2022 so I take on my first full-time Project Manager role at a small, web & marketing agency. Unfortunately, the company was liquidated, and I had to find another position. Whilst I did apply for Project Manager roles, I landed a couple of interviews for Product Manager jobs, and I was successful. Product Management is a role that has effectively been around for decades, but it’s only recently that such a role has become more popular. Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Susan Wojcicki (YouTube) and Sundar Pichai (Google) are CEOs but used to be product managers. But what is the difference between Project Management vs Product Management? And what have I learnt from the transition?
Project Management
With Project Management you are managing projects and stakeholders. For me, this was websites and developers.
As a Project Manager, you must make sure that all stakeholders (developers, managers, clients) are well-informed about your actions. Risk management is critical, which also includes time management. When you scope a project, timing is very important because you will need to know how long each task will take to complete, considering any risks, potential delays, uncertainties and other functions that could block it. Overall, estimating how long each task will take to complete, will help showcase the total number of hours the project will be completed.
During the project build phase, you will need to make sure that tasks are being worked in the correct order. Prioritisation and accountability are key skills in project management. Developers will require the resources (files, assets) to get the job done, or at least to get started. They will also need to know the purpose of the project, and what is expected from them.
Creating kick-off meetings is essential so that they know what to do. I have found that creating a video recording and documentation is essential. As too as creating an environment of candour and openness.
Product Management
Product management is similar to project management. However, you are not managing resources. With product management, I have found that I have fingers in many pies. The main essential priority is to focus on the product roadmap. You could be working or focusing on one or many products. A product could be a SASS product or a consumer-based product or service.
Product management has allowed me to use my technical skills and knowledge more than I did as a project manager. There is QA testing, investigating issues with the website, and talking with developers, project managers, marketers and various internal and external members of staff.
Liaising with third parties is essential. Whilst I do not need expert knowledge of every domain, having a good understanding of how each part works in the roadmap is key.
There are always ad-hoc issues that require implementing or fixing, so as mentioned, it is important to know the tools that you are working with.
Relationships with the different departments are also essential. As a product manager, I am not just making sure the developers are producing a high standard of work, I am interacting with different teams to make sure they are happy as well as helping with their requests.
Vision is also key. In project management, having a vision of the end project is key. With product management, you will need to envision how the business will be in a few months’ time. Coming up with new ideas, and investigating new tools, and methods of working as well as some competitor and product analysis is also key.
My conclusion
I am still young in my product management career, but I have liked the transition so far.
Bear in mind, I am discussing both project and product management in terms of the digital sector. Personally, I think it helps if you have a technical mind and background and you have some level of enthusiasm and passion.
I enjoy product management because of the relationships I can form, and the ability to still be technical as well as a visionary. It is a very analytical role, and I am an analytical and technical person.
So, project management vs product management, who wins?
Both are great career paths. Who knows what the future holds, but because I look up to the aforementioned names above (Bezos, etc) I do like the idea of leadership and vision and creating new products for a brighter and better world.