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> reason about products Can you elaborate on this? It's unclear sometimes how much a PM's job is about delivering a predetermined product, vs how much is the P

by RickS 10y ago

> reason about products Can you elaborate on this? It's unclear sometimes how much a PM's job is about delivering a predetermined product, vs how much is the PM themselves hypothesizing/strategizing about changes and improvements to the product.

jmathai 10y ago
That's a valid point. I think it depends on the company and how they define Product/Project Management. TL;DR - In my experience it's a combination of both. You need to come up with a vision, convince others (non-direct reports and higher ups) that it's worth spending company $ on, and then be responsible for its success (however that's measured). -- In some companies a Product Manager is more of a Project Manager and working on a product someone higher up has chartered. My comments do not apply to those roles because the company is probably less concerned about product vision and strategy from the candidate. And to be honest, many companies don't need Product Managers as much as they need Project Managers who help keep the engine of incremental progress running. Other companies rely heavily on their Product group to come up with new and innovative products. I know this is the case with companies like Google, Facebook and many startups. It's easily visible by seeing if the company has recently launched anything truly different into the market. Your level will also determine how much strategy and vision you'll be doing. Entry level Product Managers won't be asked to cast a vision for an ambitious product and release it. But as you get more experience you'll be doing more of that.
NearAP 10y ago
> reason about Products: 1) If it's an existing product and someone is asking for an enhancement. You need to ask - is this enhancement unique to this person/client or does this apply to a generality of users/customers? 2) Sometimes you have to 'remove' yourself from the picture (i.e. as a user) and imagine how easy it would be for someone who is not technically savvy or conversant with something to easily use a product. An example - I sometimes have fellow PMs/colleagues argue that a design should be done in a particular way and an explanation put in the help (or documentation when it comes to ERP products). I typically counter that people rarely bother to go read up documentation when they suddenly don't understand something on an application screen. I'm not saying don't provide documentation or user guide but we should first exhaust the opportunity of trying to deliver an intuitive to use app.

by RickS 10y ago

jmathai 10y ago

That's a valid point. I think it depends on the company and how they define Product/Project Management. TL;DR - In my experience it's a combination of both. You need to come up with a vision, convince others (non-direct reports and higher ups) that it's worth spending company $ on, and then be responsible for its success (however that's measured). -- In some companies a Product Manager is more of a Project Manager and working on a product someone higher up has chartered. My comments do not apply to those roles because the company is probably less concerned about product vision and strategy from the candidate. And to be honest, many companies don't need Product Managers as much as they need Project Managers who help keep the engine of incremental progress running. Other companies rely heavily on their Product group to come up with new and innovative products. I know this is the case with companies like Google, Facebook and many startups. It's easily visible by seeing if the company has recently launched anything truly different into the market. Your level will also determine how much strategy and vision you'll be doing. Entry level Product Managers won't be asked to cast a vision for an ambitious product and release it. But as you get more experience you'll be doing more of that.

NearAP 10y ago

> reason about Products: 1) If it's an existing product and someone is asking for an enhancement. You need to ask - is this enhancement unique to this person/client or does this apply to a generality of users/customers? 2) Sometimes you have to 'remove' yourself from the picture (i.e. as a user) and imagine how easy it would be for someone who is not technically savvy or conversant with something to easily use a product. An example - I sometimes have fellow PMs/colleagues argue that a design should be done in a particular way and an explanation put in the help (or documentation when it comes to ERP products). I typically counter that people rarely bother to go read up documentation when they suddenly don't understand something on an application screen. I'm not saying don't provide documentation or user guide but we should first exhaust the opportunity of trying to deliver an intuitive to use app.