02. The Role of the PM

The Role of the PM

Summary

At its very core, the role of the PM is to make sure that the team is solving the right problems and building the right products. Throughout this process, Product Managers will shepherd their product from an idea all the way through launch and partner with a wide variety of cross functional teams to make the product real. Prioritization also plays an important role in this process, since no company has unlimited resources-- there will always be tradeoffs that need to be made.

Differences in Product Management

The role of a PM can vary a lot based on the company and product. The size of a company has a big impact on the scope of a PMs work. At smaller companies it's more likely that PMs will have more end to end responsibility and wear more hats. Whereas at larger companies oftentimes there will be larger supporting teams, which allow PMs to maintain a narrow focus and go super deep on that specific area.

A company’s philosophy to building products also shapes the role of a PM. The most common philosophies are:

• Product led
• Engineering led
• Product + Eng partnership

PMs can also specialize in different types of product, such as:

• Data
• Growth
• Hardware
• Internationalization
• Software

QUIZ QUESTION::

Match the type of PM with the specific things that they might do

ANSWER CHOICES:

Further Research

• What To Expect as a PM from Startup to Scale Up, to Corporates

• What It Takes to Become a Great Product Manager

• Product Managers for the Digital World