What do product managers do?
You will hear me say things like “I am a product guy.” But what does that actually mean ? Do I actually build stuff with my hands? No, but I have done that a couple of times. Mostly I am referring to my role of managing the product as a Product Manager.
As a Product Manager, my goal is to ensure a product meets the needs of the customers. I am the middle person between the user, customer and the rest of the organization. My job is to identify a customers needs and business objectives that the product I am managing will address.
You can see me as the bridge between what a customer wants out of our product, and our internal teams who are responsible for building that product. I own the strategic direction of a product or a feature, and ensure that I drive that direction to all teams who work on that product internally.
My job is to bring together several functions to get products out the door and into the hands of a customer. I collaborate with all the stakeholders and people working on the product, presenting what the customers needs to the team who is creating the product.
As a Product Manager, I shape and innovate existing products through iterations based on user or customer feedback, as well as envision and conceives new product ideas.
Where does a product manager fit in an organization ?
As a Product Manager, I am positioned in the center of the business, connected through constant collaboration with all departments. Think of a Product Manager as the glue between the customer, business partners, sales and the development team. A good Product Manager represents the brand to the customer. Internally, a Product Manager owns and drives the products vision.
A customer purchases a product because of the associated quality of that brand. A Product Manager is the one who is responsible for bringing that experience to the customer.
As a Product Manager you work in Cross Functional teams to deliver the products. In a standard company structure, a Product Manager would report to the chief product officer. In smaller organizations or startups, this can sometimes be a marketing officer or even directly to senior leadership.
a good product manager has some key skills
If I was to be hiring a Product Manger, I would be looking for a few essential skills for the role. A unique mix that would set that person apart. At its core, a good Product Manager understands users. To understand users, you need to have analytical and strategic thinking. A good Product Manager is a problem solver.
Not by luck or intuition, but by analyzing data and identifying patterns in user or customer behavior. Having a strong quantitative and qualitative data analyst tool kit will support identifying patterns, trends and market signals early. This is like having a super power, because using these insights will help you support your decision and help you have a strategic understanding of what the next product recommendations your team may need. Strong analytical and strategic thinking allows you to understand how your product impacts the companies growth and long term direction.
You will need to have a good understanding of the users emotional and practical experience of the product. The more difficult part, is that you will need to try predict this in advance. You will need a deep understanding of the foundations of UX (User Experience). This will empower you to make better decisions.
“Successful product managers combine user understanding, business insight, analytical thinking, and strong communication to guide products from concept to delivery—while aligning teams and driving value for both customers and the organization.”
Strong Communication and Business Acumen skills are critical to success. You need to collaborate with teams across all levels of the organization while also understanding the financial and strategic business implications of your product decisions. You are seen as a leader. A leader and champion of the product, and will therefore be expected to communicate well with external customers, and posses the ability to present your ideas and take the lead on discussions. In the sense of the product, you will need to be able to facilitate decision making.
A good Product Manager, can often be confused with a Project Manager. Many Project Managers, move onto becoming the ongoing product manager, since you need to manage the product through the complete product life cycle. This needs familiarity with the development approaches like SCRUM and AGILE.
A good Product Manager plays a key role in guiding the development efforts and ensuring that reams follow a structured strategic process.
Cheers
V
If you enjoyed this article, buy me a cup of coffee.
