Product Management is the intersection of technology, design and business. Wearing different hats.
Role of a PdM
In different phases of a project -
- Research & Planning - understand the customers needs, competition, market scenario to create a priority list of features. Define the success criteria for the product/project at launch.
- Design - designing the product or its features includes both XD and functionality. Different companies have their ways of documenting them, from loose requirements over Wiki to detailed specs in strict formats.
- Implement & Test - regular check-in with the team, resolve inter-dependencies, dogfooding, usability studies with control groups, user research, drop or delay decisions.
- Release - fire fighting towards the end, getting all the stakeholders to approve, handover to dev ops/support, gather user feedback, online reviews, start all over again.
In different types of product -
- Shipped Software - on dvd's or app stores, once the software is shipped, installed its difficult to fix any issues. Requires detailed planning and design, significant test effort. Usually PdMs don't fight fires post release.
- Websites - new features or tests can be done easily and rolled back. Infrastructure failures i.e. servers, communication lines, etc keep PdMs busy.
- Consumer Products - Email, Social Networks, Photo Sharing, Chat are apps where the customer is an everyday person. Developers are likely to have their own ideas on what the customer needs. Here PdMs act like shepherds, they need to take data based decisions.
- B2B Products - CAD Tools, Visual Studio are apps where customer is an skilled/experts in their field. PdMs need to take a long term view of the competitive landscape for feature inclusion.
- Early Stage Products - PdMs focus on coming out with a minimum viable product (MVP) instead of the whole backlog. Its important to prove yourself, get traction, possibly start revenue and manage the time to market.
- Mature Products - usually the biggest competitor to an established product is its last released version. Changes are incremental, companies may be risk averse and PdMs end up balancing between retaining customers and giving new direction to the product.
What PdMs are not
PdMs are not project managers, they do manage timelines and resolve inter-dependencies. They decide on what the customer needs, elaborate it to the developers, document this in a specification and follow through the development process to releasing it to the customer. They help cut down on meetings for developers, represent them in various forums, become their voice.
PdMs are not in marketing, they don't decide on how to sell to the customer they focus on the user experience when they use the product. They understand the unspoken needs of their users and uncovering those needs. They don't necessarily focus on new ideas/features all the time, but focus on incrementally enhancing the existing feature set.
Customers can be external or internal. Usually when they are internal, the person managing the PdM role is given the designation of Program/Project Manager.
PdMs and Developers
PdMs work with developers, they need to build social capital, give credit to others, stand up for them, take the blame, give developers an opportunity to talk about their design, make them feel important and understood, showcase their skills, abilities and past experience.
When a PdM joins a new team, they need to be inquisitive, ask questions to understand the decision making process and history. They should avoid being dictatorial. Progressively, bring in their framework for decision making, communicate it (as often as possible) so that the team understands the rationale behind their thoughts.
Role of a PdM
In different phases of a project -
- Research & Planning - understand the customers needs, competition, market scenario to create a priority list of features. Define the success criteria for the product/project at launch.
- Design - designing the product or its features includes both XD and functionality. Different companies have their ways of documenting them, from loose requirements over Wiki to detailed specs in strict formats.
- Implement & Test - regular check-in with the team, resolve inter-dependencies, dogfooding, usability studies with control groups, user research, drop or delay decisions.
- Release - fire fighting towards the end, getting all the stakeholders to approve, handover to dev ops/support, gather user feedback, online reviews, start all over again.
In different types of product -
- Shipped Software - on dvd's or app stores, once the software is shipped, installed its difficult to fix any issues. Requires detailed planning and design, significant test effort. Usually PdMs don't fight fires post release.
- Websites - new features or tests can be done easily and rolled back. Infrastructure failures i.e. servers, communication lines, etc keep PdMs busy.
- Consumer Products - Email, Social Networks, Photo Sharing, Chat are apps where the customer is an everyday person. Developers are likely to have their own ideas on what the customer needs. Here PdMs act like shepherds, they need to take data based decisions.
- B2B Products - CAD Tools, Visual Studio are apps where customer is an skilled/experts in their field. PdMs need to take a long term view of the competitive landscape for feature inclusion.
- Early Stage Products - PdMs focus on coming out with a minimum viable product (MVP) instead of the whole backlog. Its important to prove yourself, get traction, possibly start revenue and manage the time to market.
- Mature Products - usually the biggest competitor to an established product is its last released version. Changes are incremental, companies may be risk averse and PdMs end up balancing between retaining customers and giving new direction to the product.
What PdMs are not
PdMs are not project managers, they do manage timelines and resolve inter-dependencies. They decide on what the customer needs, elaborate it to the developers, document this in a specification and follow through the development process to releasing it to the customer. They help cut down on meetings for developers, represent them in various forums, become their voice.
PdMs are not in marketing, they don't decide on how to sell to the customer they focus on the user experience when they use the product. They understand the unspoken needs of their users and uncovering those needs. They don't necessarily focus on new ideas/features all the time, but focus on incrementally enhancing the existing feature set.
Customers can be external or internal. Usually when they are internal, the person managing the PdM role is given the designation of Program/Project Manager.
PdMs and Developers
PdMs work with developers, they need to build social capital, give credit to others, stand up for them, take the blame, give developers an opportunity to talk about their design, make them feel important and understood, showcase their skills, abilities and past experience.
When a PdM joins a new team, they need to be inquisitive, ask questions to understand the decision making process and history. They should avoid being dictatorial. Progressively, bring in their framework for decision making, communicate it (as often as possible) so that the team understands the rationale behind their thoughts.
