What is Product

Management!
By Pritam Bhowal
Director, Product Management, Dream11
PGDM 14-16, SPJIMR
Agenda

● What is product management? ( 20 mins )

● Product vs project management (5 mins )
● Role clarifications ( 10 mins )
● Prepping for the role ( 10 mins )
● Learning resources ( 2 mins )
● Q&A ( _ mins )
What is product management?

Product management is about creating user/business value by:

● defining the product

● building the product
● measuring success of the product and
● continuously learning to improve the product.
 Deep dive
Build
Define ● Write specs
Responsibilities

● Mission/vision ● X-functional coordination

● Strategy ● Project mgmt.
● Goals ● Report status
● Create roadmap ● Launch
● Align stakeholders
PMs OWN ● Attention to details
● User first the ● UX sense
Skills/traits

● Market / domain knowledge product loop ● Technical knowhow

● Prioritisation ● Project management
● Thinking big

Measure
Learn ● Monitor performance
● Distill key lessons ● Analyse data
● Create new hypothesis
● Data driven
● Openness ● Inquisitiveness
● Critical thinking
 Product vs project management
Product Management Project Management

Responsible for Outcomes Output

Optimises for Effectiveness Efficiency

Key focus Insights Execution

Most imp. Q Why When

But having said that…..

● PMs do project management but rarely vice-versa
● Early career PMs may do more project management
● Orgs may have only one or both of the functions
Some more clarifications

● PMs are not CEOs

● PMs lead teams by influence not by hierarchy or command
● PMs need not code but need to understand SW systems
● PMs need not write SQL but need to seek the right data
● PMs should be more generalists than specialists
● PMs can be managing B2B or B2C products, internal or external facing products, the
whole product or just a feature
● PMs scope is org. context dependent
Prepping for the role

● Critic products that you use

○ Think like the user
○ Ask why
○ How can it be better
● Learn
○ (next slide)
● Align your CVs
○ Map to PM skills/traits
○ Highlight relevant experiences
Learning resources

Resources What you can learn Link

Good PM vs Bad PM - Ben The essence of being a Link

Horowitz good PM

Shreyas Doshi’s Tweets General concepts Link

Lenny’s Newsletters PM concepts + PM function Link

in leading product cos.

Silicon Valley Product General concepts Link

Group Articles
Q&A
Thanks!
1) PM Role clarity

2) Product vs Project Management

3) A day in your job

4) How to get into such roles and interview prep