What is Product Management? Lifecycle, Tools and Main Roles
Summary
TLDRIn this insightful video, Ilya from Elakin Product Design Agency explores the history and definition of modern product management, tracing its roots back to 1931. He discusses the lifecycle stages of product development and the critical roles product managers play, emphasizing the importance of a strategic vision and team collaboration in driving product success. Highlighting the distinction between product and project management, Ilya also outlines the daily activities and tools of product managers, showcasing the dynamic nature of this pivotal role in the tech industry.
Takeaways
- 📚 Modern product management originated in 1931, with its roots in the brand management approach at Procter & Gamble.
- 🔍 Despite being a discipline for over 90 years, product management still lacks a universally clear definition due to its broad scope and responsibilities.
- 💡 Product management is distinguished from project management by its focus on the entire product lifecycle rather than specific development stages.
- 🛠️ The role of a product manager requires a deep understanding of technology, user needs, and ensuring business goals are met.
- 🌐 Product management lifecycle includes four stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline, each with distinct strategies and activities.
- 🚀 The growth stage is critical for increasing revenue, client base, and sales, while also managing growing competition.
- 🔄 In the maturity phase, the product is established, and efforts shift towards evolving new audiences and strong marketing to sustain growth.
- ♻️ Decline is a natural stage for products, where sales and demand decrease, and strategies like product redesign may be necessary to revive interest.
- 🛑 Product managers balance strategic and tactical aspects of product development, overseeing the entire process and guiding its direction.
- 🛠️ Tools for product management have evolved beyond spreadsheets, offering solutions for brainstorming, prototyping, user behavior analysis, and task management.
- 🏢 Organizational structures in product companies can vary greatly, from flat structures in startups to more complex divisions in larger companies, influencing product management roles and processes.
Q & A
When did modern product management begin according to the script?
-Modern product management began in 1931, as suggested by the memo written by Neil makiro of Procter & Gamble.
What is the primary role of a 'brand man' as described in the 1931 memo?
-The 'brand man' was responsible for focusing on products, packaging, positioning, distribution, and sales, as well as being accountable for the full life cycle of a specific product.
How does the script differentiate between product management and project management?
-Product management covers the entire product creation process, while project management focuses on a specific stage of product development. Product management requires a broader business vision and analytical thinking, whereas project management emphasizes strong organizational and time management skills.
What does Martin Erickson define product management as?
-Martin Erickson defines product management as the intersection of business, user experience, and tech.
What are the four main stages of the product management lifecycle mentioned in the script?
-The four main stages of the product management lifecycle are introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.
What is the primary goal of the introduction stage in the product management lifecycle?
-The primary goal of the introduction stage is to properly introduce the product to its users, deliver the product idea to potential customers, and get feedback to correct the direction if needed.
What does the script suggest as a strategy for the maturity phase of a product?
-In the maturity phase, the script suggests finding ways to evolve new audiences and making strong marketing efforts to sustain the product's success.
What are the two main directions of product management activities described in the script?
-The two main directions of product management activities are inbound, which includes strategic and development blocks, and outbound, which includes marketing and sales activities.
What tools are mentioned in the script for idea validation during the product management process?
-Lean Canvas and FigJam are mentioned as tools for idea validation, with FigJam being a digital whiteboard from Figma that encourages collective brainstorming.
What roles are considered leading product management roles according to the script?
-The leading product management roles mentioned in the script are Chief Product Officer (CPO) and Head of Product.
What aspects of product management does the script emphasize as most valuable based on the experience of product designers?
-The script emphasizes a clear strategic plan and general team attitude, including product vision, strategy, product roadmap, and success metrics, as the most valuable aspects of product management.
Outlines
📚 The Evolution and Definition of Product Management
This paragraph delves into the history of product management, tracing its origins back to 1931 with Neil makiro's memo at Procter & Gamble. It emphasizes the evolving nature of the discipline, which lacks a universally agreed-upon definition due to its broad scope of responsibilities. The speaker, Ilya, introduces himself and outlines the topics to be covered in the video, including the history, definition, lifecycle, roles, and tools of product management. The paragraph also highlights the distinction between product management and project management, noting that the former encompasses the entire product creation process, while the latter focuses on specific stages of development. The role of a product manager is described as requiring a deep understanding of technology, user needs, and business goals, with a reference to Martin Erickson's definition of product management as the intersection of business, user experience, and tech.
🛠 The Product Management Lifecycle and Daily Activities
The second paragraph discusses the product management lifecycle, which consists of four stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. Each stage is characterized by different market dynamics and strategic focuses, such as introducing a product to the market, increasing revenue and market share, maintaining a stable market presence, and addressing declining demand. The paragraph also describes the daily activities of product managers, which involve balancing strategic and tactical aspects of product development. Inbound activities include strategic planning and development, while outbound activities encompass marketing and sales. The importance of modern tools in aiding product managers is highlighted, with a mention of various tools used for brainstorming, prototyping, user behavior analysis, and organizational communication. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the impact of organizational structure on product management processes and roles.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Product Management
💡Neil Makiro
💡Agile Methods
💡Product Lifecycle
💡Product Strategy
💡User Experience (UX)
💡Organizational Structure
💡Inbound and Outbound Activities
💡Product Management Toolkit
💡Chief Product Officer (CPO)
💡Product Vision
Highlights
Modern product management originated in 1931 with the concept of a 'brand man' at Procter & Gamble.
Despite being over 90 years old, product management lacks a universally clear definition due to its diverse responsibilities.
Product management's history and evolution are tied to the development of software companies and the rise of Agile methodologies.
The fundamental difference between product management and project management is the scope of their focus, with product management covering the entire product creation.
Product managers require a deep understanding of technology, user needs, and business goals.
Martin Erickson defines product management as the intersection of business, user experience, and technology.
The product management lifecycle consists of four stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.
Product managers balance strategic and tactical aspects of product development.
Inbound and outbound activities are key directions for product management, involving strategic planning and marketing/sales respectively.
Product management toolkits are personalized and include tools for brainstorming, prototyping, user behavior analysis, and task management.
Organizational structures in product companies vary from flat to hierarchical and can influence product management roles and processes.
Roles in product management include product manager, product owner, user experience researcher, and product marketing manager.
The Chief Product Officer (CPO) is a leading role in large companies, working closely with the CTO and overseeing multiple products and product managers.
A clear strategic plan and positive team attitude are the most valued aspects of product management.
Product management plays a crucial role in team confidence, focus, and performance, leading to better results.
Ilya, the founder of Elakin, shares his experience working with various product teams and emphasizes the importance of product vision and strategy.
Transcripts
modern product management started in
1931 so it's been more than 90 years
since we had this concept around still
most experts in the Product Industry
won't be able to give you a clear
definition of what product management is
why is it so perhaps because this
discipline involves a wide range of
responsibilities and to understand it we
should touch upon many different topics
and that's what we are going to do in
this video hi I'm Ilya the founder of
elekin product design Agency for SAS and
over the past eight years I've worked
with Modern Family product companies of
different sizes and industries and I had
a chance to observe how they do product
management today based on my experience
I want to talk about product management
its history definition lifecycle product
managers activities main tools
organization structures and product
companies and the main product
management roles if you are new here
make sure to like this video And
subscribe so let's Dive In
at the very beginning I mentioned that
modern product management dates back in
1931. that's the year when Neil makiro
at the time a young employee of Procter
Gamble wrote a memo where he suggested
hiring more people for running company's
products according to the new approach
he offered so-called brand man had to
focus on products packaging positioning
distribution and sales they also had to
be responsible for a full life cycle of
a specific product these
responsibilities resemble modern product
manager's role in many ways a lot has
changed since then but the idea of
having a dedicated process and role
responsible for managing products Remain
the further development of software
companies led to Agile methods of
management and even though agile
methodology is more often associated
with project management it became the
turning point from where product
management as we know it today Rises you
probably know that product management
and project management are often
confused and in general sense this
concepts are closed yet the main
difference between these two is that
product management covers the whole
product creation while project
management focuses on a specific stage
of product development for project
management strong organizational and
time management skills are more
important product management on the
other hand requires a broader business
vision and analytical thinking modern
product management is responsible for
product strategy development and
performance from start to finish product
managers should have a deep
understanding of the technology behind
the product a profound understanding of
users with their needs and of course
they have to ensure that the company
meets all business goals that's why I
like the definition by Martin Erickson
an expert in product management
practices who said product management in
the intersection of business user
experience and Tech now let's talk about
product management lifecycle when we say
product management life cycle we mean
the way a particular company runs its
product development it consists of four
main stages introduction growth maturity
and decline introduction starts a couple
of months before the release and
continues while the product is entering
the market at this stage you don't hope
to have the revenue yet but you need to
make sure that the product will be
introduced to its users properly you
need to deliver the idea of your product
to potential customers and get the
feedback from them to correct your
direction if needed at the growth stage
most of users are aware of the product
benefit from it and are ready to invest
in it if everything goes well you
increase your Revenue clients base and
sales at this stage at the same time the
competition is growing so you have to
continue enhancing your product the
maturity phase means your product has
been established on the market so you
can see some slowdown and sales and
growth that's because the majority of
the target audience already uses your
product so it's time to find ways to
evolve new audiences and make strong
marketing efforts for successful
products the maturity stage can last for
decades but eventually every product
reaches the decline stage during this
phase sales market share and demand
naturally decrease to recreate new
demand and revive your product experts
recommend product redesign and revamping
product management here goes along with
the product lifecycle following its
introduction growth maturity and decline
stages by the way there is a separate
video about product lifecycle on my
channel you can find the link in the
description below let's learn what
product managers do every day to ensure
their product lives long and
successfully daily activities of product
managers balance between the Strategic
and tactical sides of the product but it
doesn't mean that they have to take care
about every single detail related to the
product development we can describe
their job as keeping a hand on polls of
the whole process and curating its
direction you can think of two
directions of product management
activities inbound and outbound the
inbound Direction can be divided into
two blocks the Strategic product
management block that includes product
Vision product roadmap and such and
development block of ux research design
coding and release the outbound
activities are everything related to
marketing and sales this includes
positioning branding sales processes
feedback from customers and so on of
course there is no strict line between
inbound and outbound activities and
product managers daily tasks involve
balancing between the two to achieve
product success and modern tools are a
great help to maintain this balance
that's what we are going to talk about
next product management toolkit differ
from company to company usually it's
personally had picked by a product
manager based on their experience and
needs luckily we are not in the
spreadsheet era anymore and now the
market has plenty of solutions to offer
brainstorming prototyping and product
design are those big fields of
responsibility that product managers and
product designers share for idea
validation phase it's good to rely on
lean canvas with its numerous templates
or fig Jam a digital wide work from
figma figgem is really a great tool that
encourages Collective brainstorming and
helps organize the creative process with
tailored templates you probably
associate figma Envision and sketch with
design work only in fact however it's a
go-to tool for product managers who work
with the design team or build simple
prototypes on their own product
management as well as product design is
a lot about analyzing users Behavior so
professional tools like ux cam or hotjar
are necessary for product managers that
want to understand how users interact
with the product and of course you can't
manage the product without organizing
information and documentation and talk
it to other team members use notion or
Google workspace to keep your files in
order and slack rocket chat jira todoist
or toggle for communication and task
management after all the choice of
product management tools depends a lot
on the range of product managers
responsibilities as well as the
company's organizational structure so
let's talk about organizational
structure in product companies it's
quite obvious that product management in
small startup and Google differ all the
processes within a company including
product management are determined by its
organizational structure and there are
so many ways to organize your product
teams small companies often start with a
flat structure when there is only one
manager and almost no hierarchy as the
company grows it may choose to create
divisions and distribute product
managers by products features user
personas or else finally businesses can
choose to create spoke cross-functional
teams within their organization that
work on specific functional areas within
the product I have discussed different
types of organizational structures in
more detail in another video you can
find them Link in the description below
the last thing to note here is that
organizational structure influences not
only processes and tools but also
product management roles within their
company and some of the main product
management roles are product manager it
is the most typical at the same time the
most essential role of the product
management especially in smaller
organizations this person is responsible
for the full product management scope
product owner is the role that defines
what is the right product they work
closely with the stakeholders and the
product team there can be only one
product owner in the team it doesn't
mean that this person does all the work
but this role hold the responsibility
for management all important product
related decisions next is user
experience researcher yes this title
doesn't include the work product yet it
is very important role in product
management ux researchers focus on user
experience and collaborate with other
product managers as well as design
development and marketing teams product
marketing manager is a part of bigger
product teams and focuses purely on
marketing side of the specific product
while collaborating closely with other
product managers there are also leading
product management roles Chief product
officer CPO or a head of the product is
the person responsible for the product
related activities they usually work
closely with the chief technical officer
CTO CPO is more likely to appear in the
biggie companies with the multiple
products and product managers in the
teams in all fairness I can continue
talking about product management for
hours to cover all its aspects but it's
time to sum up from the experience of my
product designers with various teams we
value the two aspects of product
management the most there are a clear
strategic plan and general team attitude
product Vision strategy product roadmap
success metrics all this is a part of
product management that turns product
success from a desired but a blurry goal
into an actionable step-by-step Journey
as for the team product management plays
a crucial role as well with good product
management everyone in the team feels
more confident focused and relaxed and
such an attitude leads to a better
performance and greater results that's
all for now I'm I hope you enjoyed this
video if yes then you probably like the
one on product management and product
design as well see you next video
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