Introduction

Product Management is a pivotal role at the heart of innovation, demanding a blend of technical acumen, customer empathy, and strategic thinking. Like many PMs, I took a circuitous route here. My background spans over 20 years, primarily in Linux, networking, and cloud consulting, but the shift to Product Management has been one of the most rewarding transitions in my career.

Building on that experience and moving into Product Management has been an exciting and enlightening journey. I’ve been presented with many valuable lessons and challenges and been involved in a wide range of projects and initiatives. As I reflect on my experience so far, I wanted to document some of the things I’ve learned along the way.  

NOTE: The purpose of this post is to document some of the things I have come to realise during my time as a Product Manager. These are just some of my own thoughts (based on things I’ve experienced or read) presented in no particular order.

Be focused on the Customer’s Problem

Engaging directly with customers offers immense value. In addition, establishing a direct line to a product manager can also make customers feel significant, heard and valued. Their feedback provides direct insights into necessary improvements, which can sometimes align with potential business opportunities.

Take the time to meet with key customers and note the common trends and themes regarding your product which come from those conversations. Being able to cite customer preference also helps add weight to discussions about the priority of particular features.

It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of building new features, but a good PM consistently measures each development against what customers truly need or have specifically requested.

To truly serve the customer, we need to engage with them regularly, listen to their pain points, and develop solutions that directly address their needs. Calls and interviews with customers or potential customers should be a core part of every PM’s routine. This helps to ensure we’re not just shipping features but providing real, tangible value.  

It’s mostly about prioritisation

The art of prioritisation is a huge part of the role. There will never be a shortage of product features or improvements that need to be made, but the reality of finite engineering resources and competing priorities will often necessitate tough decision making.

It’s therefore critical to be able to devise a product roadmap by evaluating which features are the most important, and how they align with the business’s overall vision. As important as they all might seem, tricky decisions often need to be taken regarding some product or feature proposals. Some may even need be postponed, or removed from the roadmap altogether.

Effective prioritisation can therefore also result in the need to lead challenging conversations with stakeholders who were pushing hard for a particular feature - you’ll need to be ready to answer difficult questions and explain why priorities have been shifted.  

Engage Early, Build Fast

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned is the importance of moving quickly and iteratively. The sooner you start building, the sooner you can start gathering feedback. Getting an early version of your product into the hands of users (even if it’s not perfect) helps to accelerate learning and keep you close to what customers truly need.  

Cross-collaborate

Working across teams, and with the right stakeholders is vital. Joining forces with engineering, marketing, design, and sales teams will nearly always lead to better product outcomes and a collaborative approach is essential, especially when thinking about product led growth.

Some of the most remarkable product and customer outcomes I’ve been a part of have been the result of a holistic approach, involving these various groups working together closely. Make sure you find someone in each of these areas that you can meet with regularly to discuss current work streams and upcoming initiatives.  

Engaging with engineering teams can yield a treasure trove of innovative ideas. These teams often possess a strong understanding of product areas that require attention or improvement. However, when considering any suggestions, it’s crucial to consider factors such as commercial viability, market trends, customer demand, and alignment with business objectives.  

Become the SME for your product

This one might sound a bit obvious, but it’s critical and therefore worthy of mention; Product Managers need to become the subject matter expert (SME) for their particular product. They need to be available to speak authoritatively to a variety of different stakeholders who want to better understand the product and answer questions relation to:

  • The vision and strategy for the product
  • How the product interacts with, complements or overlaps with other items in the company’s portfolio
  • The known strengths and weaknesses of the product
  • The underpinning technologies (and choices related to their selection)
  • How customers typically use the product (including what the edge cases are, and why they exist)

I think that a good PM has to be curious and driven. This enables them to become a true expert in their product area.

Communicate, communicate and then do it again

Being proactive in communicating is even more critical in a remote-first workplace. Overcommunication ensures everyone stays informed and connected, despite physical distance. This is especially vital in discussions about product and business strategy, where alignment is key. So, make sure to not only participate actively but also ensure there’s clarity in your communication, helping bridge any gaps that distance might create.

Always keep learning

While not exclusive to the role of a PM, maintaining a curious mindset and a readiness to learn are invaluable. Engaging with relevant books and case studies specific to your field can greatly enrich your understanding and perspective.

In addition, pursuing relevant certifications (especially in a technical environment) can further enhance your expertise and credibility. Dedicate time to studying for certifications that align with your role and industry, as they can provide valuable insights and demonstrate your commitment to professional development.

Move beyond technical know-how

While awareness of the relevant technologies is essential, it’s not the sole ingredient for success as a Product Manager. A strong connection to the overarching business strategy and a deep understanding of how your product fits within the broader context is equally vital. In addition to this, staying close to market trends and competitors’ activities is critical to navigate and understand the markets that you’re operating (and competing) in.

It’s also critical to understand the financial landscape relating to your product. For example, how much money does it make the company? What percentage of the wider customer-base use it? What does it cost the company to run and what do the margins look like?

Think about Product Led Growth

Product-led growth (PLG) is a business strategy and approach that focuses on using the product itself as the primary driver for acquiring, retaining, and expanding a customer base. In a product-led growth model, the product serves as both the marketing and sales tool, as well as the means of creating value for customers. This approach is often contrasted with traditional sales-led or marketing-led growth models.

It’s important to note that product-led growth doesn’t mean disregarding sales and marketing altogether. Rather, it’s about creating a product that is so valuable and user-friendly that it becomes a key driver of growth while still complementing these efforts with targeted marketing and sales strategies.  

Use data and insights

When it’s available, the right data can enable us to make more informed and strategic product decisions by reducing risks, identify opportunities or even improving our processes. When presented with the right data we can reduce the need for subjective judgement about product direction and eradicate guesswork.

That being said, it is crucial to sense-check what we think data might be telling us and ensure that it aligns with our own experience and instincts.  

Empathy

As a Product Manager, you have the influence to change the trajectory of a product and therefore, influence the work that others are assigned. Because of this, it’s crucial to recognise that your enthusiasm for a particular feature may not always be met with unanimous approval everyone else on the product team. This isn’t typically due to any disruptive intent on anyone’s part, but rather a natural apprehension regarding change, or simply different perspective. The following types of question should therefore be considered:

  • How will changes affect the daily routines and workload of others?
  • Will changes result additional work on top of their already demanding workload?
  • Do they possess the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience to effectively tackle these new challenges? If not, how can support and training be provided?  

Sometimes, documentation is the answer (and that’s OK)

Occasionally, the best solution isn’t a product feature but comprehensive documentation that guides customers in specific situations. This demonstrates a commitment to addressing customer needs while also acknowledging the practical limitations of constant feature modifications.

Being able to write good documentation is an important skill for any product manager to cultivate. If you’re lucky enough to have a dedicated documentation team within your organisation, work closely with them to ensure that manuals, guides, and help resources are not just informative but also consistent and easy to understand.  

Conclusion

In chapter 10 of his book, Inspired, Marty Cagan talks a lot about the types of skills that successful product managers have. He also says there are two specific types of course that every product manager should take:

  • An introduction to a computer programming language
  • An introduction to business accounting and finance

This suggestion gives us an interesting view of the make-up of a strong product manager: Someone who understands the technology and how businesses function.  

In conclusion, the journey of transitioning into Technical Product Management has been fun and challenging. There’s been ups and downs but I’ve been lucky enough to work with some really amazing PMs and I’ve learned some important lessons along the way. By reflecting on what I’ve experienced so far, I’m becoming more confident in my ability to navigate the complexities surrounding this unique role. Anyway, wish me luck!