The role of a product manager is described as "the person who defines the features of a product and is responsible for bringing the product to market." In order to be successful in this role, a product manager must have a clear understanding of the needs of their target market and be able to articulate those needs to the engineering team. They must also be able to manage the expectations of the stakeholders and ensure that the product meets their needs.
A successful product manager also has a keen understanding of the competitive landscape and is able to position their product in a way that gives it a competitive advantage. A successful product manager will also have a good understanding of the competitive landscape and be able to work with the sales team to ensure that the product is successfully marketed and sold to customers.
Overall, Product managers hold an extremely valuable role within a company as they are the ones responsible for ensuring that products are successful in the marketplace. They continue to monitor the product after launch and dictate whether or not to continue funding the product.
A Product Manager is responsible for overseeing the entire product life cycle, from initial concept to end-of-life. This includes defining the product strategy, gathering customer requirements, managing product roadmaps and releases, developing pricing strategies, coordinating with other teams such as engineering and marketing, conducting market research and competitor analysis, tracking performance metrics and analyzing user feedback.
Successful Product Managers need strong analytical skills in order to understand customer needs and market trends. They should also have excellent communication skills in order to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams. Other important skills include project management experience, problem solving abilities, strategic thinking capabilities, creativity in coming up with innovative solutions and an understanding of business fundamentals.
Fun Fact:
According to the Project Management Institute, "there are over 7 million product managers worldwide" (PMI, 2020).