The PM title

As I continue the hiring process for my team, I find myself immersed in more discussions about Product Management. However, I've noticed a recurring challenge: the confusion surrounding job titles. The term "Product Manager" can have various interpretations, depending on an individual's industry background or the organisation they work for.

Let's simplify the fundamental duties of this role, ensuring everyone can grasp them effortlessly. After accomplishing that, we can engage in a conversation about the specific tasks commonly attributed to the coveted title of "Product Manager."

Identifying and Assessing Opportunities

Coming up with new product ideas and evaluating their potential is a crucial aspect of product management. Generating innovative concepts can originate from various sources, such as customer feedback, usability testing, internal product teams, sales and marketing departments, and industry experts. However, before moving forward, a thorough assessment of the idea is necessary to determine its feasibility and viability. I believe that this "opportunity assessment" is a responsibility that a Product Manager should take part in, if not entirely own. Although some organisations document this assessment process in an MRD (Market Requirements Document), I view it as an Opportunity Assessment, which encompasses more than just market requirements.

Product Specification

Once you have determined that pursuing a specific opportunity is viable for your company, the next crucial step is to conceptualise the product solution. This involves defining the necessary features and functionalities, designing the user experience, establishing release criteria, and setting the required timeframe. I consider this the crux of the product manager's role. While some companies refer to this as a Product Requirements Document (PRD), others call it a Product Spec or Functional Spec. Regardless of the title, the critical aspect is that it outlines the product's functionality and behaviour, rather than how it will be implemented.

Product Design

Crafting a comprehensive product spec involves outlining the user experience in detail, which necessitates the involvement of a product designer (also referred to as an interaction designer, UI designer, information architect, or human factors engineer) in defining and creating the spec. While most product teams have professional product designers, there may be instances where the product manager assumes responsibility for designing the interaction.

Project Management

Once the product has been defined, the product development team takes the reins to build it. At the heart of project management is the project scheduling and tracking function, which is executed in various ways. Dedicated project managers sometimes handle this aspect, whereas engineering managers manage it since most of the resources are from their team. In some cases, product managers may be asked to take charge of project management. In my experience, any of these approaches can work, depending on the company's culture and the project's scale. However, larger projects tend to benefit more from a skilled and dedicated project manager.

Product Marketing

After the product has been developed, it's time to spread the word about it through outbound messaging, which is a crucial marketing function. Many companies assign the same individual to handle both product management (product definition) and product marketing, which can be challenging because these roles require vastly different skill sets.

In my opinion, the core responsibility of Product Managers is to specify the product. If this task is included, I consider it to be true product management. Other roles, such as opportunity assessment, product design, project management, or product marketing, may also be included, but the essence of product management lies in defining the product that fulfils the opportunity.

Side note while doing some research about this blog post: At Microsoft, the individuals who generate specs and drive project schedules are called "Program Managers." Unfortunately, this title is already used in the industry to refer to project management spanning multiple projects. They couldn't use "product manager" either because it already represents the product marketing function.

.

.

.

#ProductManagement #ProductDesign #ProjectManagement #ProductMarketing #ProgramManagers #ProductDevelopment #ProductTeams