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You just described product managers. They solicit needs from customers, support conversations, etc. and translate those into future development. They combine t

You just described product managers. They solicit needs from customers, support conversations, etc. and translate those into future development. They combine those needs into major product directions and balance them with an internal compass for where the companyw wants the product to be (i.e., what jobs they want to solve for which users.) They are technical people with an eye for how something should be built, working closely with designers (visual, UX, etc.) Excellent companies figure out how to deploy these types of thinkers -- with appropriate mandate -- throughout the organization.

arvinsim 7y ago
I am pretty sure that my Product Manager has no technical experience at all. And I assume that it's not mandatory for them. If they are supposed to be technical, then we hired wrongly.
- pureliquidhw 7y ago
  Technical enough to understand, but probably not technical enough to build (but maybe was at some point). That's where they need to live. Their job is to align the devs and the roadmap with the business needs, prioritize what bugs to fix, and decide which enhancements are worthwhile. They also need to know when the team is bullshitting them and when a tech design is too complex or simple. I can imagine a non-technical person could end up in this role and succeed, but someone with a technical background and some business acumen will have a much higher probability of success.
4ntonius8lock 7y ago
Though you know, sometimes organizations fall into this issue in other areas. I once worked with a company that had that attitude toward accounting/compliance - so much more work and all because the primary holders were not in agreement, so they kicked the corporate structure can down the road. Same goes for CS, etc. I guess the only solution is a holistic approach, but even then sometimes someone will have to bear the brunt of being the area where people will 'will handle it', at some point a CEO will decide that is what is needed and it will be needed, even in a perfect organization.

arvinsim 7y ago

I am pretty sure that my Product Manager has no technical experience at all. And I assume that it's not mandatory for them. If they are supposed to be technical, then we hired wrongly.

pureliquidhw 7y ago
Technical enough to understand, but probably not technical enough to build (but maybe was at some point). That's where they need to live. Their job is to align the devs and the roadmap with the business needs, prioritize what bugs to fix, and decide which enhancements are worthwhile. They also need to know when the team is bullshitting them and when a tech design is too complex or simple. I can imagine a non-technical person could end up in this role and succeed, but someone with a technical background and some business acumen will have a much higher probability of success.

4ntonius8lock 7y ago

Though you know, sometimes organizations fall into this issue in other areas. I once worked with a company that had that attitude toward accounting/compliance - so much more work and all because the primary holders were not in agreement, so they kicked the corporate structure can down the road. Same goes for CS, etc. I guess the only solution is a holistic approach, but even then sometimes someone will have to bear the brunt of being the area where people will 'will handle it', at some point a CEO will decide that is what is needed and it will be needed, even in a perfect organization.