Who is Product Manager
Product Manager is the ultimate role accountable for the success or failure of the product. By virtue of this, they are responsible for:
| 1- Doing competitive research | 7-Form business cases for the ideas |
| 2- Doing user research | 8- Presenting the ideas to stakeholders |
| 3- Doing analytical research | 9- Coordinating with stakeholders in business, design, engineering and others to refine the ideas |
| 4- Staying on top of industry news | 10- Maintaining consistent communication with stakeholders while getting the product built from design and engineering. |
| 5- Generating and curating ideas | 11- Deploying the product and taking user feedback |
| 6- Performing research to validate ideas | 12- Incorporating the feedback for the next iteration |
All Accountability, no authority
Main driver for a successful product manager is to influence without authority.
Maturity Of Product Management
Career Path of Product Manager
The career path of a product manager may vary depending on the industry, company, and individual. However, here are some common stages that a product manager may go through in their career:
Product Manager vs Product Owner
Product Managers are responsible for the overall success of the product, including developing the product strategy, product roadmap’s definition, and feature’s prioritizing. Product Owners, on the other hand, are responsible for managing the day-to-day development of the product, including creating and maintaining the product backlog, refining user stories, and working closely with the development team.
Product Managers focus on the big picture, while Product Owners focus on the details of the product development process. Product Managers work closely with a variety of stakeholders, while Product Owners work closely with the development team.
| Product Manager | Product Owner |
| Owns Vision | Owns Implementation |
| Directs Product Owner | Takes direction from PM |
| Delivers Release | Delivers Iteration |
| Market sensing | Track Internal Deliveries |
| Release Objectives | Iteration Objectives |
| Strategic Direction | Day-to-day Direction |
| Market Use cases | System Use cases |
| Understands overall solution | Understands architecture & design |
| Roadmaps | User acceptance tests |
| Identify market needs | Write user stories & acceptance criterias |
Product Manager vs Product Owner vs Project Manager vs Scrum master
Archetype of Product Managers
Archetype can differ based on different companies and different products such as:
Day in the life of a Product Manager
The day in the life of a product manager can vary depending on the company, industry, and product. However, here is a general idea of what a typical day might involve:
- Reviewing metrics and data related to the product’s performance.
- Meeting with cross-functional teams such as engineering, design, marketing, and sales to discuss product development and strategy.
- Prioritizing product features and making decisions on which features to develop next.
- Conducting market research and staying up-to-date with industry trends.
- Creating and updating product roadmaps and timelines.
- Collaborating with stakeholders to ensure the product aligns with the overall business goals.
- Communicating with customers to gather feedback and insights.
- Addressing issues and concerns related to the product and finding solutions.
- Attending meetings with executives to discuss the product’s performance and progress.
- Continuing to learn and stay current with industry advancements and best practices.
In summary, a product manager is essential to the creation, introduction, and success of a product. In addition to managing the product life cycle, prioritizing features, doing market research, managing the product vision and strategy, analyzing product performance, and interacting with stakeholders, they are in charge of developing the product’s vision and strategy. In the end, the product manager acts as the customer’s advocate and makes sure that the product satisfies their needs while also being consistent with organizational objectives.
