Product managers act as a liaison between business and technology, sitting at their intersection. They are responsible for communicating corporate objectives to engineering teams and updating superiors on the status of product development. Sitting at the junction entails a wide range of activities, tools, connections, and techniques, despite the job’s seeming simplicity, as well as meetings. There are always a lot of meetings!

A PM is frequently compared to the CEO of the product, although that comparison is also inaccurate. People believe this because PMs have a bird’s eye view of the product, whereas CEOs have a comprehensive vision of their company. Both are ultimately in charge of the business or product, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and advance the company’s or product’s vision. However, referring to a PM as a CEO gives them authority that they do not possess. The PM must use their influence rather than their power to persuade an engineer to modify their decision if they disagree.

Oxford Training Centre offers a variety of product management training courses covering essential skills such as product development, market strategies, Agile, UX, and leadership to help professionals drive product success and career growth 

Product manager role and responsibilities

A product manager determines the needs of the consumer, ties new features or products to overarching corporate goals, defines what a successful product looks like, and organizes a multidisciplinary team to make that vision a reality. One of the most important professionals in charge of directing the growth and performance of a product or product line inside a company is a product manager (PM). Defining the product strategy, vision, roadmap, and features by corporate objectives and customer needs is part of their job.

Role overview

Determining the product’s vision, strategy, and roadmap in light of consumer demands and corporate objectives is the responsibility of a product manager (PM). They manage interdisciplinary teams to produce goods that satisfy consumer needs and propel business expansion. Throughout the product lifecycle, from conception to launch and continuous improvement, project managers (PMs) serve as the customer’s advocate and guarantee alignment across stakeholders, engineering, marketing, sales, and support.

Core responsibilities of a product manager

A product manager’s primary duties center on directing a product from conception to market success by coordinating client demands with corporate objectives. According to numerous authoritative sources, the following are the main duties:

1. Recognizing and communicating user needs

Data analysis, interviews, surveys, and market and user research are some of the ways through which product managers get a deep insight into ‌client problems and preferences. They act as the consumer voice of the organization and, therefore, must be assured that the product will deliver real value.

2. Establishing product strategy and vision

PMs state the business case and goals and provide the long-term vision and strategy of the product. To have the team and stakeholders aligned to this objective, they create and oversee the product roadmap, which defines what is to be generated and at what time.

3. Market and competition analysis

They also monitor competitors and the overall market conditions very closely in order to spot opportunities and threats so that the product can be competitive and unique.

4. Setting features and needs in order of priority

Product managers compile, oversee, and rank the features and capabilities of their products according to technical viability, commercial effect, and customer value. To concentrate on what offers the most value, they make trade-offs.

5. Overseeing product releases and lifecycles

They handle the entire product lifecycle, from ideation to development, beta testing, launch, and repeat. Project managers build release plans, ensure timely delivery, and maintain ‌quality standards.

How to become a product manager?

Typically, a career combining education, skill-building, and practical experience is pursued in order to become a product manager. According to ‌recent expert knowledge, here is the detailed information on how to become a product manager:

• New product managers usually have a bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, engineering, computer science, or a related field.
• Product management requires both technical, design thinking and business acumen.
• Comprehending Agile approaches and software development cycles
• Designing for user experience (UX) and doing user research
• Market research and data analysis
• Prioritization and project management
• Effective leadership and communication to manage cross-functional teams
• Domain-specific expertise pertinent to the product or industry
• Internships and entry-level positions like Associate Product Manager (APM) are popular places to start. You can learn about prioritizing, product decision-making, and the product lifecycle in these positions while collaborating with seasoned product managers.
• Before moving on to a full-time product manager position, you usually work as an APM for one to three years.
• Display your influence on products with a portfolio that emphasizes your contributions to the success of the product rather than just your work.
• Because recruiters frequently utilize LinkedIn, keep your profile up to date and highlight your product management experience and abilities.

Daily routine of a product manager

In order to guide a product to success, a product manager’s (PM) day is dynamic and combines communication, analysis, decision-making, and documentation. Typical activities can be divided into three main categories, albeit no two days are precisely the same: determining and documenting, learning and analyzing, and connecting and communicating.

• Meetings and discussions with different teams and stakeholders take up a large portion of a project manager’s day in order to guarantee alignment and advancement. 
• Holding daily standups and core team meetings.
• Communicating with development teams frequently to examine demos, assess progress, and define requirements.
• To get client feedback and make sure they have the appropriate tools and messaging, the sales and support teams should meet.
• Working together on product launch plans and campaigns with marketing.
• Keeping stakeholders informed about the priorities and status of the product through communication
• Examining usability testing and user feedback to determine what needs to be improved.
• Examining KPIs and analytics to monitor product performance.
• Carrying out competitive and market research.
• Understanding consumer wants and pain issues by compiling information from customer surveys, interviews, and support tickets.

What steps do product managers have to avoid?

When there are small technical or product difficulties, PMs are not the first to respond. They should continue to concentrate on the roadmap and product goals rather than resolving customer support issues or daily bugs. These operational problems are instead handled by a specialized support or engineering team, and PMs remain up to date on important issues that need strategic attention.

• Product managers typically lack formal power and direct reports while being frequently referred to as the “CEO of the product.” They are unable to give engineers, designers, or marketers assignments, resources, or deadlines. Rather, they use alignment, communication, and persuasion to lead and influence.
• Project managers and product managers are not the same thing. Project managers concentrate on the specifics of execution, such as managing deliverables, driving deadlines, and organizing inter-team dependencies, whereas PMs specify what issues need to be resolved and why. PMs are distracted from their strategic duties when they are expected to pursue projects or oversee deadlines.
• Even though project managers plan releases, specialist positions like project managers, marketing teams, or engineering managers usually handle the actual execution, such as organizing marketing campaigns, completing release logistics, or overseeing deployment.
• To complete intricate tasks, PMs at larger firms depend on experts, including researchers, analysts, designers, and developers. Instead of doing the actual design, coding, or testing, project managers concentrate on establishing the product vision, coordinating stakeholders, setting feature priorities, and making strategic choices.

In a nutshell, product managers frequently have to deal with staffing and budgetary limitations. Strong negotiation and prioritization skills are necessary because they are unable to unilaterally distribute resources or demand more assistance from other departments. Impact measurement can be difficult and shared with other teams, such as analytics, marketing, and sales, even while project managers set success criteria and monitor product performance. PMs are not solely responsible for every facet of customer happiness or performance evaluation.