![]() In addition to developers and testers, product-development teams include operations, analytics, design, and product marketers that work closely together in “execution pods” to increase the speed and quality of software development. ![]() New responsibilities for product managers include overseeing the application programming interface (API) as a product, identifying and owning key partnerships, managing the developer ecosystem, and more. This has led to a shift in responsibilities from business development and marketing to product managers. At the same time, the value of the surrounding ecosystem is growing: modern products are increasingly just one element in an ecosystem of related services and businesses. Life cycles are also becoming more complex, with expectations of new features, frequent improvements, and upgrades after purchase. Managers must now oversee multiple bundles, pricing tiers, dynamic pricing, up-sell paths, and pricing strategy. While software-as-a-service products are becoming simpler for customers, with modular features rather than a single monolithic release, they are increasingly complex for product managers. Products and their ecosystems are becoming more complex Product managers spend much less time writing long requirements up front instead, they must work closely with different teams to gather feedback and iterate frequently. Product managers now function on two speeds: they plan the daily or weekly feature releases, as well as the product road map for the next six to 24 months. Product success can also be clearly measured across a broader set of metrics (engagement, retention, conversion, and so on) at a more granular level, and product managers can be given widespread influence to affect those metrics. It is natural for product managers-who are closest to the data-to take on a broader role. Data dominates everythingĬompanies today have treasure troves of internal and external data and use these to make every product decision. Together, they make a strong case for a well-rounded product manager who is more externally oriented and spends less time overseeing day-to-day engineering execution, while still commanding the respect of engineering. The emergence of the mini-CEO product manager is driven by a number of changes in technology, development methodologies, and the ways in which consumers make purchases. Why you need a product manager who thinks and acts like a CEO For more, see Chandra Gnanasambandam, Martin Harrysson, Rahul Mangla, and Shivam Srivastava, “ An executive’s guide to software development,” February 2017. What’s more, product management is emerging as the new training ground for future tech CEOs.Īs more companies outside of the technology sector set out to build software capabilities for success in the digital era, it’s critical that they get the product-management role right. They wear many hats, using a broad knowledge base to make trade-off decisions, and bring together cross-functional teams, ensuring alignment between diverse functions. Unlike product managers of the past, who were primarily focused on execution and were measured by the on-time delivery of engineering projects, the product manager of today is increasingly the mini-CEO of the product.
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