{"id":9004111224502943,"date":"2023-01-20T13:15:59","date_gmt":"2023-01-20T17:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pragmaticinstitute.com\/?post_type=resources&p=9004111224502943"},"modified":"2023-01-20T13:15:59","modified_gmt":"2023-01-20T17:15:59","slug":"what-is-product-management","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.pragmaticinstitute.com\/resources\/articles\/product\/what-is-product-management\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Product Management?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Product management is like being a conductor of an orchestra. You are responsible for bringing together all the different instruments (engineering, design, marketing) and ensuring they play harmoniously to create a beautiful piece of music (product).<\/span><\/p>\n

You have to have an ear for what the audience (customers) want to hear, and you must create a score (product roadmap) that will guide the ensemble to success. And just like a conductor, you’re always watching and making adjustments to ensure the performance (product) is hitting all the right notes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But analogies aside, product management oversees a product’s development and life cycle. The ultimate goal is to create and deliver a product that meets customers’ needs and generates revenue for the company.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Evolution of Product Management<\/b><\/h2>\n

In the 1930s, Procter & Gamble was considered one of the first companies to implement a formalized product management process. They created a role called the “<\/span>Brand Manager<\/span><\/a>” responsible for managing a product’s entire life cycle, from research and development to marketing and sales.<\/span><\/p>\n

By the 1960s, the product manager role had become established within many companies.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the 1970s and 1980s, the field of product management continued to evolve as companies began to focus more on product development and innovation. Product managers began to play a more strategic role within organizations, working closely with other departments to ensure that products met customers’ needs and aligned with the overall business strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the 1990s, the field of product management began to evolve again as the internet emerged as a major force in the global economy. This led to the emergence of digital product management as a specialized field focused on developing and managing digital products such as websites and mobile apps.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, product management is a critical function in businesses of all sizes and industries. Product managers ensure that products and services meet customers’ needs and align with the overall business strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A Day in The Life of A Product Manager<\/b><\/h2>\n

If you think variety is the spice of life, then product management might be the career for you because no two days are alike.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your tasks will certainly change depending on the life cycle stage of your product, but on any day, your work might look something like this:<\/span><\/p>\n

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  • Reviewing and analyzing customer feedback and market data to identify trends or areas for improvement for the product<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Planning and conducting user research and user testing to validate product ideas and gather insights from customers<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Learning about competitive products<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Developing a product roadmap with stakeholders and ensuring it stays aligned with overall business strategies<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Meeting with your cross-functional team, including engineering, design and marketing, to discuss progress on the product development and any issues that need to be addressed<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Working on the product roadmap, identifying new features to add and prioritizing them based on customer needs and the company’s goals<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Speaking with key stakeholders, such as a sales representative, to get input on how the product is being received in the market and to gather feedback on any potential sales opportunities<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Working on product positioning and messaging with the marketing team<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Reviewing and approving any materials for the product launch or event<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Participating in product pricing and packaging decisions<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Creating and delivering presentations and demos of the product to internal and external stakeholders<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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    Okay, that’s not a day in the life of a product manager (maybe a month). In fact, one of the biggest challenges for new product managers is learning how to prioritize because getting stuck in the <\/span>tyranny of the urgent<\/span><\/i> is not uncommon.<\/span><\/p>\n

    During a<\/span> Product Chat<\/span><\/a> with Kirsten Van Detta, senior product manager at LinkedIn, she described product management as “being everything to everyone, all the time” (and then provided six principles to prioritize better).’<\/span><\/p>\n

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