Product Management

Product management is a role inside an organization responsible for directing each stage of a product's lifecycle, including its creation, positioning, and price, with the primary emphasis being placed on the product itself and its end users.

Product managers are responsible for advocating for consumers inside a company and ensuring that the market's voice is heard and considered to provide the best product. Effective product management requires cross-functional collaboration with stakeholders such as executives and marketing and sales teams.

• Product management is concerned with the process of defining and delivering goods to customers based on an understanding of those customers' needs.
• In most cases, a single Product Manager manages the product life cycle for an individual product or an entire product family. However, product management may be handled by a group of people in some businesses.
• Research, Idea Management, Product Specification, Road Mapping, Prioritization, Product Development, and Feedback are all components of the Product Management Process.
• The "what" is the primary focus of product management, whereas the "how" is the primary focus of product development. In addition, the placement of a product is an essential part of product marketing.

Product management is diverse and dynamic, and it tremendously influences businesses and their many stakeholders. Product managers are responsible for developing successful products by focusing on the needs of end users while also drawing on their knowledge of business and technology.

In certain circumstances, one manager is responsible for the product management of a single product or product family. Consequently, this applicant must exhibit expertise in at least one of the product management-related disciplines and love for or facility with the others.

This often takes one of two forms—a seasoned business marketer with a passion for outstanding user experience and proficiency in tech jargon. Or a technical development leader who knows the item well enough to begin directing its development. Due to the scarcity and importance of these professionals, product management now commands the highest salaries in the whole technology business. Unfortunately, a small group of specialists often perform product management due to the difficulty of locating individuals fluent in both languages.

Most industries follow the basic steps in the product management process.

#1 - Research

Firstly, it enables one to determine the market scenario, what their rivals are doing, industry trends, and the possible hole that product may fill. In addition, it helps spot dangers and devise countermeasures, as well as opportunities and how to use them. Moreover, it provides insight into potential users and their requirements. Ultimately, addressing consumer wants is the foundation for product-driven expansion.

#2 - Idea Management

Ideas are continuously generated through several avenues. Therefore, it is vital to capture and maintain them centrally, preferably with meaningful categorization and labeling, in preparation for their future evaluation. Product management is responsible for maintaining a clear framework for gathering, aggregating, and storing these ideas.

#3 - Product Specifications

Product specs should be concise, non-overly-technical papers that address three essential questions: what are we constructing and why? what should this new product accomplish? and how will we measure success? How is success measured? Incorporating them into the product roadmap allows product managers to have a realistic understanding of what is doable within a given timeframe.

#4 - Road-mapping 

Which functionalities should be introduced initially? - this is when a map comes into play. For example, product management may direct the dialogue away from Feature X vs Feature Y disputes and toward the product's vision-advancing goals, objectives, and themes.

#5 - Prioritization

Next, it is necessary to determine which of the backlog items deserve advancement beyond the idea stage. Any prioritizing procedure should involve extensive stakeholder input, considering diverse perspectives and opinions. Regardless of the approach employed, prioritizing must strike a balance between the urgent, burning concerns that stakeholders are complaining about or pleading for and the must-have things essential to completing the project.

#6 - Product development

The product's core — code — is developed at this stage. The essential participants are the developers, who may have participated in setting technical standards. Members of the same multidisciplinary team in agile teams carry out development and testing. This helps them avoid delays caused by handoffs and allows for faster release cycles.

Regardless of the delivery method, a product manager must ensure that what is being developed fulfills the needs and expectations of the market and stakeholders. They must be accessible to define, explain, and confirm that the work performed will accomplish the project's objectives.

#7 - Iterations and feedback

One may utilize user behavior data and their input when the product is out to prioritize future feature development. This is frequently where the finest ideas originate. However, the release should not be rushed. Despite the temptation to release as rapidly as possible, ensure that the minimal viable product is viable and provides value above the minimum.

Let us look at some product management examples to understand the concept better:

Example #1

A software company named X adopts product management as a strategic method to ensure the success of its product across the whole product life cycle, from creation to release. It recruits the greatest personnel for the product management team to guarantee a successful product that aligns with the vision, market expectations, and budget.

In this scenario, the framework for product management would include defining the core features, designing the user interface, developing the best possible user experience, releasing a minimum viable product, iterating, meeting deadlines, understanding the market, and developing a feedback loop, among other things. The product manager is responsible for managing the complete operation, communicating instructions, coordinating with resources, organizing activity schedules, and contributing to maintaining a steady software development process.

The team compiles a list of all the key market metrics and then designs a product architecture that expertly tackles these key performance indicators and gives value to them. The team then conducts competitive intelligence research to understand their products' primary capabilities and limitations. As a result of product management and the principles underlying it, company X can successfully create and launch its new product

Example #2

A Yahoo finance article describes how Kellogg prepares MBAs for the varied demands of product management. According to some estimates, the demand for such positions in the United States surged by 32% between 2017 and 2019. As organizations place a more significant emphasis on data, programming, and design in their decision-making processes, the appeal of this career path has only increased. Both students believed that Kellogg's Career Management Center process assisted them in confidently landing a PM position.

• Product management focuses on the "what," whereas product development focuses on the "how."
• Product management is a strategic function that encompasses the full product life cycle. Product development, on the other hand, is the procedure of bringing an idea to market.
• In a company's product management division, a single product manager may direct the numerous product development teams. Others could have an interdisciplinary team. For example, product development teams may include software developers, designers, engineers, quality assurance testers, and anybody else required to bring the perfect product to reality.

• A Product manager looks after the overall vision and strategy. At the same time, a marketer is responsible for creating, building, and conveying a product's positioning, value, and go-to-market strategy.
• Product management focuses on defining and delivering products based on a knowledge of client requirements. Product marketing focuses on identifying the product's positioning & value so it satisfies the demands of target customers and company objectives.
• Working together with the product team, a product manager establishes the vision for what will be developed. Product marketers are primarily concerned with positioning the product to meet client demands, articulating its value, and driving adoption.

This article has been a guide to what is Product Management & its meaning. Here, we explain its process steps, examples, and differences with product development. You may also find some useful articles here -

• Management Information System
• Quality Management System
• Human Capital Management