A Product Manager is responsible for discovering a product that is valuable, usable and feasible. In other words, a Product Manager needs to assess product opportunities, define what needs to be built and execute and launch the product.
After interacting with a lot of Product Managers and doing a little bit of it myself, this is what I believe are the essential attributes of a Product Manager:
• Decision making – The ability to take the right product decisions and the ability to say “No” when necessary
• Collaborative and has the ability to influence others and get things done
• Passion for technology and the ability to ramp up quickly on the domain
Product ideas can come from anywhere – customer discussions, management, sales or marketing staff, customer support etc. But it’s the job of a PM to take a hard look at the idea to see if it’s worth building.
Opportunity assessment -> Market Requirements document -> Project Requirements Document
After the product has been defined, the project manager handles the scheduling and tracking function to work with the development team to build the product. In some cases, the Product Manager may also take up the role of a Project Manager.
