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What the %$!# do Product Managers do anyway?@lindsayrothmanExplore Tech Toronto, April 2016
Seriously. What do they do?
“They talk to customers.”
“They tell Developers to build things.”
“They’re kind of like Project Managers.”
“They say there’s no time to refactor code.”
“They do Product things.”
“Ughhh.”
“?????”
Hi. My name is Lindsay and I’m a Product Manager.
Before I became a Product Manager...
Source: © 2011 Martin Eriksson http://www.mindtheproduct.com/2011/10/what-exactly-is-a-product-manager/
OK, so what do Product Managers do then?
Product Manager ≠ Project Manager
Product Managers find out what problems exist and which ones are worth solving.
Definition #1
Product Managers are the bridge between the outside world and the inside world.
Source: http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-role-of-product-managers/2012/06/08/
Definition #2
Linds, I still don’t get it.
So you’re a Developer…
Product Managers help Developers gain a solid understanding of the problem to be solved.
Uncovering a person’s real problem can be quite difficult.
Product Managers abstract problems into broader terms that their teams can ideate on and eventually solve.
An example of how a problem can be abstracted into broader terms...
Product Managers help Developers think more strategically about technical debt.
“The more success you’ve had in the past makes you less likely to be critical of your
own assumptions.”
Vinod Khosla, Co-Founder Sun Microsystems
So you’re a Designer…
The launch is just the beginning.
Product Managers help Designers understand the impact of their work.
“Most software is loaded with complex shit that no one uses.”
Des Traynor, VP Strategy at Intercom
If the product/feature that you launched was shit,* how would you know?
*Or amazing
Private InvestigatorExplorer Detective
Stalker Creeper
...
So you’re a Quality Assurance Analyst…
Product Managers help QA Analysts build better test plans more efficiently.
But wait, there’s more
But wait, there’s more
Product Managers help QA spot problems sooner by involving them in the design process.
So you’re a team...
Product Managers protect their team from crap so that the team can focus.
Product Managers are like the Maître d’ at a restaurant. They oversee all the things but don’t specialize in any of them.
“Consider the teams you see in action at great restaurants, and the totality of their effort:
the room, the vibe, the timing, the presentation, the attention, the anticipation of your needs (and,
of course, the food itself); nothing can be off.”
-Stewart Butterfield, CEO of Slack
So you’re a Product Manager…
Product Managers are obsessed with answering questions that start with “why.”
Product Managers help their teams feel engaged in the work they’re doing.
Thank you!
