So, what is the role of the Product Manager in Agile? In this text I will give you a definition of the role of the Product Manager – a key figure who steers the success of a product from strategy development to market launch.
I also talk about the crucial skills of this job profile – what skills a Product Manager should have – and compare it to other roles such as Product Developer or Tech Lead. Finally, there are a few tips on what mistakes you should avoid as a Product Manager 🙂
Agile Scrum Product Manager Role: Definition, responsibility and skills
Product Manager Role: Definition and Responsibilities in Agile
So let's start with the definition of the Product Manager role. What is the role of the Product Manager in Agile?
A product manager is a key figure in an organization who is responsible for the development, marketing and success of a product or product line. The exact role definition may vary depending on the company and industry, but in general the role of the product manager includes the following tasks:
Role & Key Responsibilities – Develop product strategy: The product manager is responsible for developing a clear product strategy that takes into account the company's long-term goals. This often involves analyzing the market, identifying opportunities and setting targets for the product.
Role & Key Responsibilities – Product Development: The product manager works closely with the development teams to ensure that the product meets customer requirements and expectations. This may include specifying features, defining product requirements and monitoring the development process.
Role & Key Responsibilities – Market Research: The product manager must constantly monitor and understand the market to identify trends that could impact the product. This often involves analyzing competitors, customer needs and technological developments.
Role & Key Responsibilities – Product Marketing: Marketing the product can also be an essential part of the product manager role. This could then include developing marketing strategies, positioning the product in the market, setting prices and creating sales promotion materials.
Role & Key Responsibilities – Customer Communication: Product managers need to communicate closely with customers to understand their needs, gather feedback and ensure that the product meets their expectations. This can include dealing with customer complaints, collecting feedback and organizing customer surveys.
Role & Key Responsibilities – Performance Measurement: The product manager is responsible for monitoring the success of the product and tracking key performance indicators (KPIs). This makes it possible to evaluate the product's contribution to the company's success and make adjustments if necessary.
Role & Key Responsibilities – Project Management: Product managers are often involved in coordination and project management, especially when it comes to the development of new products or functions. They have to ensure that all teams involved work well together, that milestones are reached and that the schedule is adhered to.
Role & Key Responsibilities – Budget Management: Product managers are usually also responsible for managing the budget for their product. This includes resource allocation, cost control and ensuring the efficient use of available funds.
- Role & key responsibilities – Agile Use methods: Many product managers today use agile methods such as Scrum or Kanban to make product development more flexible and efficient. This requires close collaboration with development teams and the ability to adapt quickly to changing requirements.
Overall, the Product Manager role definition is therefore that the position ensures that the product meets market requirements, is successfully positioned and makes a contribution to the company's success.
What does the product manager role actually look like in Scrum, and what does the framework have to do with it?
Agile Scrum Product Manager Role: Definition, responsibility and skills
Scrum Product Manager Role: Non-existent
What is the role of the Product Manager in Scrum? In short, there is no explicit role called "Product Manager" in the Scrum framework, or rather no official definition. Instead, there is the role of "Product Owner", who is responsible for maximizing the value of the product and prioritizing the work of the development team.
The Product Owner works closely with the Scrum team to ensure that the functions and features created meet the requirements of the market and stakeholders.
The Scrum framework would therefore recommend that companies agree on one role in order to avoid responsibility diffusion or conflicts: both roles are probably too similar to exist side by side.
To summarize once again: What is the core job purpose of the product manager?
Agile Scrum Product Manager Role: Definition, responsibility and skills
The Product Manager Job Purpose
In essence, the job purpose of a Product Manager is to manage the entire lifecycle of a product and ensure that it meets the needs of the customers, the objectives of the company and the requirements of the market – which of course corresponds to the Product Manager definition above.
The Product Manager acts as a link between various departments and stakeholders to ensure the development, marketing and success of the product – and thus the success of the company.
In this respect, the product manager has a very central role in product organizations – just imagine you were at the spearhead of Airbnb or Dropbox as a product manager – that was very valuable work that was done there in a customer-centric way!
Let's move on to the next question: If you want to be as good as the big names in the industry, what skills should a product manager have?
Agile Scrum Product Manager Role: Definition, responsibility and skills
Product Manager skills: Which should a Product Manager have?
To create a Silicon Valley-style product organization, think of Airbnb, Facebook or Google: what skills are needed? Do we perhaps need to expand the product manager definition? Let's take a closer look.
The most important skills of a Product Manager include a combination of technical knowledge, interpersonal skills and strategic thinking:
Top Skill Product Manager – Market Understanding: The ability to analyze the market, understand customer needs and identify trends is crucial to developing a successful product.
Top Skill Product Manager – Communication: Strong communication skills are necessary to interact effectively with various stakeholders, internal teams and customers.
Top Skill Product Manager – Project Management: The ability to plan, organize and manage projects is crucial to ensure that the product is developed on time and within budget.
Top Skill Product Manager – Technical understanding: A basic understanding of the technical aspects of the product enables the Product Manager to communicate effectively with development teams and understand requirements.
Top Skill Product Manager – Prioritization: Effective prioritization of tasks and requirements to ensure the team is working on the most important and valuable functions.
Top Skill Product Manager – Customer orientation: A deep understanding of customer needs and the ability to incorporate these into product development.
Top Skill Product Manager – Team Collaboration: The ability to work well with different teams, from developers to marketing and sales teams.
Top Skill Product Manager – Innovation Promotion: Promoting creativity and innovation in order to continuously improve the product and secure competitive advantages.
Top Skill Product Manager – Entrepreneurial thinking: An understanding of the impact of product decisions on the overall business, financial performance and long-term vision of the company.
The question "What skills should a product manager have?" should now be answered. Together, these skills enable the Product Manager to successfully manage the entire product lifecycle and ensure that the product meets the needs of the customers while achieving the business objectives.
From the perspective of Silicon Valley start-ups, one thing in particular is underestimated: the value of excessive customer communication in the development of innovative products. Before we give any more tips, I would like to highlight the differences between product managers and other roles.
Agile Scrum Product Manager Role: Definition, responsibility and skills
Product Manager Role & Responsibilities: Comparison to other positions
There are also some questions floating around the internet about how the role of a product manager compares to other roles in an agile organization, for example the product developer vs. product manager. So here are a few brief distinctions of selected roles:
-
Product Manager vs. Product Developer:
- Product Developer vs. Product Manager: The Product Manager is primarily responsible for the strategic direction of the product, market analysis and communication with stakeholders.
- Product Developer vs. Product Manager Difference: The Product Developer is usually technically oriented and focuses on the implementation of product requirements in the development phase.
-
Product Manager vs. Team Lead:
- Product Manager vs. Team Lead: The Product Manager focuses on the overall strategy and direction of the product while working with various teams.
- Product Manager vs Team Lead Difference: The Team Lead (or Team Leader) is more focused on leading and organizing a specific team to ensure that work objectives are met.
-
Product Manager vs. Tech Lead:
- Product Manager vs. Tech Lead: The Product Manager is responsible for the overall strategy and success of the product, focusing on market needs and company goals.
- Product Manager vs. Tech Lead Difference: The Tech Lead is more specialized in technical aspects, leads development teams and ensures that technical standards are met.
-
Principal Product Manager vs. Director:
- Principal Product Manager vs. Director: The Principal Product Manager is usually an experienced product management role with a strong focus on strategic product development and leading the product team.
- Principal Product Manager vs. Director Difference: The Director (or Division Manager) may focus on different aspects, including managing multiple teams, strategic planning or general business management.
-
Product Manager vs. Program Manager Difference:
- Product Manager and Program Manager Difference: The Product Manager is responsible for the development and orientation of a specific product.
- Product Manager and Program Manager Difference: The Program Manager is more responsible for coordinating and executing programs, which may include multiple projects and products, to achieve organizational goals. To learn more about the definition of "programs", take a look at the Scaled Agile Framework SAFe.
It is important to note that the exact role (or title of the role) and responsibilities/definition may vary depending on company culture, industry and organization. So comparing Product Developer vs Product Manager in other companies could lead to the same result as comparing Software Developer vs Product Manager. Either way: In many cases, these roles work closely together and their responsibilities may overlap, especially in agile environments.
Agile Scrum Product Manager Role: Definition, responsibility and skills
Product Manager Role & Responsibilities: Some tips
Now that we know the differences between the roles and what skills a product manager should have – what other tips are there? Personally, I like tips that address the typical mistakes of roles best. That's why I've kept it that way here too. What are typical mistakes made by product managers and what could be possible solutions? What should a product manager not do? A few thoughts on this:
Lack of market analysis: Insufficient understanding of market trends and customer needs.
Solution: Carry out regular market analyses, obtain customer feedback and understand the competitive situation.
Poor communication: Unclear communication with teams and stakeholders.
Solution: Establish clear communication channels, hold regular meetings and use tools for transparent communication.
Lack of prioritization: Unstructured prioritization of tasks and features.
Solution: Implementation of a clear prioritization methodology based on company goals and customer requirements.
Rigid planning: Resistance to agile adaptations.
Solution: Promote adaptability, implement agile methods and react flexibly to change.
Ignoring feedback: Neglect of customer and team feedback.
Solution: Introduce a continuous feedback mechanism to enable rapid adjustments and improvements.
Ignore tools: Blanket rejection of tools as a distraction and unhelpful
Solution: Try out proposed solutions in an open and agile manner, including any tools – the risk is often much lower than the potential benefit.
By now you should have a good definition of the Product Owner role. Finally, I would like to give you one last tip.
Agile Scrum Product Manager Role: Definition, responsibility and skills
A tool for product owners
Do you want your team to get better and better at delivering on time? Then I would recommend you have a good Scrum Master or focus on really continuously improving. Our digital coach Echometer can help you with this, which has been specially developed for teams that may not have a dedicated full-time Scrum Master.
Echometer is a digital tool that helps agile team leads with agile retrospectives and team Health Checks. Whether remote, hybrid or on-site: it makes team coaching measurable and professionalizes your work while saving you a lot of work. Just take a look at our website to find out more: www.echometerapp.com.
"The answer to everything (or at least many things) for good product managers: customer feedback."
Agile Scrum Product Manager Role: Definition, responsibility and skills
Conclusion - Product Manager Definition
The definition above should have shown you that the Product Manager is at the center of product development. standswith a broad range of skills that include both technical understanding and interpersonal communication.
The Product Manager role is critical to the success of a product and requires a balanced combination of strategic thinking, driving innovation and effective collaboration with different teams and stakeholders. I hope my text has given you a deeper insight into the role and responsibilities of a (good) Product Manager.
Finally, another quick hint: If you would like to know how it feels to develop your team with our tool: You can start an agile retrospective below without logging in, in this case the "Keep, Stop, Start" workshop.
Alternatively, simply forward our website to the responsible colleagues: www.echometerapp.com.
