Product managers have a dynamic role within companies, sitting at the intersection between business leaders, customers, engineers, and designers. They help to organize the development process so that products meet customer needs and business goals.
In this article, I will examine the nature of products and the product life cycle, and break down a bit of what product managers do and how to break into this line of work.
What is a Product?
This is a simple yet often misunderstood question, and so an excellent place to get started. A product could be anything that is eventually delivered to an end user who engages with the product. A product could be a service like Netflix delivered through a website, a physical item like a potato or a tomato, or a bundle of tangible and intangible features and benefits like a cell phone or a credit card. Usually products are designed for a company’s customers but may also be intended for employees.
Managing the Product Lifecycle
Each product that is eventually shipped to users follows a Product Lifecycle, and product managers often engage across different stages of the lifecycle.
Ideation: This is the brainstorming phase. New product ideas may come from company leadership who see a new opportunity to solve a customer’s problems. During this stage, product managers consider how this product will benefit customers, how feasible it is to develop, and how it will impact the business.
Design: After product managers develop the overall vision for a product, they move to the design phase. In technology organizations, this is where designers may spend significant time considering the user experience and user interface. Designers will also need to consider the best way to develop the product. Starting from sketches then moving to online mockups, designers develop multiple samples of what the product could look and feel like. Designers may also engage with a sample group of customers to see how they respond to the mockups in order to identify which ideas work best.
Engineering: After the product vision and design has been set, products then start being developed. In technology organizations this would require technical talent to program the technology platform. Software engineers work in iterations to develop the internal or external facing product. During this time other teams – such as product designers, leaders, and even customers – may work in parallel to flesh out details.
Policy: After a product is developed it may need policy support to guide its delivery. For example, Waymo develops autonomous vehicles with a mission of putting driverless cars on the road. Although they have developed cars, they need to work with governments so that their product can be used. This could involve lawyers and policy experts within the company working with external organizations.
How to Break into Product Management
Product management roles can have different requirements depending on the company, but there are plenty of resources that can guide your transition. The Product School has plenty of free resources that you can use to gain insights about working in Product Management. The book, Cracking the PM Interview, is a highly rated resource that many Product Managers have read.
Regardless your current position, there are two simple steps you could take to better position yourself for this kind of role.
1. Participate in the product lifecycle
Product managers are skilled in moving through the entire lifecycle, from ideation to shipment of a product. One way you can prepare in your current role is going through that life cycle on your own. Do you have an idea for a product that could better serve customers? Reach out to people in different teams, and gain skill in working cross functionally.
2. Understand Technical Architectures
Product managers need to know how technology systems work so that they can contribute to them. Not all product managers come from a technical background, but through on the job and industry training they learn about technology systems. You can learn how technologies work by watching YouTube videos and reading books such as Swipe to Unlock.
Final thoughts
Product management is a dynamic line of work that could see you working in a diverse range of industries across the full product lifecycle. I hope that this article has given you a few useful tips on how to get started in your journey to learn about and pursue a career in the field of product management.
Zuhair Imaduddin is a labor relations student at Cornell University. He was a Product Management Intern at PNC Bank and is an incoming Innovation Development Summer Analyst at JPMorgan Chase.
Image: Unsplash