Careers In Tech: Product Management
Written by: Chigozie Paul
Product management happens “at the intersection between business, technology, and user experience.” Martin Eriksson.
Product management is a critical career path because it is the role and function within an organization that is responsible for a product’s overall success. This is because Product management is the process of planning, developing, launching, and managing a product or service.
As a result of its versatility, Product management is one of the most in-demand Tech skills. If you are looking at pursuing a career path in tech or transitioning into tech, we recommend Product management for the following reasons.
- It can be an engaging career path for creative minds who want to play a critical role in developing anything regarding man’s everyday use.
- It can be a highly lucrative career path as the skill is currently in demand.
- Pursuing a career path in Product management is utterly satisfying, plus you have a rapid career progression unless you go to one of the multinational companies.
- It is a diversified career path that can lead to different interesting technical roles.
- Interestingly, you do not need a specific degree to thrive in product management.
Here are some of the available roles in Product Management.
- Product manager.
- Product owner
- Chief Product Officer.
1. Product Manager
You could be a product manager. A product manager is a professional role responsible for developing products for an organization, known as the practice of product management. Product managers own the product strategy behind a product, specify its functional requirements, and manage feature releases.
While working, a Product manager has to consider the entire lifecycle of a product, from ideation to development to its final stage when it’s ready to hit the market.
Product Managers work with groups inside and outside the company to build and execute a plan to make sure the product best meets its financial and strategic goals. So, as an intended Product manager, here are some skills you must have.
- Communication skills.
- Technical expertise.
- Business skills.
- Research skills.
- Analytical skills.
- Interpersonal skills.
- Marketing skills.
- Delegation skills.
2. Product owner
The Product Owner Role is an essential member of any agile scrum team. The primary goal in a Product Owner role is to represent the customer to the development team. Product Owners are responsible for managing a product, ensuring that the history of product development is well documented and that there is a list of must-haves for future product development.
There are specific skills every product owner should have to function effectively, and some of these skills include Analytical skills, Communication skills, Decision-Making skills, Product Management Skills, etc.
3. Chief Product Officer
The product management leader is the chief product officer (CPO). People in this leadership position supervise the product managers and manage the overall strategy for the product, from conception to launch.
As they oversee teams and ensure that all products align with the brand’s mission and audience needs, CPOs must have strong leadership abilities and brand awareness. CPOs supervise product research and develop fresh product concepts to help their target market.
In Conclusion, here are a couple of materials that you can find helpful as you embark on the transition journey into Product Management: Product Management in Practice: A Real-World Guide to the Key Connective Role of the 21st Century by Matt LeMay, The Art of Product Management by Rich Mironov, The Product Manager’s Survival Guide: Everything you need to know to succeed as a Product Manager by Steven Haines, Product Management for Dummies by Brian Lawley& Pamela Schure.
