Mind The Product 和 Product School。
* 参加当地的聚会和开源会议，如非洲开源社区节，以此来与开源项目的创建者和维护者保持联系。
* 与在 GitLab 或 Mozilla 等大型开源公司工作的产品经理接触。他们可能会把你推荐到需要你的技能和贡献的开源项目中。
* 联系开源公司的开源倡导者和开发者关系团队，让他们推荐一些适合入门级产品经理贡献的开源项目。
* 寻找 AngelList 上的开源公司或 Product Hunt 上流行的开源产品。这些都是你可以找到适合贡献的开源产品的好地方。


### 下一步


[Ruth Ikegah](https://stars.github.com/profiles/ruth-ikegah/) 是我的一个重要灵感来源，她 [为开源新手写了一篇文章](https://ruthikegah.xyz/a-beginners-guide-to-open-source)。她的文章给出了一些提示，在你开始为开源做贡献时，可能需要考虑一下它们。


在加入和贡献项目、社区或组织之前，对它们做一些研究，并提出自己的问题。当你最终决定加入社区时，试着积极地介绍自己，并说明你可以在哪些方面提供帮助。


当然，开源不仅仅是你职业生涯的一个垫脚石。它本身就是一个平台，而且它需要优秀的产品经理。参与进来吧！一方面，你能为社区做出贡献；另一方面，它也能帮助你磨练自己的技能。




---


via: <https://opensource.com/article/22/4/product-management-open-source>


作者：[Shebuel Inyang](https://opensource.com/users/shebuel) 选题：[lkxed](https://github.com/lkxed) 译者：[lkxed](https://github.com/lkxed) 校对：[wxy](https://github.com/wxy)


本文由 [LCTT](https://github.com/LCTT/TranslateProject) 原创编译，[Linux中国](https://linux.cn/) 荣誉推出


OK
I'm a curious person, and I like to explore many fields in the technology industry, from visual design, programming, and product management. I am also drawn to open source ideas. So I'm excited to share with you how I, as a product manager (PM), have used open source to build my career. I believe my experiences can help others who are interested in product management.


## What is open source software?

In simple terms, open source software is software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, enhance, and share. [Opensource.com](http://Opensource.com) has documented a detailed and [comprehensive article](https://opensource.com/resources/what-open-source) to help you understand what open source is.

My discovery of open source started in the early phase of my career as a visual designer. I was curious to know what it meant and how to be a part of it and that led me to reach out to a few experienced open source contributors and advocates. Though I didn't contribute at the time, I acquired knowledge of the community which helped me when I made the decision to start contributing.

## How to break into product management

It might seem that breaking into product management is difficult, that you must put your boxing gloves on, come out fighting and force your way in. And yet, I've heard from other product managers that it was actually easier to break into compared to writing or debugging blocks of code, or pushing pixels to generate complex wireframes for product design.

Our journeys and approaches are different, so it's safe to say that the road to becoming a product manager can often be long and unpredictable. With the increasing level of competition in the job market, getting a role as an entry-level product manager can be difficult. Recruiters often require 2 to 3 years of experience to join a product team. You might ask, "How am I expected to get the experience?"

Here's a quick look at the four strategies for directing your career toward product management:

-
Internal transition at a large organization that might require your manager to advocate for you as a good fit to transition within the company. You must have proof that you have transferable skills. This is generally considered the quickest route to product management experience.

-
Junior PM roles at large organizations. It's common to go through an organization to get an internship, or to join an associate product management program that employs a junior PM.

-
You can also try to get into product management by joining a startup.

-
You can start a side project of your own to break into product management.


Without hands-on experience, it's difficult to become a product manager. As open source product manager [David Ryan](https://twitter.com/hellodavidryan) stated, "Few people are taking advantage of what is possibly the most under-utilized path to practical product management experience."

What is this path?

## Open source is the answer

An open source project needs more than just code to be successful. This ranges from a strategy for the project, user research, and linking the strategy to daily work. These are all activities that a product manager should be actively involved in. But how much of the product management discipline is the responsibility of a first-time product manager?

[Susana Videira Lopes](https://twitter.com/susanavlopes) stated in one of her articles that the "essence of getting an entry-level product role is to introduce you to the product management discipline in a way that builds up your confidence, while at the same time delivering value for the organization as early as possible."

How can an entry-level product manager get involved with an open source project, and deliver value?

**Simple answer: Ask Questions**

Here are some questions you can ask:

-
What problem or opportunity is being explored?

-
How is the solution being framed to tackle this problem?

-
What metrics are used to determine whether the project is successful?

-
Who are the people this solution serves?

-
How are they being informed about it?

-
How does the solution fit with both the immediate and wider ecosystem?

-
Where is the documentation being maintained on the project?

-
Do project maintainers understand accessibility requirements? Are they being met?


You've acquired skills as a product manager. Use them to help you express these thoughtful questions, and invite the team to consider them. The team can select the ones that resonate for the developers and the community, and prioritize what's most important.

These questions help you build user personas, a customer journey map, lean canvas, and more. This kind of experience goes a long way towards developing career potential.

## My experience at OpenUnited

[OpenUnited](https://openunited.com) is a platform that connects digital talent and work in a unique way. We work with contributors to help them prove specific skills by working on high quality open source products. Once their work is verified, these talented contributors are eligible to work for companies on paid tasks.

OpenUnited is an open source platform that onboards contributors of all kinds—product managers, developers, designers, business analysts, and others. It helps them improve their skills and provides them with a long term source of high-quality paying work.

Farbod Saraf, a senior product manager at Miro, onboarded me on a platform he created with a partner. I joined the project and learned about contributing to OpenUnited. I also learned about other projects that could help me grow in my product management career, and made my first contribution. It was a good experience because I got to start working quickly on bits of the product, to improve the experience of other users on the platform. My mentor Farbod made it easier by making himself available to provide any needed help while I contributed to the project.

Everything you contribute to an open source project becomes a powerful public record of your development as a product manager. I strongly recommend the OpenUnited platform to anyone who wants to break into product management with open source.

## How do you find open source projects?

Many people believe that contributing to open source is best left to developers because they find it difficult to search for and get open source projects they can comfortably contribute to.

As a first-time product manager, there are several ways to find open source projects to contribute to. Here's a list of some:

-
Speak up in product manager communities such as

[Mind The Product](https://www.mindtheproduct.com/)and[Product School](https://www.productschool.com/). -
Go to local meetups and open source conferences like

[Open Source Community Africa Festival](https://oscafrica.org/)to connect with open source project creators and maintainers. -
Engage with product managers working at larger open source companies such as GitLab or Mozilla. They may be able to refer you to open source projects where your skills and contribution could be beneficial.

-
Investigate open source advocates and DevRel teams at open source companies to get recommendations of open projects an entry-level product manager can contribute to.

-
Look to open source companies on AngelList or popular open source products on Product Hunt. These are great places to consider in your search for open products to contribute to.


## What next?

[Ruth Ikegah](https://stars.github.com/profiles/ruth-ikegah/), a great source of inspiration for me, wrote an [article for beginners in open source](https://ruthikegah.xyz/a-beginners-guide-to-open-source). In her article, she gave some tips to consider as you embark on contributing to open source.

Before joining and contributing, do some research on the project, community, or organization, and ask questions. When you finally decide to join the community, try to be active by introducing yourself and stating areas where you can help the project.

Of course, open source isn't just a stepping stone for your career. It's a platform in itself, and it needs great product managers. Get involved, contribute to the community, and help it help you hone your skills.

## Comments are closed.