Mangalam Nandakumar - Lean Product Management: Successful products from ambiguous business ideas

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Mangalam Nandakumar has over 17 years of experience in product management and software delivery. She is an entrepreneur and has founded two start-ups. She has worked at Citigroup, Ocwen Financial Solutions, ThoughtWorks Technologies, and RangDe.Org. Mangalam presents a vibrant perspective on product management from her diverse experience of working with start-ups, enterprises, and nonprofits, both in product companies and software consultancy organizations. She has a strong foundation in Agile and Lean methodologies. She has also coached teams on their Agile transformation journeys.

Mangalam started her career as a programmer and soon transitioned to business analysis and product management. She has consulted for businesses in various functional domains and has helped them articulate their product vision, strategy, and roadmap. She has led many software teams through successful product deliveries. Mangalam cofounded her start-up, AIDAIO in 2014, to enable businesses to enhance their customer engagement strategies. AIDAIO was shortlisted under the Top 10 Promising Start-Ups by CII in 2015. Moreover, AIDAIOs innovative platform to design, build, and launch white-labeled native iOS and Android apps for events and conference was a finalist in the Best Event Technology category at MICE Asia Pacific, 2015.

Mangalam has also spoken at various conferences on topics related to Agile and product management. She started her writing journey by blogging on topics related to product management, team processes, and diversity at workplaces. She is passionate about mentoring women and is a vocal advocate for diversity at workplaces. She was instrumental in founding organization-level initiatives to coach and guide women to speak at conferences. Mangalam is also an artist and paints in various mediums. She ran an art school and has conducted art workshops as well as exhibited and sold her artworks. She lives in Bengaluru, India and enjoys playing and watching movies with her son.

Writing this book has been a dream come true for me. It has been harder, but more enjoyable than I thought. It took a lot of encouragement, patience, and support from everyonefamily, friends, and colleagues to make this happen. This is such a special milestone for me, and I want to thank everyone who helped to make this book a reality.

First, to my dearest little boy, Siddharth. You compiled your first book when you were eight. Youre my inspiration and my superhero! Thanks for encouraging me to write, for giving me my space and reviewing all the quotes in the book. Thanks for all the hugs too. You keep me going.

Mom and Dad, thanks for always believing in me. I could never have made it this far without your unconditional support and love. You taught me to aim high and never settle for less.

Jaiku, Uma, Viku, and Shruti, thanks for always cheering me on and for making me feel special. To my besties, Arundhati, Sujata, and Subhashri. Thank you for always being there for me. To Gru, for being my sounding board and helping me think through my ideas. Thank you for your immense patience.

To Preethi Madhu, thanks for being my mentor, and showing me the path when I needed it the most. To Nishant, thanks for introducing me to the publishers. Thanks to all my colleagues, past, and present. I have learnt so much from you.

Finally, I want to thank the publishers, reviewers, and the editors for all your valuable comments, feedback, and suggestions. Your inputs have helped me articulate my views better and bring this book to the great shape it is today.