what is product management?

What is Product Management?

Cindy F. Solomon, CPM/CPMM

AIPMM* Certified Product Manager (CPM)Certified Product Marketing Manager (CPMM)

*The Association of International Product Marketing and Management (AIPMM)

Product Management

Whether a company is a new venture or a well-established firm, the role of product management is a critical business function.

Product Management

Targets the connection point between a company's product development capabilities and the marketplace.

Product Management

Entails the art of determining market needs and defining products tailored to meet those needs in order achieve corporate goals.

Product Management

Requires both quantitative and qualitative market research,

business-case justification for development expenditures,

definition of specific product requirements, and

coordination of development and launch activities across the organization.

Product Managers

Typically have very cross-functional responsibilities, › from engaging with customers, analysts

and the press › to working with engineering and financial

managers.

Product Managers

Must have excellent communication skills, along with a talent for planning, long-term vision and attention to detail.

Product Managers

Tend to have a well-developed entrepreneurial spirit, exhibiting insight for recognizing opportunities for new or increased revenue.

Product ManagementBest Practices

Forecasting and planning for a product, including projections of market size, market share and revenue.

Product ManagementBest Practices

Performing customer research and competitive research.

Product ManagementBest Practices

Documenting product plans, › in market requirements documents (MRD)

and › sometimes functional specifications

(product requirements document - PRD), › business plans, or › other planning documents (product road

maps).

Product ManagementBest Practices

Evangelizing the product, both within the company and via presentations to customers, media and analysts.

Product ManagementBest Practices

Project management tasks, such as negotiating feature/schedule tradeoffs during development, and coordinating launch activities both within and outside of the organization.

Product ManagementBest Practices

Providing sales support, including training the sales force, monitoring sales trends, and answering questions for sales prospects.

Product ManagementBest Practices

Managing the product lifecycle, › including planning for initial launch, › follow-on releases, and › eventual retirement.

Cindy F. Solomon, CPM/CPMM

AIPMM* Certified Product Manager (CPM)

Certified Product Marketing Manager (CPMM)

*The Association of International Product Marketing and Management (AIPMM)

http://www.linkedin.com/in/cfsolomon