Product manager

A product manager investigates, selects, and develops products for an organization, performing the activities of product management.

A product manager considers numerous factors such as intended demographic, the products offered by the competition, and how well the product fits with the company's business model. Generally, a product manager manages one or more tangible products. However, the term may be used to describe a person who manages intangible products, such as music, information, and services.

A product manager's role in tangible goods industries is similar to a program director's role in service industries.

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.

In the financial services industry (banking, insurance etc.), product managers manage products (for example, credit card portfolios), their profit and loss, and also determine the business development strategy.

In a Scrum environment, a Product Manager is also referred to as the Product Owner, and usually has the main role of representing the product to the customer. Some of the responsibilities of the Product Owner include marketing of the product and analysis of the competition.

In some companies, the product manager also acts as a:

• Product marketing manager — may perform all outbound marketing activities in the older sense of the term
• Project manager — may perform all activities related to schedule and resource management
• Program manager — may perform activities related to schedule, resource, and cross-functional execution

Software product manager

A typical software product manager is responsible for eliciting software requirements using a Marketing Requirements Document (MRD) developed by the product planning/marketing team and developing a high level Product Requirements Document (PRD) and an elaborate Software Requirements Specification (SRS) for the software engineering/development organization for subsequent design, development, and testing activities. In most organizations, the software product manager is responsible for creating User Acceptance Test (UAT) procedures, facilitating UAT sessions with end-users, and ensuring that the product meets the specifications and is deployed successfully.

See also

• Program director
• Collaborative Product Development
• New product development
• Product management
• Product planning
• Product marketing
• Marketing requirements document