Product management

Product Manager is a relatively new role, and the responsibilities of a Product Manager often overlap with the responsibilities of other specialists. A Product Manager should be proficient in three domains: user experience, technology, and business.

Job responsibilities

Develop a product strategy and roadmap
For outsourcing companies, communicate with customers, collect and formulate requirements
Analyze the market and competition
Create user stories, prioritize and assign tasks
Develop new product functionality and features
Draw up functional specifications, MRDs and PRDs
Collaborate with designers and developers
Verify hypotheses about the product using multivariate, split, and usability testing
Create, update, and monitor product dashboards
Get quantitative data on consumer behavior (for example, from consultants) ; analyze data and make informed decisions
Develop a monetization model and a pricing strategy
Collaborate with partners and contractors
Prepare the product for launch
Support and improve the product after implementation
Evaluate the effectiveness of product fixes and improvements.

Skills

Competence in analyzing the market, competitors, customer requirements, consumer expectations, trends, product metrics, and statistics
Leadership skills
Effective communication
Defining and tracking success metrics
Understanding of market trends
Knowledge of different types of user testing, ability to analyze results
Understanding of the business domain for which the product is being developed
Mastery of tools for task tracking, collaboration, and project management (for example, Jira, Confluence, Hygger)
Experience with user analytics platforms, such as Amplitude and Pendo
Knowledge of web and/ or software development principles.

FAQ

INDIGO Tech Recruiters have prepared answers to common questions about Product Managers. If you have any questions that aren't already on the list, we’ll be happy to answer them personally.

1. What is the difference between the Product Manager and Project Manager positions?

A Product Manager is responsible for developing a product or service during its lifecycle. A Project Manager manages a specific project, limited in time. Working on a product can include many projects. The responsibilities of these specialists are different, although they overlap in some aspects (for example, the distribution of tasks, communication within the team and with customers). The Project Manager's key KPIs are meeting deadlines and budgets, and the Product Manager's metrics are related to users (engagement, retention, revenue). In small companies, project management tasks are often performed by a Product Manager.

2. What is the difference between Product Manager and Product Owner positions?

Product Owner is a role in the Scrum methodology that implies a certain range of tasks within the project. There is no Product Manager role in pure Scrum. In pure Waterfall methodology , on the contrary, there is no Product Owner. When combining Agile and Waterfall methods, the responsibilities of these roles (and thus, the difference) depend on the company. Most often, a Product Owner acts on the behalf of stakeholders, defining requirements for the product, performing the operational role of an intermediary between customers and the team. The PO's tasks include creating and managing a backlog. The Product Manager works with both the team and stakeholders. Her responsibilities usually include analyzing the market and competitors, and building a market entry strategy.

3. Why do I need a product manager ?

A product manager ensures that the final product meets the needs of users and consistently brings profit.

4. What skills and knowledge should a good product manager have?

A product manager must be able to analyze and make decisions based on the data received, communicate, and have leadership qualities. They should understand business processes, technologies, and user experience.

Job responsibilities

Skills

FAQ

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