What is a Product Manager
Get ready to dive into the exciting world of product management as we unravel its secrets. In this chapter, we’ll uncover what product management is all about and get to the core of its essence. So buckle up and join me on this thrilling adventure!
In these pages, we’re on a mission to crack the code of product management. Forget about Googling it because you won’t find a simple answer. We’re going deeper, challenging the norms, and digging into the fundamental principles that make this role tick.
Product management is like a chameleon — it adapts and changes depending on the industry and the company. No two companies have the exact same product management responsibilities. It’s a wild ride shaped by factors like company culture, industry quirks, and company size.
But no fear! We’ll focus on the key ingredients that define product management. By the end of this chapter, you’ll have a solid foundation to build your expertise upon. We’re about to discover how product managers become the ultimate connectors, bridging different teams and acting as master communicators, orchestrators, and catalysts within the organization.
Let me share a funny story from my own experience. We once had a associate engineer who asked, “What do you do as a product manager?” Before I could respond, another engineer chimed in, “Oh, they’re the superheroes who shield us from sales and legal teams!”
Yes, product managers are both defenders and enablers. They shield engineers and designers from distractions, allowing them to focus on what they do best. Communication and empowerment are their secret weapons. Engineers tackle technical challenges while designers unleash their creativity. Product managers keep the collaboration flowing, encouraging ideas, feedback, and insights to flow freely and unleashing the collective awesomeness of the team.
Now, imagine using a product — be it software or something tangible — and everything is amazing except for one glaring flaw. Guess who gets blamed? That’s right, the product manager. They bear the weight of the product’s success or failure. It’s a high-stakes game where their decisions can make or break a product.
To sum it up, a product manager wears many hats: they’re the communication hub, the master of priorities, the research guru, and the charismatic presenter. But most importantly, they hold the responsibility for the product’s triumph. It’s a tough job, but the rewards are epic.
Now, you might be wondering, “What even is a product?” Well, my curious friend, the next chapter will unravel that mystery and reveal the essence of what makes a product a product.
What is a Product
You might be thinking, “Seriously? What is a product? That’s a no-brainer!”
But trust me, as a product manager, it’s a question you need to pay close attention to.
We all know what a product is, right? It could be anything under the sun. Take a look around you. That keyboard sitting in front of you? Yep, that’s a product. The laptop or device you’re using? Bang!, also a product. And, the web browser on your computer? You guessed it, a product too.
Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty. As a product manager, your role isn’t always about overseeing an entire device or software. In many startups and large companies, product managers handle specific sections of what we usually consider a product as regular folks.
Let me paint a clearer picture. Think about Facebook. When you use it, you’re actually engaging with a multitude of different features. In companies like that, each feature is so crucial and intricate that it’s assigned to a group of folks known as product teams or feature teams to manage them.
So, at Facebook, photos are a product — yep, that’s the lingo we use in product management. The newsfeed? You got it, it’s a product. The user profile? Product. Messaging and commenting? You bet, products too. Every single one of these products has a product manager overseeing it, along with a team of talented designers and engineers, aka the product teams or feature teams.
Let’s dig a bit deeper with our Facebook example. Believe it or not, the newsfeed at Facebook has multiple product managers working on it. Why? Because it’s such a massive technological beast. One product manager leads a team focused on the ranking algorithm, while another manages the team dealing with advertisements. And there are more product managers tackling various aspects of that newsfeed.
But here’s the thing, not all product managers are divided by features like in larger applications or products such as Facebook. Some are split up based on platforms. For instance, at a company, you might find a product manager in charge of everything related to the Android app, another rocking it on iOS, and yet another overseeing the website. It’s just a different way of doing things, you know?
Oh, and let’s not forget about those product managers working on advertising and subscription services, depending on the company’s business model. The product management world has room for different flavors, my friend.
Now that we’ve clarified the role of a product manager, it’s crystal clear that a product can be anything — a complete real-life product as consumers see it, or in some cases, split into smaller sections for larger companies or more complex products.
Three Different Types of Product Manager Roles
There’s more than one type of product manager in the world of software development and technology. Let’s talk about three of them right now: internal product managers, consumer product managers, and business-to-business (B2B) product managers. B2B product managers are sometimes also called SAAS product managers or software-as-a-service.
The main difference among these roles is their stakeholders. Yeah, stakeholders is just a fancy word for the people you’re building for or who have a say in what you’re building. So, can you think of some examples of stakeholders? Users are stakeholders, of course, and so are the executives who rely on what you’re building to be awesome. Even the lawyers at your company who want to make sure what you’re building won’t get them into legal trouble — they’re stakeholders too. And let’s not forget about the marketing folks. They wanna know what you’re up to and might have some input because they need to market the good stuff.
Now, let’s talk about the internal product manager. These cool cats are sometimes part of a team called “internal tools” or something like that. They build tools for their colleagues within the company. It’s all about building things for internal use instead of the general public. Picture this: an internal product manager and their team building a piece of software that the company’s support team uses to reset passwords or update account information for users. In this case, the stakeholder is someone within the company — it’s the person using that piece of software.
Moving on to the business-to-business (B2B) product manager. This type of product manager builds products for companies whose clients are other companies. Think of big names like Oracle or Salesforce. These products are designed to solve problems for other companies. So, the stakeholders for a B2B product manager are, you guessed it, those other companies. This means the product manager has to interact a lot with the salespeople in their own company and ensure that what they build aligns with the business requirements of the companies they’re selling to. So, if you’re a B2B product manager, get ready to have lots of conversations with the sales team.
Now, into the third type — the business-to-consumer (B2C) product manager. What do they do? Well, B2C product managers are pretty common. It simply means you’re a product manager for a product that’s aimed at the average consumer. For example, you are a consumer product manager at Spotify because you work on parts of the app that millions of people out there use every day. Some other big examples of consumer product managers are Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram. It takes a diverse set of skills, vision, and creativity to succeed in the consumer product management role. In this space, product managers are all about maximizing usage or some other metric. Unlike other types, there’s no one telling them for sure what’s the best thing to build next. It’s a realm of uncertainty. That’s why consumer PMs spend a ton of time talking to users, creating multiple prototypes, conducting user tests, AB testing, and analyzing heaps of data. The larger the user base, the more powerful testing can guide their decisions.
That covers the three types of product managers we discussed — internal tools, B2B, and B2C. So, there are other types out there, but these are the big three you gotta be familiar with.
How to Think About the Type of PM You Want to Be
Alright, so now we’ve got a good understanding of the different types of product management roles and how they vary in terms of the work involved. Let’s delve into how different personality types might be drawn to these various roles.
Here’s a little exploration on that topic:
First off, let’s talk about the internal product manager. This role, focused on building tools and products for your own company, is an excellent starting point for newcomers to product management. It offers a great opportunity to learn about technology, as you’ll often be working on integrations with internal systems and third-party tools. As an internal product manager, you’ll primarily engage with stakeholders within your organization, such as marketing and sales teams. This role is ideal for those who are just beginning their product management journey and want to gain valuable experience while minimizing the risk associated with large-scale projects.
Now, onto the business-to-business (B2B) or software as a service (SAAS) product manager. Similar to the internal product manager, this role can serve as an introductory position in product management. B2B companies typically have a smaller user base compared to consumer-focused companies, but still larger than internal tools. You’ll have more flexibility and creativity in how you build products, although the priorities will often be heavily influenced by the sales team and revenue potential. Expect tighter deadlines due to the time-sensitive nature of sales deals. In this role, you’ll likely be responsible for products or features on a limited number of platforms.
Finally, we have the business-to-consumer (B2C) product management role. Brace yourself, because this one comes with a healthy dose of uncertainty and pressure. B2C product management is among the most challenging roles in the field, as you’ll be building products for millions of users across multiple platforms like web, iOS, and Android. With such a large user base, the potential impact of bugs or failures is significant, and it can have financial repercussions for the startup/company. User testing and feedback analysis are crucial aspects of this role, and you’ll need to iterate and test your ideas in an agile manner. While it’s demanding, the B2C role offers tremendous learning opportunities, especially in terms of web and mobile development.
Now, it’s your turn to reflect on what type of product manager aligns best with your working style or the type of role you aspire to have in the future. If you’re already a product manager, feel free to share details about your current role. Take a moment to write down your thoughts in the space below, and feel free to engage with your fellow classmates in this discussion.
Remember, there’s no right or wrong answer here. It’s all about finding the right fit for your skills, interests, and personality.
Product vs. Project Management
So, you might be curious about the distinction between product management and project management. Surprisingly, many people mistakenly assume that these two roles are interchangeable, but in reality, they are quite different. However, project management skills are still crucial for product managers. Let’s delve into the dissimilarities between these two disciplines.
As we already know, product managers are accountable for the success of a product. But what does success mean in this context? Well, success is defined by key performance indicators (KPIs) or metrics. Product managers strive to achieve these metrics to attain success. Don’t worry too much about this right now; we’ll cover metrics in detail later. The means by which product managers achieve their goals are not predefined but left entirely up to them and their teams.
Imagine you join an e-commerce company as a product manager. Your goal is to increase checkout conversion by 10% in the current quarter. To accomplish this, you can conduct user research, analyze data, and explore various other approaches. For instance, you might choose to redesign the checkout process to address user confusion or upgrade servers to improve site speed, as slow loading times are causing users to abandon the checkout process. Regardless of the approach you choose, success is achieved if you reach that 10% increase. However, it’s worth noting that some approaches may be more effective than others, depending on the research and testing conducted with your team and designers.
Now, let’s turn our attention to project management. Project managers, on the other hand, are responsible for accomplishing projects rather than specific goals. Projects typically have predefined timelines and budgets that must be adhered to. Project managers are particularly valuable in scenarios that involve strict parameters, such as constructing a skyscraper. If you were the CEO of a construction company and you hired a project manager for a skyscraper project, you would want someone skilled at completing the project within the allocated time and budget. You would expect them to handle potential challenges like weather delays or supply shortages efficiently. In this instance, you wouldn’t want a product manager who sets out to build a 100-story building capable of accommodating 10,000 people, as a product manager’s approach involves experimentation to determine the best course of action. However, in construction, certainty is key, and you want to be sure that your planned approach will work.
Nevertheless, as a product manager, you still need project management skills. During the early stages, you gather requirements, generate ideas, and define potential initiatives. When it’s time to put those plans into action, you transition into execution mode with your team, where project management skills become essential. Don’t fret, though. We’ll cover project management extensively in a later chapter, focusing on its components within a software context.
Now, project managers aren’t entirely redundant in software-related projects. They have vital roles to play beyond constructing physical structures like bridges or buildings. Can you think of software engineering projects where project managers are absolutely necessary? Let’s consider the scenario of two tech companies merging their technology platforms. While the plan for the merger may already be established, numerous moving parts require constant oversight to ensure timely progress. Here’s another example where project management takes precedence over product management: software consulting agencies or ad agencies. Clients approach these agencies with specific campaign or software development requests. In such cases, the focus shifts to execution, and the project manager’s responsibility is to ensure timely and budget-compliant delivery, with minimal experimentation or goal-setting.
So, that wasn’t too complicated, was it? There is indeed a significant distinction between product management and project management. While project management plays a role within product management, they are separate professions with distinct titles and responsibilities.
To recap briefly: Product managers strive to achieve specific goals using various means after collaborating with their teams, conducting user research, and considering multiple factors. In contrast, project managers are accountable for accomplishing a set of predefined requirements within a specific project, whether it’s a physical structure or a large-scale software development effort.
Why Product Management is Awesome
I wanted to talk to you about why learning product management is absolutely awesome and why you should be super excited about become a product manager.
Product management is hands down one of the coolest and most enjoyable positions you can have, whether it’s at a tech company or any other organization. Why is that? Well, product managers are like communication wizards and masters of versatility. They’re the ones who need to know about a wide range of things, and sometimes even become experts in specific areas depending on the project they’re working on.
What’s even more exciting is that product managers have a direct impact on every single part of the business. They collaborate with key individuals from various teams, including marketing, sales, legal, engineering, design, and even top executives, investors, and board members. They’re the true linchpins of the company!
And guess what? Product managers have an incredible career trajectory and are even paid on par with engineers in the tech industry. So, if you’re looking for a fulfilling and rewarding career path, this is definitely one to consider.
Now, let’s talk about the book itself. Product management is a vast subject that isn’t as straightforward as many others. That’s why this book is comprehensive and extensive, designed to ensure you grasp as much knowledge as possible.
By the end of this book, you’ll have a solid understanding of product management as a whole. You’ll learn about different types of product management, dive into the specifics of the role, explore the day-to-day activities of a product manager, and gain insights into metrics, technologies, and effective communication with various stakeholders, including engineers, designers, and executives.
Whether you’re an aspiring product manager, an entrepreneur, or a current product manager seeking to enhance your skills, this book will equip you with the tools you need to take your career to the next level.
Get ready to embark on an exciting journey into the world of product management!
