What Does a Product Manager Do?

Introduction

• Many differing perspectives on the role of a product manager within product teams.
• The product management industry has seen significant growth and diversification over the past decade.

Speaker Introduction

• Sharif Mansour: Accidental product manager; transitioned from engineering to product management.
• Experience at Atlassian where the product management team grew from 10 to over 140 members.

Complexity in Defining Product Management

1. Historical Context

• Ben Horowitz's Definition (2012): Product manager as the "CEO of a product."
  • Responsibilities include motivating the team, defining the problem, and establishing what success looks like.
• Critique of the CEO analogy:
  • Challenge: Product managers lack direct reports and thus must influence without authority.
  • Both the CEO perspective and the alternate view showcase different dimensions of the product manager's role.

2. Team Culture

• Definition: Team culture influences how work gets done within organizations.
• Variability based on organization size:
  • In smaller teams, product managers may perform various tasks (research, analytics).
  • In larger teams, responsibilities may shift as dedicated teams for specific functions are established.
• Navigating organizational landscapes becomes essential in medium to large organizations.
  • Product managers must use influence skills to align business and customer needs.

3. Confusion Around Responsibilities

• Comparison: Product manager vs. Product owner
  • Product managers focus on long-term vision, objectives, and success metrics.
  • Product owners handle the breakdown of tasks and day-to-day activities (requirements, backlog management).
• Trends: Product management roles are evolving, with successful managers empowering teams to adopt product owner responsibilities.

The Venn Diagram of Product Management

• Martin Eriksson's Diagram: Intersection of User Experience, Technology, and Business.
• Misinterpretation as a project management function; the actual focus is on:
  • Making trade-off decisions among various needs.
  • Balancing user experience, business imperatives, and feasibility.
• Essential for delivering valuable solutions to customer problems.

Key Takeaways

• Responsibilities of product managers encompass CEO-like duties without traditional authority.
• Role evolves from broad responsibilities in smaller organizations to more focused duties in larger settings.
• Effective product managers provide context, empower team members, and excel at trade-off decisions.

Conclusion

• No single clear definition of the product manager role; it's multifaceted and context-dependent, and the landscape is continually changing.