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Hi Reader,

are you switching products soon?
Or onboarding a new PM who needs structure fast?

I am right in the middle of this myself.

After 6 years with internal manufacturing products, I am now moving into a new product area inside marketing and sales. New domain. New processes. New teams. New expectations.

And even after 8 years in product management, the first days still feel like starting from zero.

That is exactly why I created a 90 day onboarding checklist for myself.
It cuts the noise, gives me clarity, and reminds me what actually matters in the first weeks.

If you are transitioning to a new internal product or preparing someone on your team to do the same, this issue is for you.

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Today in 10 minutes you will:

• Get a simple structure for your first 30, 60 and 90 days
• See the onboarding tasks I am using myself
• Learn how to balance relationships, domain knowledge, product and early wins
• Duplicate my Notion template to use for your own onboarding

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Small personal announcement

Yes, I am officially changing products.

For the last years I worked across manufacturing processes, digitization, automations and internal data products. I loved it and learned more than I can put into one newsletter.

But I wanted a new challenge. A different part of the value chain.
So now I am stepping into marketing and sales IT as an internal product manager.

Let me be honest. The “new PM” feeling is real.

New domain. New stakeholders. New expectations.
That is why structure matters.

Your brain will try to do everything at once.
A checklist keeps you grounded.

The First 30 Days: Get Oriented, Fast

Your goal in month one is simple.
Understand the world you are stepping into.

This is where deep listening and clarity matter more than output.

Here is what I focus on now:

→ Recurring 1:1s with my manager
→ Aligning on expectations and success criteria
→ 1:1s with product team members, stakeholders, IT, InfoSec, Infrastructure
→ Reviewing documentation, strategy decks and current roadmaps
→ Understanding user groups and their pains
→ Tracking product usage and analytics patterns
→ Learning business goals and constraints
→ Testing the product myself

Your job here is to absorb information and map reality.

Ask questions.
Document everything.
Connect dots.
Let people talk.

You gain trust in month one through understanding. Not through rushing output.

Days 30 to 60: Start Contributing, Not Owning

Month two is where you move from observer to contributor.

Here is what becomes important:

→ Delivering your first small and visible improvements
→ Asking the team for feedback on critical areas
→ Joining or running discovery sessions
→ Reviewing processes to see where things break
→ Learning the technical stack
→ Understanding the business model
→ Reviewing analytics more deeply
→ Shadowing cross functional teams such as sales, marketing or operations

This phase is about earning credibility without overstepping.
Small wins speak louder than big plans.

Days 60 to 90: Act Like the Owner, Even If You Still Feel New

Month three is not about knowing everything.
It is about showing ownership.

Here is what I will focus on:

→ Leading my own discovery or user interview sessions
→ Proposing two or three improvements with clear reasoning
→ Understanding stakeholder needs and pain points deeply
→ Clarifying product objectives and success metrics
→ Understanding governance, data flows and dependencies
→ Taking ownership of backlog and delivery
→ Building confidence through evidence, not volume

Ownership is not about perfection.
It is about driving clarity and outcomes.

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General Tips I Always Come Back To

1. Ask all the “stupid” questions
   • People forget how much context they carry.
   • Your job is to uncover it.
2. Document everything
   • Your future self will thank you.
3. Make yourself visible early
   • Not loud. Visible.
   • Presence builds trust before output does.
4. You are not judged for what you do not know
   • You are judged for how actively you learn.

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Your 30, 60, 90 Checklist (CSV)

I created a clean Notion template with the full onboarding checklist. You can download it here.​
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It includes all tasks, timelines and categories from my own 90 day plan and you can customize it for your product.

You can duplicate it and use it for:

→ All stakeholder meetings
→ All product, process and system exploration tasks
→ All early deliverables
→ All user research tasks
→ All business and domain learning tasks
→ All ownership activities for month three

Everything inside the template comes from the complete task list I built for myself during this transition.

Simple, structured and ready to use.

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Behind the Scenes

A small personal observation from the last two weeks.
My brain is working overtime with the new role and apparently my body knows it.

I have been sleeping nine hours a night.
Starting something new is mentally heavy.
If you can give yourself a bit more margin, do it.

Sleep well. Eat well. Move a little.
It makes the onboarding fog much clearer.

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What do you think?

Did this help you feel more in control of your next product transition?

Hit reply and let me know. I would love to hear how you structure your first 90 days.

See you next week,
Maria

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