Recently one of my colleagues posed a question to me " Why do Product Managers always try to be Project Managers", if you want to be a project managers then come to the development team.
I was taken aback by this question and had no good answer except that, " I do not wish to be a Project Manager". Later I started thinking about what he said and look for answers and here is my self reflection on that.
Wikipedia has the following distinction between a Product manager and Project Manager,
"Any type of product or service — pharmaceuticals, building construction, vehicles, electronics, computer software, financial services, etc. — may have its implementation overseen by a project manager and its operations by a product manager"[.].
Do you agree with this. Also is my colleague correct in characterizing Product Managers, as Project Managers trying to micro manage everything, tell me your thoughts.
One snippet for thought. In Wikipedia you also find the following,
"Diverse interpretations regarding the role of the product manager are the norm. The product manager title is often used in many ways to describe drastically different duties and responsibilities. Even within the high-tech industry where product management is better defined, the product manager's job description varies widely among companies. This is due to tradition and intuitive interpretations by different individuals."
The generic role of a manager in any industry and any company is to manage activities and deliverables to produce results using knowledge they possess in a particular domain of expertise. Managers acquire expertise in these knowledge areas (KA) thru a combination of formal and on the job training.
ReplyDeleteProject Manager KAs typically include: Integration, Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Resources, Communication, Risk and Procurement.
Product Manager KAs typically include: Customer, Strategy, Product, Market, Business, and Program. Programs are collections of related projects, each of which require mastery of the 9 unique project management KAs. This product management Program KA typically involves the management those cross-functional projects required to bring products to market. (and often the Program Manager is a member of the cross functional product management core team).
Since the Program/Project KA is one of the 6 KAs that are part of many product managers’ job description, it is not unusual for product managers to target project/program manager opportunities. The flip side is also true. Project managers looking to advance their career could target entry level product manager positions given their mastery of one of 6 unique product management KA.s
AIPMM has defined these 6 unique product management KAs as part of a universal, cross-industry Product Management Framework (PMF) designed to simplify and standardize the management of products in all size companies in all industries worldwide. For more information on the AIPMM unique KAs and the PMF, go to the www.AIPMM.com web site and download the APMF whitepaper.
Hopefully this explanation and link will introduce some clarity and consistency into the discussion. ~ Steve
Thanks for the comment Steve, Fro your reply can we infer that a Product manager role inherently straddles Project management responsibilities?
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