Product Management Overview

Providing an explanation of the much misunderstood job of the Product Manager.

[abhirele]

Many people wonder about the difference between Product Marketing and Product Management. And the confusion is further fueled by the fact that these roles are not consistently defined across companies. I’ve tried to describe the essence of these two roles. In a nutshell,

Product Marketing is...

[productmanagement]

Good article

[productmanagement]

Will a Product Manager need an MBA?

Life as a product manager is just not simple. You don't only need adequate skills and knowledge but exceptional and ingenious ideas also. Product managers play a huge role in the success of a product's development, manufacture and promotion. They develop realistic strategies and use the best methods to get products which may be sold out there. In addition to product development, they look at certain factors including technology, business and functionality of the product. To get hired as a product manager demands certain abilities. Employers search for people with exceptional skills and knowledge. If you really want to start out work being product manager, you must begin by knowing becoming one.

Key tasks for a PM

Not everyone could be a product manager. For you to be one, you must be able to learn how to perform certain tasks. Such as the following:.

Build strategic product vision which is supported by studies.

Determine the audience and best marketing strategies.

Figure out the probable impact from the product.

Determine the requirements of the product.

Price the item depending on materials used, functionality, other outlays and business matters.

Create a timetable estimate in the product's development and commercial life cycle.

Take into consideration comments for product improvement.

Decide on important matters in the event of difficulties.

Work with product designers and technologists.

With that said, a PM has to have domain experience, good decision-making skills, understanding of the business and ideal communication skills.

Does an MBA degree boost a PM career?

If you are a graduate of the technology specialization, it is possible to be a product manager. But accomplishing that goal is not as easy now that a large number of individuals are competing to get small number of Product Manager jobs. Though having an MBA is not a requirement to try to get a product management position, it might turn into a determining factor with an employer that is trying to find the perfect professional to hire. Many employers will always prefer to bring in help with higher educational attainment, for example someone having an MBA.

There are many forms of MBA programs which can submit an application for if you want to have better chances of getting hired like PM. You'll be able to choose the course according to your time and effort availability and preferences. Many schools from different locations offer MBA courses but you ought to be mindful when choosing which school you'll be enrolling to.

Benefits of pursuing an MBA.

Having an MBA is never an obstacle. It is always beneficial on your part since it takes you nearer to your main goal of becoming a PM. Aside from increasing the likelihood of being chosen among other professionals applying for the position, your MBA can help you in your tasks in several ways. For instance, the next:

It expands your reach.

If you have an MBA, it is possible to aim for superior positions and expand your horizon. You can find even more business opportunities outside your area and you may get higher salary. You are able to go farther from where you stand today with the MBA.

It develops confidence.

Your advanced education will help you build confidence, which is a key criteria if you wish to succeed in whatever career you select. A highly -developed self-respect can assist you execute certain activities as a PM which can not be carried out easily by non-MBA's. It's also possible to influence your workmates in constructive manner when they help you like confident product manager.

It improves your abilities.

The relevant skills and talents needed for an excellent product management career may be learned by going through an MBA education. If you enroll with an MBA, you'll be able to build up the necessary skills and perform them effectively when you work as a product manager. It is crucial being skilled enough when you go into the job so that you can do your task with confidence. With this particular characteristic, your employer will certainly find you an asset to the company.

Again, MBA isn't a requirement of a PM position. But if you need to be an excellent PM and obtain hired with good company, you should think about pursuing the course. Here is another opinion.

[productmanagement]

Fall in love with the opportunity, as opposed to the solution

When you are a product manager, you track down a market opening. A spot out there where money could be earned because there is an issue to address. At times, the business opportunity allows you to use your current systems in a different market segment, however if you are really aiming to innovate, you need to start from scratch.

In that situation, it is vital to put a descriptive problem statement in place before you go down the journey of specifying the solution. This means you should learn about the consumer you are looking to address and comprehending the problem you are trying to address for them from all sides, even those loosely linked with the problem. Only when that process is done and the problem statement has been prepared and talked about with your team, can you proceed on the path of solution definition. Make sure to objectively review every potential solution in reference to the problem statement, a measurement system like scoring can help.

In case you have a team workspace for your product group (and this would be a good idea), develop a reference point and pole star by visually cataloging the problem statement, the customer insights and the additional information gained from any customer input for the solutions.

In case you live in a web product environment and use A/B testing or lean startup strategies, use the work space and documentation during the definition of every single experiment. In a tangible product environment, use the work space for your feature choices. It is going to aid your team stay based in the problem statement rather than drifting away from it.

While on a recent product program, I made the mistake of getting invested in the solution instead of the problem. Me, my group and the executives had come to be so attached to the solution that we continued to try to make improvements to the solution instead of acknowledging the solution we had decided upon was less than optimal for the problem statement. Rather, we should have pivoted to an another solution early on.

Another very personal story about pivoting here

[productmanagement]

Product Management in a Lean Startup environment

In recent months, my organization - a sizable computer software business - applied the ideas in Eric Ries' book "The Lean Start Up". I have discovered this system has substantial impacts on the approach of the product manager.

At the heart of The Lean Start Up is the goal to minimise any resource or time expenditures on features or experiences which haven't been substantiated by consumer interaction. A way of doing that is to develop light-weight experiences that basically only verify customer intent. As an example, instead of thoroughly defining and developing an all new shopping cart feature, a lean test would show a link for the feature. The big difference is that there would be no actual features implemented and as product manager, you would be observing the amount of consumers are deciding to click the link. If the enthusiasm is substantial enough, then you would focus on the development of the tested functionality.

But, before we begin to start creating tests, there are 3 critical things a product manager should have:

Capability to introduce and learn from the tests.

A product manager must ensure the process, technology and staff are in place to look after both web based and face-to-face tests.

A crystal clear product vision.

This is going to help keep you and your team on the right track. This vision really should be formed from consumer awareness, be inspiring and untainted by a predefined approach. An excellent example is the iPod vision of "a 1000 songs you select in your hand".

Many ideas on the ways to accomplish the vision.

The product manager must have many solutions to deliver on the vision. You should also take the frame of mind that 'ideas are free' -- don't emotionally invested in ideas because you may have to have the ability to jump from one to another. 

With that foundation available, a product manager is set up for success to employ the Lean strategy.

Because one of the primary tasks of a product manager is to describe and prioritize the product attributes, you will now have a new category of tasks to consider. Product managers should now be weighing the need to build lean experiments to find out about what to build next with the actual building of the product.

The value of using the Lean method is that you will be able to prioritize based on what consumers are telling you in nearly real-time. As product manager, you will have the ability to focus your project team and limited resources on the most beneficial aspect of the product.

Here is another good article on lean product management

[productmanagement]

The 6 obsessions of professional product managers

1. Figure out your consumer

You are providing a product for a market segment. Make sure that you are aware the demands of the segment. What you want to figure out are:.

a) who influences him or her to look at the product or service.

b) their purchase triggers.

c) their willingness to pull out their wallets.

d) what delights the market segment.

This will serve to help you define your product requirements plus validate your business case.

2. Shop around your decisions and ideas.

Most people are typically resistant to changes. If you are proposing a key modification to the product, it's business case or it's positioning, ensure that you socialize the idea. If the modification has to be permitted in some management meeting, ensure that the meeting is a non-event, the decision makers must have decided to agree already before the meeting. If you neglect to do this, these meetings will be unpleasant, and you may wind up receiving directions that you are not prepared to deal with.

3. Demonstrate empathy.

Throughout product development there will typically be change and there will always be complications. The engineering unit oftentimes will need to accommodate these changes or solve those problems, which can mean loads of extra hard work for them. It is convenient for them to blame the product manager, which can subvert the relationship. Bear in mind that as a product manager, you are a leader and good leaders show empathy.

4. Keep an eye on your business case.

Your superior management has financial expectations from your product. These expectations are the underpinnings for revenue growth goals or at the minimum expenditure management. Make sure you frequently update your business case. If the business case can not meet the expectations of management, you have three options:.

a) change the product,

b) change the expectations,

c) cancel the product.

5. Have your 1, 3, and 5 minute product sales pitches ready.

You never know who you might possibly run into at the water fountain, the elevator or the lunch buffet. It is important for a product manager to marshal extensive loyalty for the product in the enterprise. So ensure you can promote your products and the areas you could use support from the top of your head.

6. Act like the expert you are.

A product manager is a forerunner in product development. You set the goals for what the product is. You put the requirements in priority . This is a crucial role, it drives what people will work on. Ensure that you display confidence in your conclusions. Ensure that you can thoroughly motivate your decisions. Understand the best way to broadcast the decision to your various teams. Engineers generally prefer to be taken through the evidence first and than be presented with the determination. Executives will want to listen to the executive summary before all else and dig into the details if they are of the opinion they have to.

[productmanagement]

The Product Management Process

As a product manager you participate in the process of developing and launching a product that is right for the market niche selected and is competitive in that market for the time of launch.

Here are some of the phases you’ll go through as a product manager:

Portfolio planning, where you plan the total product portfolio and how the products relate to each other.

Product planning, where you plan what drives the individual product in the portfolio that you’ve been assigned. This sets the stage for the final product, your final product should meet these drivers. You may divert from these drivers if during the product development process new information is learned that endangers the competitiveness of the original product position.

Product concepting, where you decide on the design and feature set of the product.

Product requirements documentation, where you create a document or dataset that is used by the engineering team as a reference for what they need to deliver.

Marketing planning, where you plan how and where the product will be sold. You’ll prioritize channels to market for the product.

Marketing materials development, where you’ll work with the marketing department to create marketing campaigns for the product. Your main role will be to make sure the product’s capabilities are accurately reflected and the product differentiation is highlighted.

Support enablement, where you’ll make sure your product support and warranty people are able to help customers who run into trouble with the product.

Sales enablement, where you’ll make sure that the customer facing sales staff for your product knows how to sell the product. Make sure they understand the competitive differentiation. Also, if your product has a known weakness, you’ll want to create a story for them how to counter customer questions around this.

Launch of the product - probably the best feeling ever for any product manager. Almost on par with holding your newborn baby. 

Product refresh - depending on the industry, there will be annual or mid-lifecycle updates. This varies from software updates, to minor design tweaks, to packaging updates. The main purpose here is to keep the product competitive and prevent the product from looking stale in the consumers eyes.

There is also a good description of the milestones in the product management process on wyzerme.com.

[productmanagement]

So what is product management?

The job of a product manager is to identify market requirements for a product that needs to be developed and ensuring a successful launch of the product. You can see a product manager as a liaison between marketing and product development.

Some of the things that product managers do are: a) Identifying market requirements for the product at the time the product will be launched and throughout it's commercial life-cycle. b) Documenting the requirements and make sure they are understood by the product development teams. c) Prioritize the requirements based on market need and value to the product. d) Ensuring that marketing content is available on time for product launch. e) Report on the business case to business management.

I also found a pretty good description of product management on wyzerme.com, check it out.

[productmanagement]

First post!

This is my first post here on "Product Management Overview". I feel like Product Management is an under-appreciated role in the workplace. On this blog I intend to provide some insight into the tasks of a product manager.