Product Management Definition:
What is Product Management?
Product Management is the discipline of managing the product lifecycle from ideation to sunset, including portfolio management of a suite of products and services. Product management encompasses several areas. While the product managers may not be the owners/decision-makers of many areas, they are the coordinators and conductors of a variety of functions.
Essential Product Management Functions:
Market and Customer Pulse: Product management keeps an eye on the market and ears to the ground to listen, understand, analyze, and synthesize market trends and customer preferences.
Ideation: Product management is responsible for the ideation and validation of the idea. While ideas can come from anywhere, it is product management that needs to shepherd the concept from an embryonic dream to product reality.
Product Market Fit Validation: Product management also does the intricate dance that is analyzing and deciding on the product-market fit.
Product Development: Working with the design and engineering teams and coordinating the product development function.
Go to Market Strategy: Product management defines the go-to-market strategy, including the channels, sales models, distribution methods, pricing, promotion, rollout, and general availability of products.
Product Portfolio Management: A critical function of product management is managing a portfolio of products (and in large companies, there may be multiple portfolios) and guiding them through the introduction, growth, plateau, refresh, and sunset phases.