PRODUCT MANAGER EXPLORATION AND ASSESSMENT

Project Managers are strategic in identifying their customers' needs, business objectives, market analysis, and competition in building a team that turns product visions into reality by creating a product that delivers value to the customer. According to Sherif Mansour (n.d), a product manager envisions a successful product, identifies customers' needs in line with goals and objectives, and gets a team to bring the product to reality.The role of a project manager varies by industry or company type, from pricing to product creation to product design, etc. These roles vary based on the stakeholders involved. A product manager has three primary roles, which are listed below. • Internal Product Manager: According to Airfocus (n.d), internal product managers create products to meet the daily needs of internal users. These product managers are part of a team that builds, manages, and evaluates tools for internal use in line with the company's vision, mission, and goals. Such products include workflows and processes to make operations and other tasks seamless. • Business to Business(B2B) Product Manager: A B2B product manager builds products to meet the needs of another business or company. An example is Microsoft building software for Oracle. (Product HQ, n.d) explains that B2B project managers are involved in a product from market research to ideation to development to the launch and post-launch of the product. B2B PMs rely on and discuss more with the business sales team. • Business to Consumer (B2C) Product Manager: A B2C product manager builds products to meet the average consumer's needs. An example is Microsoft building the M365 for Family and Personal or other O365 single-user legacy products. For ProductPlan (n.d), B2B product managers rely on experimentation and data analysis for testing. Usability and behavior science are necessary here because people with different behaviors use the product. Although product managers set product visions, the difference in their roles is the stakeholders. Irrespective of roles and stakeholders, product managers play vital roles in championing a product from research to ideation to design and completion, transforming ideas into impactful solutions. The Difference Between a Product Manager and a Project ManagerA product manager focuses on the design and development of a product, while a project manager focuses on coordinating and overseeing projects. Explaining a project manager (Claudio, 2022 March 29) noted that a project manager's first call is to understand a customer's problem, find product opportunities, develop a product around a well-stated product vision, partner with stakeholders, and build a team to create and deliver the product successfully. The product manager and team define the what, when, why, and how. Similarly, a project manager identifies and manages potential risks and provides a plan clearly stating the project's budget, goals, timelines, and other deliverables. (NALSengineering, 2023 May 9). Let us remember that a product can be a project, especially B2B products. One primary difference between these jobs is their role and responsibility in the industry. For example, if Microsoft is building a product for Oracle, this product can be taken as a project and given to the product team to build. In contrast, the project team coordinates, manages, and oversees the completion of the product. (Asana, n.d) noted some differences between a product and a project manager below. • Description: Product managers Oversee products from implementation to launch, while the product managers need them from implementation to completion. • Focus: The product manager focuses on product strategy, i.e., how a product will meet its goal. The project manager focuses on coordination. Suppose the product is taken as a project while the product manager defines the strategy only for the product. In that case, the project manager will coordinate the delivery and timeline of the project. • Task: The product manager is responsible for gathering data from market research and creating the overall product plan. The project manager is responsible for setting project KPIs and providing project resources. • Success: The project manager's job is to correct failures that may arise when creating a product. At the same time, the project manager tracks the project and communicates project objectives and progress with respective stakeholders. Project and product managers have placed organizations in a competitive position in the market and improved customer experience in many ways. Both roles work hand in hand to ensure the success of the organization. While the product manager drives the product development, the project manager takes the product as a project and oversees the execution of the development plan. Essential Skills for Hiring a Product ManagerAs a hiring manager, what I look out for in a product manager is the ability to tell stories with a product vision, drive innovation, lead, make data-driven decisions, and build innovative products that meet customer needs in line with the business vision. Let us review some details to look out for when hiring a product manager. • Excellent communication skills (Joey, n.d) noted that good project managers are keepers of product knowledge. With this, there is a need to communicate this product knowledge. Good written and verbal communication skills are required for a product manager, as the product manager engages in written and verbal communication with customers and stakeholders. • Customer and market research competencies: A product manager should possess good market research competencies. (Joey, n.d) opined that product managers should conduct customer and market research for expansion opportunities into new markets. They should understand their customer's needs and objectives, the market their customer plays in, and their competition and build products to keep their customers miles ahead of their competitors. • Problem-solving ability: Providing a solution means solving a problem. Project managers are creative and problem-solving people. According to (ProductPlan, n.d.), problem-solving presents itself as creating thinking in product management. Customers will always need to two to stay competitive. What makes a good product manager is the ability to creatively think of a product that will solve customers' problems, keep them at the competitive edge, and give them a good experience. • Functional, Domain, and Leadership Skills: The role of a project manager requires a domain knowledge of the industries the employer plays. They must possess strong leadership skills as they will make decisions, lead and motivate a team, and meet with customers and other stakeholders. According to (SaiSatish et al., 2023), product managers provide guidance, inspire, and influence their team and stakeholders; hence, they should possess good leadership skills and domain and functional expertise. • Customer-Centric and Data-Driven Mindset: A product manager must be able to make data-driven decisions based on their understanding of the customer. SaiSatish et al. (2023) noted that a product manager must understand market trends, customer behavior, and customer management to make data-driven decisions and enhance customer satisfaction. One thing that fuels innovation and customer experience is passion. What drives the strength for product managers to build a product, watch the product fail, and rebuild the product until it becomes a success is passion. Therefore, passion for the job is necessary for the product manager role. The Importance of a Product Manager Role in a Small BusinessA product team should have a product manager responsible for the product lifecycle and decision-making. Whether this responsibility falls on the CEO or the project manager, that person is acting as a product manager at that moment. According to Phil (n.d.), product management or hiring a product manager is necessary for long-term business success. Small companies/startups can use a variety of product managers. For most startups, the founders are mid to senior professionals in the industry and have a good knowledge of product management (incredibly tech-savvy professionals). The need for a product manager may be obscure, but if the business needs to create successful products, then the responsibilities of a product manager need to be addressed. The CEO takes up the product manager and CEO responsibility. When the company begins to expand, and the CEO needs to focus on other responsibilities, there may be a need to have another product professional to identify opportunities and limitations from the market and competition. There will be a need to hire a product manager who will oversee the entire product lifecycle. To ensure that the critical roles of the project manager in a small company, the CEO or someone with product knowledge should take up the role and ensure the following. • Set product strategy: Set a vision and goals for the product(s). Be sure that products designed for customers align with the vision and goals of the product. • Build roadmaps: This will visualize how the product will meet business objectives and keep all work on track. • Prioritize features to get the most value with little resources. • Prioritize customer and user feedback to ensure the products meet market needs. (Aha, 2024). Being a product manager comes with specific criteria like passion, problem-solving, customer-centricity, and more. However, what qualifies a person to be a product manager are listed below. • Education: Having a bachelor's degree in a relevant field. • Experience: To be a product manager, get at least 1-3 years or 5-10 years of experience in a relevant role(s). • Skills: Skills such as strategic thinking, analytics, excellent communication, market research, and product development are necessary to become a