The terms “inbound product management” and “outbound product management” are tossed around freely in many companies without much clarity on what the job actually entails. Heather Hamilton, a prolific blogger, has posted two items with job descriptions for product managers at Microsoft in the inbound and outbound roles. What we see at Pragmatic Institute is that “inbound” listens to the market to determine what products we should have, while “outbound” tells the market about the products that we already have. In any case, a clear definition for the role, regardless of title, is sorely needed in many companies. The article Titles and Responsibilities is a good start. Also check out detailed view of titles and responsibilities.
Product Marketing & Management