PM vs PM - How Product Manager differs from Project Manager

I have been working in various Project/Product Management positions for more than 15 years and multiple times I had to explain to various people what the difference between Project and Product Manager is. For people who are not involved in this, sometimes it might not be easy to understand it.

Both roles' names sound very alike (especially in English) and even use the same abbreviation PM. It always makes sense to check what abbreviations mean if it is new to you or if the meaning is not clear.

The first time, I encountered the abbreviation PM was in the fifth grade when I started to learn English.

Guess in what context? Correct, defining time of the day - PM and AM.

At that time, I could not understand what exactly these two abbreviations meant, and my English teacher could not explain this clearly as well. For a long time, I only knew that both terms AM and PM are used when we speak about the time of the day, but I did not know what exactly they mean.

?At some point, I decided to find this out. Here it is.

PM stands for post meridiem – post midday in Latin, AM stands for ante meridiem - before midday in Latin.

So, you learned the first useful thing from my article. You also learned why I love electronic watches ??

I came across the term Product Manager about 15 years ago, when I started my working career. Back then, I was hired by a local telecommunications equipment distributor as a Product Manager. I had to learn the whole products gamma from several vendors, understand what the difference between each of them is, understand customer use cases and propose the best solution to our customers (TELCOs and MSP) and understand if there are any competitors for the solution on the market and propose a price for the solution we can offer.

Later, I started working as a Project Manager in another company and realized that the abbreviation PM also has another meaning.

Like many project managers at the beginning of my carrier, I thought that if I have a project plan, RACI, and other relevant Project documents, my work will be done well.

Guess what? It turns out not to be true.

Relationships between the people working on the project are much more important. That is why I like to talk about project management in a little more abstract way, without focusing too much on must-have tools. The project management triangle works well for this explanation.

The quality of work is constrained by the project's budget, deadline, and scope.

In the next company, I had to work as a Product manager, developing digital products, and although there were only a few products, managing them consumed all my time. I had to collaborate with customers, stakeholders, and the development team. Then I realized that the same role name can mean completely different things.

This figure explains well what the Product Manager does.

Product Manager interacts with Customers, Technology, and Business and helps customers to solve their problems by leveraging available technology with sustainable business models.

Is it the only way to describe the differences between Product Manager and Project Manager? Not really. Let me share a few more.

I like another brief way to describe the responsibilities for each role and explain the interaction between them. It is short and explains how these roles are different.

Product Manager is responsible for WHAT and WHY and Project Manager needs to answer HOW and WHEN

When we want to define WHAT Product, we are building and explain WHY need it, Product Manager should be the one answering these questions. Interacting with Customers, Technology, and Business, he knows best and can explain to the team what our customers are looking for and why this is important.

Project Manager should be answering HOW and WHEN. He should know how to Get Things Done and evaluate the time required for that, considering the strengths and weaknesses, that each organization has.

In case you have not been to Lithuania, basketball is a religiously popular sport in our country and every work or life situation can be explained using examples from basketball.

So, speaking about Product and Project Manager roles' similarities and differences, I would like to use the example below from basketball. The Product Manager is the one who is responsible for Offense – he is focusing on building new products/features that would attract more customers and increase company revenue. In parallel Project Manager is responsible for Defense – he is focusing on Getting Things Done in an organized and timely manner.

In basketball, you can find individual players who can play successfully in both positions: Offense and Defense. Similarly, you can find Product Managers who are good at Getting Things Done or Project Managers who understand that it is more important to deliver Product that brings value to Customer instead of completing a Project on time. Nevertheless, I believe that one person focusing only on one side of things will deliver better results. Separate roles will have a unique perspective and will add critical thinking capabilities when required.

Let me take a real-life example to explain what I mean. Two great athletes in the picture below are Michael Jordan and Denis Rodman. They both were an important part of the Chicago Bulls Team, who won 6 NBA champions titles.

M. Jordan holds the?NBA?record for?career?regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game).

D. Rodman is one of the two players in NBA history with 5,000+ more career rebounds than points scored.

Clearly, M. Jordan was focusing on Offense and D. Rodman was focusing on Defense. You can win some games with great Offense and average or poor Defense, but having skillful players on both sides increases your chances of winning a game. Vice versa, on those days when your Offense is poor, Defense can rescue you.

Of course, it is strange to compare D. Rodman with the Project Manager, but I could not resist the temptation to find a vivid example to explain my perspective on Project Manager role ??.

And yes, timeworn saying THERE IS NO I IN THE TEAM is still true. Two talented players in the team are not enough. To become a Champion, you will need to have a talented player in every position and make them work as a Team.

Let me finish my article with one thought I would like you to remember.

There are multiple ways to create a Superior Product or win a Championship. Having a good Team of individuals that understands their responsibilities, are talented, and thrive at what they do will not only make it easier but also will be more fun.

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