Online Class: Product Management 101

Product management is the process of making the right product that solves the right problem for the right person at the right time. The right person is the customer, who along with business and technology, make up the heart of the product management process. It is the process by which a vision or idea becomes a valuable product.

The project manager is an extremely important person in an organization. You will typically find product managers at companies that build software or products for customer or business-to-business use.

The product manager is the CEO of the product. They are responsible for the strategy and roadmap for the product, as well as the team of employees that are involved in every step of making the product.

The product manager has the responsibility of analyzing the markets and watching the competition, and laying out the initial product vision based on his assessments. The project manager has duties that are both strategic and tactical, and must have excellent leadership skills. He must be able to bridge the gaps between the many different teams working on a product, from design and engineering to sales and marketing.

Let's think of Apple, Inc. It has several products, such as the iPhone, iPad, iTunes, Apple TV, and more. Each one of those products has one product manager that guides the product process from origination to completion. In the case of the iPhone, the project manager will have thousands of employees under him, including many junior project managers. The project manager will report directly to the CEO. A note, Steve Jobs started out as a project manager, and many project managers advance to top executive roles in their companies, including CEO.

Let's use an example as we discuss project management and its many intricacies.

Company ABC is a tech company that builds software for the service industry. Their client, XYZ Hotels, is a large chain of upscale hotels, and they are looking for a new software program that will help them better manage their hotels. Company ABC will use product management to develop and produce this product.