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What Product Management is Really About:

Separating Myth from Reality

· product management,product,product development,scrum,agile

Product management is a crucial role in the development of a successful product. It's not just about gathering requirements and dictating what the developers should do. It's a complex and multi-faceted discipline that requires a deep understanding of the market, the business, and the customers. In this blog post, we'll explore what product management is not and what it is about.

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Product management is not about:

  • Asking customers about the requirements: While customer feedback is important, product management goes beyond that. It requires a deep understanding of customer needs and desires, not just what they are asking for.
  • Writing detailed specifications: Product management involves much more than documenting requirements. It requires a holistic view of the product, from ideation to launch.
  • Creating prototypes instead of designers: Product managers should not be creating prototypes. That's the job of designers. Product managers should collaborate with designers to ensure the prototypes meet customer and business needs.
  • Instructing developers on what to do: Product management is not about dictating what the developers should do. It's about leading the development team and ensuring that the product is delivered on time, within budget, and meets customer needs.
  • Verifying and accepting the work of others: Product management is not about micromanaging the work of others. It's about ensuring that everyone is working together to achieve the common goal of delivering a product customers love.
  • Obsessing over velocity, deadlines, and roadmaps: While deadlines and roadmaps are important, product management is not just about hitting these milestones. It's about delivering a product that meets the needs of customers and the business.
  • Mastering the role of the Scrum PO to perfection: Product management is not just about mastering one specific methodology or framework. It's about adapting to the needs of the product and the team.
  • Acting like the CEO of the product: Product management is not about being in charge of the product. It's about leading the development team and ensuring that everyone is working together towards the common goal.
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Product management is about:

  • Focusing on customer's problems, needs, and desires: Product management starts with understanding the customer. What are their problems, needs, and desires? This information is crucial in developing a product that meets their needs.
  • Understanding the market and the business in depth: Product managers need to understand the market they're operating in and the business they're working for. This knowledge is crucial in developing a product that meets customer and business needs.
  • Collaborating closely with engineers and designers: Product managers should work closely with engineers and designers to ensure that the product is developed to meet customer and business needs.
  • Identifying opportunities, ideating solutions, and tackling the risks together: Product management involves identifying opportunities and ideating solutions to customer problems. It also requires addressing risks and ensuring that the product can be developed and delivered on time and within budget.
  • Marrying customer goals and business goals: Product management is about balancing customer needs and business needs to deliver a product that meets both.
  • Influencing others to work toward the common goal: Product management is about leading the development team and ensuring that everyone is working together towards the common goal of delivering a product customers love.
  • Being humble (it's ok not to be the smartest person in the room): Product management is about being humble and recognizing that there are many people on the development team who have expertise in their areas.
  • Experimenting to validate assumptions: Product management involves experimenting and testing assumptions to validate that the product is meeting customer and business needs.
  • Leading without authority: Product management is about leading the development team and ensuring that everyone is working together towardsprosuct