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| © Getty Images | Product manager showing virtually connected sprockets, ideas and changing technologies. |
By DP Taylo, The Blueprint
Few things are more exciting than the launch of a new product -- or more terrifying if you're a product manager.
You
and your team have worked hard for months to perfect the product, and
now it's the moment of truth. Will it be a hit, or have you spent the
past few months on a flop, killing your professional reputation in the
process?
No one knows exactly why some products succeed or fail,
but we've developed a pretty good idea over the years of the ingredients
for a successful product development process. So, if you're in this
business, it's vital that you know and exhibit these qualities.
Good
product development management often is the difference between growing
as a company and getting crushed by competitors. In order to be an
effective, agile product development manager, you must possess a few key
characteristics. But first, it helps to identify exactly what product
management entails.
Overview: What is product management?
Product
management refers to the process of researching, identifying, and
developing new products based on customer needs so your company can
produce and sell these products.
Effective product management will
help a business correctly determine what customers are looking for and
then develop a product with specifications matching those needs.
A lot of work goes into product management beyond the actual product development process.
Product
managers must conduct extensive research into the customer base and its
needs, identify key specifications, discuss with the development team
what’s possible, and devise a roadmap for product development for the
project manager.
Basically, you must handle all aspects of the product life cycle from start to finish.
Product management vs. project management: What's the difference?
The difference between a product manager and a project manager is a matter of scope and overall responsibility.
While
a product manager is narrowly focused on developing a product roadmap,
the project manager takes that roadmap and breaks it down into
individual tasks, creates a project schedule, allocates resources for the project, monitors its progress, assigns roles and responsibilities for the team, coordinates the product launch, and communicates with stakeholders.
7 characteristics of effective product management
Being
a good product manager requires a lot more than understanding how to
put a product together. These seven characteristics are a must for
anyone hoping to excel in this career field.
1. Leadership
Like
any manager, a product manager must have good leadership qualities.
That means the product manager must be willing to listen to the team,
lead by example, show empathy to others, have a detailed understanding
of what needs to be accomplished, and be able to motivate the team to
accomplish the desired results.
Leaders must also show that they
can push their team to execute the project and accomplish the steps laid
out in the plan on time and on budget.
Example: Sarah, a
product manager for a bottling company, noticed that the team has
recently been late filling orders. She calls the team together and,
rather than demanding employees work harder to get products out the door
faster, asks for feedback to determine why they have had difficulty
getting orders out the door on time. She finds that workers have been
dealing with outdated machines that frequently break down, prompting her
to submit a proposal to the company to replace the machines with newer
models that will not break down as often and will operate more
efficiently than the old models.
2. Understanding the customer
Demonstrating
a thorough understanding of who your customer is, what they want, and
what kind of product will meet their needs is perhaps the most essential
part of being an effective product manager.
That goes beyond
merely gathering statistics on customer trends or poring over surveys --
you must have a general sense of what your customer desires based on
your intuition developed over years of interactions with the customer
base.
Example: John, a product manager at an accounting
software company, wants to better clarify who the customers are and what
they want. He instructs his team to generate three customer profiles:
one for the mid-sized business manager who wants to streamline the
company budget, one for the small business owner trying to find their
first budgeting software solution, and one for the head of household who
wants to understand personal finances.
3. Knowledge of current and past products
It's
hard to develop a strong product future if you don't know your past. By
understanding past company products -- what worked, what didn't, and
what was an absolute disaster -- you'll learn from previous mistakes and
identify what characteristics about a product tend to make it
successful.
While experimentation is important -- see
characteristic No. 7 below -- it's wise to avoid reinventing the wheel
whenever you can.
Example: Caryn, the product manager for a
consumer drone manufacturer, has received feedback from a customer
survey indicating that there's interest in a drone that can fly at much
higher altitudes than the current product. However, she knows that a
past effort to produce such a product ran afoul of Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) regulations, and she communicates this concern to
the company owner. They decide to launch a study to better refine
requirements for the future product to meet FAA regulations while
satisfying customer needs.
4. Effective communication
All
managers must be excellent communicators, and product managers are no
exception. You must understand how to communicate with a diverse group
of employees and get them all on the same page and collaborating
together.
This prevents duplication of effort and makes sure your
team is working with maximum efficiency. You also must clearly
communicate the product strategy with an effectively communicated road
map that clearly defines things like the product's attributes and who is
responsible for what.
Finally, you must take responsibility if anything goes wrong. As the manager, you’re the product owner and must act as such.
Example:
Steve, a product manager for a scientific instruments manufacturer, is
in the midst of guiding the development of a new calculator. To make
sure everyone on his team is on the same page, he creates a detailed
product strategy that discusses what components are to be developed and
when, who will be responsible for each stage of the development, and
stipulates daily updates so he can monitor the progress and communicate
any changes.
5. Prioritization skills
In a business,
resources are always limited. Sometimes you can’t get everything you
want in a product, so you must prioritize features and capabilities that
are of the most importance to the customer.
A product manager
must do this not just because a product may leave out the more important
features in favor of those that aren’t as essential, but also because a
lack of prioritization may cause a product manager to try to get all
the features done anyway and end up with an inferior overall product.
Example:
Tina, a product manager at a video game company, learns about halfway
through the development of a new role-playing game that they don’t have
the funds to build out all aspects of the game. Instead, the company
focuses on aspects of previous games that customers most enjoyed and
decide to devote their resources to similar gameplay elements, thereby
scrapping extras that they hoped would add value to the game but weren’t
essential.
6. Ability to think strategically
Product managers must look at the picture and think strategically.
They
must ask themselves, "Am I pushing out a temporary product just to
satisfy customer demands for a few months that will get tossed aside two
or three years from now, forcing us to start again from scratch, or am I
developing a solution that can grow with our customers?"
Your products are your company’s life blood, so you must develop a concept map for products that incorporate a long-term focus.
Example:
Tom, a product manager at an exercise equipment company, notices that
customers show a strong preference for expensive, features-laden
exercise bikes. However, the product doesn’t fit in with his company’s
overall strategy of producing affordable exercise equipment for
budget-conscious individuals, so he resists the urge to undergo an
expensive product development process to meet what he believes to be a
temporary demand.
7. Willingness to experiment
Developing
new products requires an adventurous spirit. You must be willing to take
calculated risks and experiment with new things that may fail.
By
having a backup plan and a main product line that supports the
business, you can branch out and try new things with your product team.
This allows you to identify new opportunities for your business to
expand beyond where your company is currently focused.
Example:
Mary, a product manager at a cyber security firm, continues to provide
support for the company's main cyber security product line, but she
wants to experiment with a pilot program for some new technology that
will introduce security measures for clients who want as many layers of
protection as possible. She sets aside a small amount of time and
resources each week to devote to this pilot program to see if it will
work and keeps the business owner informed of her progress.
Become more effective with software
While product life cycle management doesn’t involve all of the tasks of project management, you will still benefit from project management software.
This
software can help you gather detailed analytics on customers, set up a
project timeline, and draw up a strategic product development plan that
fits in with your company’s vision.
Some software options go beyond product development and assist with product marketing and sales, in case you’re in a small business and wear multiple hats.
Become more effective with software
While product life cycle management doesn’t involve all of the tasks of project management, you will still benefit from project management software.This software can help you gather detailed analytics on customers, set up a project timeline, and draw up a strategic product development plan that fits in with your company’s vision.
Some software options go beyond product development and assist with product marketing and sales, in case you’re in a small business and wear multiple hats.
See more at The Blueprint
