Article by Maureen Ogwu
The role of the product manager is expanding due to the growing importance of data in decision-making, an increased customer and design focus, and the evolution of software-development methodologies.
Couple of years ago, the role of the project manager was not as all-encompassing as it is today. The product manager is somewhat of a “demi CEO” in technology startups; responsible for key decision-making with regard to the products.
He/She is a key player in determining the success of shipping good products and keeping the business afloat.
With competitors popping up daily, there is so much pressure on product teams from customers, CEO’s and other stakeholders to ship new features or literally just anything new. This pressure is no less on project managers as they carry the whole team along.
They are involved in the product cycle from ideation to execution and shipping.
Being the binding force of many functions that touch a product—engineering, design, customer success, sales, marketing, operations, finance, legal, and more, they not only own the decisions about what gets built but also influence every aspect of how it gets built and launched.
Unlike product managers of the past, who were primarily focused on execution and were measured by the on-time delivery of engineering projects, the product manager of today is increasingly invested in the product and the process.
They wear many hats, using a broad knowledge base to make trade-off decisions, and bring together cross-functional teams, ensuring alignment between diverse functions. What’s more, product management is emerging as the new training ground for future tech CEOs.
The ecosystem of product development has changed and is now a complex phenomenon. Products are built differently and product managers now function on two speeds: they plan the daily or weekly feature releases, as well as the product roadmap for the next six to 24 months, especially for startups. With so much competition, getting a startup off the ground and surviving the market pressure is difficult.
That’s a lot of work but it is totally worth it for a good product to be built. Product managers spend much less time writing long requirements up front; instead, they must work closely with different teams to gather feedback and iterate frequently.
With Software as a Service (SaaS) becoming easier for users by presenting them with modular features rather than a single monolithic release, they are increasingly complex for product managers.
Managers must now oversee multiple bundles, pricing tiers, dynamic pricing, up-sell paths, and pricing strategy. Life cycles are also becoming more complex, with expectations of new features, frequent improvements, and upgrades after purchase.
At the same time, the value of the surrounding ecosystem is growing: modern products are increasingly just one element in an ecosystem of related services and businesses.
This has led to a shift in responsibilities from business development and marketing to product managers. New responsibilities for product managers include overseeing the application programming interface (API) as a product, identifying and owning key partnerships, managing the developer ecosystem, and more.
Today, the scope of a product manager covers operations, analytics, design, marketing, and increasing the speed and quality of software development.
Finally, as seamless, user-friendly consumer software becomes more conducive for people, users increasingly expect a better experience for enterprise software. Today’s product manager needs to know the customer intimately.
Continuous customer discovery is a must. This means being obsessed with usage metrics and building customer empathy through online channels, one-on-one interviews, and shadowing exercises to observe, listen, and learn how people actually use and experience products.
About the writer
Maureen is currently a technical sourcing specialist with Meta, one of the largest tech companies in the world. Previously, she worked with GlobalCharge ltd as both Product Manager and Digital Marketing expert leading the engineering and marketing teams. Prior to that, she served as a Product Marketing trainer and mentor with Utiva. She has also served as a Paid Marketing Specialist at Digital Marketing Skill Institute, an EdTech Company. She has been recognised for her extensive experience leading digital transformation initiatives and managing the development of highly innovative tech product marketing. She holds an MBA degree from the University of East London.
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