Unboxing Product Management

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Unboxing Product Management 

 

What is product management, anyway?

Product management may be defined as a company’s internal function that deals with–surprise–a product and its lifecycle. A product’s complete lifecycle consists of development, planning, production, pricing, marketing and the product launch itself. Product managers guide the process in each step by liaising with internal and external teams, as well as customers. 

Why does product management matter? It’s because businesses need to create valuable products that would sell to its target audience. Product managers are responsible for creating or innovating products that are different from the company’s offerings. 



So… what does a product manager do?

Product managers wear hats of many, many shapes and colours–they are at the intersection of business, design and tech. Imagine a product manager as an all-seeing eye in the organisation, where they overlook different internal teams (and customers!). 

Product managers interact with customers or users to understand their pain points and figure out what needs to be developed to address these issues. They work together with the management team to gain support when advocating for investment, as well as to make sure that the product(s) align with the business’ goals. 

Besides getting approval from upper management, product managers also work with internal development teams, made up of design and tech teams. Product managers work with these teams to find out what direction the business should take, decisions that need to be made around the roadmap, what kind of projects the team should take up, as well as the overall timeline.

 

What would a typical product management process look like?

As mentioned before, product managers wear different hats and execute various roles within an organisation. 

First, they conduct research to find out what the customer needs, for example, via customer journey mapping. Once they have an understanding of a customer’s pain points and what product could be developed to address those needs, product managers will create a strategy for the development of a product by working with internal teams. 

Going forward, these teams will assist them in defining the vision and roadmap while the role of a product manager mainly consists of overseeing the product team as it works on the development. 

Product managers will also work with management and sales team to set objectives that align with the consumer demand to reach sales targets. In the final step, they are also involved in developing and strategising marketing efforts related to the product. 

Sounds like a lot of steps? That's why it's important for product managers to good at critical thinking!



What kind of skills or tools would I need to become a product manager?

When it comes to tools, most use standard office products like MS, Google sheets, slides, and more of the likes. Some product managers also make good use of prototyping tools in their job, like Sketch or Balsamiq. Knowledge in using development tracking tools like Jira would also be an added plus. It’s also an advantage for a product manager to be tech savvy and well-versed in analytical tools like Tableau, SQL or Google Analytics.

All in all, product managers should be diplomatic, as the nature of the job itself involves taking into account the opinions of multiple stakeholders. Someone who is a natural problem solver with an analytical mindset would also thrive in a product management role. 

 

What are some common job titles in product management?

  • Product Manager
  • Technical Project Manager
  • Product Analyst
  • Product Owner
  • Operations Manager
  • Web Developer
  • Technical Support Engineer
  • Business Intelligence Analyst
  • Data Engineer 
  • Solutions Engineer

 

Ready to begin your new career in product management? Join our Product Management Bootcamp. Request a syllabus, view class start dates, get to know potential instructors and more on the course page.

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GA Malaysia

Published on Feb 22, 2022

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