THE COMPLEX LANDSCAPE OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT


Below is an excerpt from my university dissertation, a chapter on software product management:

The term "product management" may have originated in the 1930s, courtesy of Proctor and Gamble, but its widespread adoption by software organizations only occurred in the 1990s (Kittlaus & Fricker, 2017; Fricker, 2012). Fast forward to today, and product management has become a ubiquitous role in companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft (Cagan, 2017). So, what exactly is software product management (SPM)?

SPM is a multifaceted business process that oversees a product's journey from inception to delivery. It's a blend of release planning, strategy, and development (Ebert, 2014). However, there's no shortage of varying definitions. Steinhardt (2010) sees it as grounded in general management techniques, with a focus on product planning and marketing, while Haines (2008) defines it as a business organization concentrating on strategizing, introducing, developing, and marketing products.

 

A common notion is that product managers act as 'mini-CEOs.' Still, Maglyas et al. (2012) caution that this should be seen as a normative statement rather than an accurate portrayal, applying more to senior roles. Less-experienced product managers, according to Maglyas, are better off concentrating on understanding and meeting customer needs, wishes, and requirements.

 

Navigating the Role: A Delicate Balance

 

Gnanasambandam (2017) emphasizes the importance of product managers being externally oriented, spending less time on engineering execution while commanding the respect of the engineering team. This perspective aligns with the concept of boundary spanning, where product managers act as boundary spanners, communicating between internal and external environments to manage role conflict, ambiguity, and tension (Lysonski, 1985).

 

However, job satisfaction for product managers can be affected by role ambiguity and is strongly tied to job scope (Gorchels, 2003; Cummings, et al., 1984). The organizational structure and design are significant barriers, along with a lack of clarity regarding roles and responsibilities (Tygai & Sawhney, 2010). These challenges often prompt organizations and product managers to engage in a learning-by-doing approach.

 

Frameworks: A Guiding Light in the Murkiness

 

In the absence of formal education and an extensive body of knowledge, product managers often find themselves learning 'on-the-job.' Borden (1965) introduced the first framework with the 4P’s—promotion, place, product, and price—considered a marketing framework today. The Pragmatic Institute refined Borden's theory in the 1990s, developing the Pragmatic Marketing framework, aiming to establish a standardized language for entire product teams (Pragmatic Institute, 2010).

 

The International Software Product Management Association (IPSMA, 2023) later integrated multiple frameworks, providing a comprehensive view of the structure of SPM, despite using different terminology (Maglyas, et al., 2013).

 

The Challenge of Implementation: A Busy Landscape

 

Maglyas (2013) found that product managers are often so occupied that they can't engage in all the activities outlined by the frameworks. This aligns with Springer and Miler's (2018) study, which notes that a product manager’s role and responsibilities depend on the company size. McKinsey has also outlined five key competencies for product managers: customer experience, business acumen, market orientation, soft skills, and technical skills (Gnanasambandam, et al., 2018), with an emphasis on the importance of soft skills, a factor not universally acknowledged by other frameworks.

 

The evolving landscape of product management poses challenges, and the need for continuous learning and adaptation remains crucial.

 

References:

  • Borden, N., 1965. The concept of the marketing mix. Journal of Advertising Research, 5(2), pp. 7-12.
  • Cagan, M., 2017. Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love. s.l.:Wiley.
  • Cummings, W., Jackson, D. & Ostrom, L., 1984. Differences between Industrial and Consumer Product Managers. Industrial Marketing Management, 13(August), pp. 171-180.
  • Ebert, C., 2014. Software product management. IEEE Software, 31(3), pp. 21-24.
  • Fricker, S., 2012. Software product management. In: A. Maedche, A. Botzenhardt & L. Neer, eds. Software for People. Heidelberg: Springer Berlin.
  • Gorchels, L., 2003. Transitioning from Engineering to Product Management. Engineering Management Journal, 15(December), pp. 40-47.
  • Gnanasambandam, C., Harrysson, M., Srivastava, S. & Wu, Y., 2017. Product managers for the digital world. [Online] 
  • Gnanasambandam, C., Harrysson, M., Srivastava, S. & Srivathsan, V., 2018. The product management talent dilemma. Developing Product Management Leadership, 1(10), p. 2022.
  • Haines, S., 2008. The Product Marketer's Desk Reference. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
  • IPSMA, 2023. International Software Product Management Association (ISPMA). [Online] 
  • Available at: http://ispma.org
  • Kittlaus, H. & Fricker, S., 2017. Software Product Management. Heidelberg : Springer.
  • Lysonski, S., 1985. A boundary theory investigation of the product manager's role.. Journal of Marketing, 49(1), pp. 26-40.
  • Maglyas, A., Nikula, U. & Smolander, K., 2012. What do practitioners mean when they talk about product management?. Chicago, IL, IEEE.
  • Maglyas, A., Nikula, U. & Smolander, K., 2013. What are the roles of software product managers? An empirical investigation. Journal of Systems and Software, 86(12), pp. 3071-3090.
  • Pragmatic Institute, 2010. The Pragmatic Framework. [Online] Available at: https://www.pragmaticinstitute.com/framework/
  • Springer, O. & Miler, J., 2018. The role of a software product manager in various business environments.. s.l., Proc 2018 Fed Conf Comput Sci Inf Syst FedCSIS 2018, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., pp. 985-994.
  • Steinhardt, G., 2010. The Product Manager's Toolkit: Methodologies, Proccesses and Tasks in High-Tech Product Management. Heidelberg: Springer, Berlin.
  • Tygai, R. & Sawhney, M., 2010. High-Performance Product Management: The Impact of Structure, Process, Competencies, and Role Definition. The Journal of Product Innovation Management, 27(1), pp. 83-96.

 

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