What does a Product Manager do?
In this post, we explore key points of what constitutes the work of a Product Manager
With unlimited number of posts/blogs which specifies the tasks to be done by a Product Manager, we at The Product Geek are providing you with a bird’s eye view of the tasks that defines the work of a Product Manager
A Product Manager (PM) does EVERYTHING to ship a quality product for its users
A Product Manager’s work can be divided into the following six broad categories:
MARKET & USER INTELLIGENCE
A PM understands the users so as to empathise and solve for them.Understanding the market and the competitive landscape is equally important to build a product which your users would prefer over your competition
At the end of this step a PM should have a clear idea about the problem he/she is trying to solve for the users.
BUSINESS ANALYSIS & MODELLING
Product Manager's ultimate aim is to build a product which can be a sustainable business.
Understanding your company's business model and aligning your product strategy with that model is necessary.
USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN
This is where a Product Manager visualises a solution to the defined problem.
You create flow diagrams, wireframes and work closely with the design team to come up with the best experience possible for your users.
Build prototypes, test with potential users, get feedback & iterate.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
You will rally with your engineering team to ship your product on time.
Great Product Managers enable their team to navigate through well written Product Requirement Documents(PRD’s), JIRA stories or anything that their team might need.
Shipping the Product
GO TO MARKET & GROWTH
Finding the right features to market, communicating the value of the product to the users also falls in the PM's kitty.
You will closely work with your marketing & growth teams for this. You invested in building your product, now it's time to make sure your users know about it, try it and maybe even tell their friends about it.
Building is not the end of it.
ANALYTICS & EVOLUTION
As a PM you will setup certain metrics which will help you validate your hypotheses around your product.
Once your product hits the market, you closely monitor these metrics and create actionable based on data.
Measure what matters. Optimise efforts to maximise returns.
WHAT ELSE??
Well that's not all!
There is no end to the number of things you will need to do as a PM to think, build, ship & grow your product(s).
An attitude of getting shit done will go a long way.
Happy shipping!!!