How technical a Product Manager needs to be?

Let's talk about the persistent, age-old questions that most of the aspiring product managers ask - ‘How technical should I be as a product manager?’ We’ve heard it time and again: you don’t need to be a tech whiz to be a successful PM. And yet, this misconception lingers around.

Product managers come from very diverse background, bringing a diverse range of skills to the table. So why do we keep circling back to technical expertise? It's time to dive deeper into the topic and understand the nuances of the role of tech in product management.

What do we mean by ‘Technical skills’?

Technical skills can mean different things depending on the industry and the role, and even within software development, the requirements vary across teams. However, some core skills are widely recognized like programming languages, databases, data structures and algorithms, APIs etc.

Technology is constantly evolving, which makes it exciting for those who are already part of it. But for outsiders—especially those transitioning from fields like marketing, sales or the vast landscape of tech can seem intimidating, almost like a barrier to entry.

The good thing is that Product Management sits at the intersection of design, business, and technology. If you’re strong in any of those areas and eager to learn the others, there’s a place for you in product management.

While PMs work within the tech industry and product development involves building technology, the level of technical knowledge required isn't as daunting as it might appear. With the right mindset and willingness to learn, those technical skills are far more accessible than they first seem.

Should a PM know how to code?

A product manager doesn’t need to code, but having a basic understanding of several technical concepts is definitely an advantage. The key is to understand how the system works rather than knowing the syntax of a language.

For instance, if you can comprehend the complexity of a feature request from an engineering point of view, you can make more informed decisions. But no, you won’t be writing code; you’ll be translating business needs into something developers can build.

Do product managers need to have a technical background?

A technical background is not a strict requirement for all PM roles. However, in some industries, such as SaaS or deep tech, it might be more valued. The goal is to bridge the gap between the technical and the business side, so while you don’t need to be an engineer, you should be able to “speak the language”. Having a technical background can make learning this easier, but many successful PMs come from non-technical fields and develop the necessary technical acumen over time.

Here are a few reasons why having a basic understanding of tech might be crucial:

1. Making Technical Trade-offs

As a PM, understanding the technical architecture of your product is essential when making trade-offs. For example, if you’re working on an analytics feature, should it be in real-time, or can there be a slight delay? These decisions have significant technical implications. A basic understanding of how things work will help you weigh the pros and cons effectively.

2. Understanding Technical Feasibility

Product Managers are constantly evaluating opportunities, and prioritizing them requires knowing the technical effort involved. While your tech team will provide the specifics, it’s helpful to have a rough idea yourself. This way, you can avoid repeatedly going back to your developers for estimates. You don’t need to calculate the exact workload, but having a sense of what's feasible and what's a moonshot helps streamline the process.

3. Managing Technical Debt

A common mistake is to allocate a percentage of bandwidth to technical debt without understanding what it really entails. As a PM, you’ll need to prioritize technical debt just like any other task—based on its impact and effort. It’s tough to prioritize something you don’t understand, so having some technical insight is crucial.

4. Assisting in Debugging

Debugging may not be the most glamorous part of the job, but having a general sense of how your product works can be a huge time-saver. You won’t need to find the root cause yourself, but being able to say, “This issue might stem from either A or B,” will help your team troubleshoot more efficiently.

5. Working with Data

A key part of your role is understanding user problems, and product usage data is vital for this. If you don’t have access to a data analyst at all times, it’s incredibly helpful to pull insights on your own. Knowing basic SQL allows you to be more self-sufficient when analyzing data, giving you the autonomy to make informed decisions.

6. Navigating the Delivery Process

During the delivery phase, your tech team will move your project into production. It’s important for a PM to understand the basics of coding environments (like staging, pre-production, and production), as well as concepts like branches and pull requests. This knowledge ensures smoother communication and helps you keep track of the process.

Do some product management roles have technical requirements?

In companies with highly technical products, the bar for technical knowledge is often set higher. If you're applying for a company building tools for developers, AI/DevOps, or data scientists, you might be expected to understand not only the challenges and needs of these users but also the underlying technology in great detail, often enough to discuss trade-offs, technical specifications, integration processes etc. with engineers on a more granular level.

These companies usually hire Technical Product Managers (TPM), they often work closely with engineering teams and have a stronger background in coding, infrastructure, or system architecture.

As a PM, what should you know about tech?

You should be able to grasp high-level concepts like....

Read full article on our Blog