3 ms·

It's a really long article explaining and justifying what "Product" is. I think a much simpler explanation is that product management is the hub that connects

It's a really long article explaining and justifying what "Product" is. I think a much simpler explanation is that product management is the hub that connects all of the other groups together in a unified and consistent fashion. Is marketing up to speed on exactly what is launching a month before it launches, so they can prep content and PR people? Do sales people understand exactly how we should or should not be selling a new feature? Do finance and legal know how we're going to sunset that old piece of functionality without violating contractual agreeements with customers? Thats' all product management. And then you get into the roadmap side of things, but even that is largely in service of the above goal. I'm not one of those product people who thinks that all companies need product managers. But I think in the end, someone ends up filling that need, whether they have a formal title or not. It could be a sales exec, or a presales engineer, or a head of engineering with good business sense, but that's the job function they're stepping in to fulfill.

zzalpha 11y ago
It's a really long article explaining and justifying what "Product" is. TBH, I didn't think the article was justifying the role so much as justifying the ambiguity that surrounds it. The fact that PM touches so many areas without specializing in any one, and ultimately involves mostly leadership and coordination, means it can be really tough to put a finger on what, exactly, someone with that title is doing. * But I think in the end, someone ends up filling that need, whether they have a formal title or not.* And that really is the key. In small organizations, it's not unusual for the lead of the technical group to own these functions. That can be good, or it can be very very bad, depending on the person and the market the company is operating in. But as the organization scales, the complexity of the work grows substantially. Often that means a few folks help pick up the ball in an ad hoc fashion until someone realizes that maybe one person should own the responsibility, and voila, a product manager is born.

zzalpha 11y ago

It's a really long article explaining and justifying what "Product" is. TBH, I didn't think the article was justifying the role so much as justifying the ambiguity that surrounds it. The fact that PM touches so many areas without specializing in any one, and ultimately involves mostly leadership and coordination, means it can be really tough to put a finger on what, exactly, someone with that title is doing. * But I think in the end, someone ends up filling that need, whether they have a formal title or not.* And that really is the key. In small organizations, it's not unusual for the lead of the technical group to own these functions. That can be good, or it can be very very bad, depending on the person and the market the company is operating in. But as the organization scales, the complexity of the work grows substantially. Often that means a few folks help pick up the ball in an ad hoc fashion until someone realizes that maybe one person should own the responsibility, and voila, a product manager is born.