Project Managers and Product Managers (reproduced)

In today's software projects or Internet projects, project managers and product managers are two positions that are often confused, and the abbreviations of the two positions are the same, both are PMs, and even many professionals are not clear. So what is the connection and difference between these two PMs?

 

  First, let’s talk about the similarities between the two.

  Project manager, project manager; product manager, product manager; referred to as PM.

  Both are project management roles, which are different from paranoid positions such as developers and designers;

  The skills required by managers: communication skills, coordination skills, time management skills, planning, risk management, etc.

  Job functions, more management, less technology.

  Even so, the two are completely different characters. While in many companies the project manager and product manager are the same person, in modern software engineering it is best to keep the two separate.

 

  Let me explain the difference between the two:

  Functional distinction: The main function of a product manager is to evaluate product opportunities and define product realization. The main function of the project manager is to achieve product requirements and project execution management. The product manager is responsible for defining the product, and the project manager is responsible for implementing the product.

  The lead time is different: if the feature and the prototype are taken as a demarcation point, the product manager will lead before and the project manager will lead after that.

  Different skill preferences: product managers tend to focus on business innovation, data analysis, user experience, and interaction design, while project managers tend to focus on function implementation and technology research and development.

 

  Now, whether it is a traditional software company or an emerging Internet company, product managers and project managers are very valuable assets of the company. The success of a project is directly related to the two PMs. Many companies let the same person hold two positions, which is a better way in the entrepreneurial stage, and it is difficult to find a more reliable PM. However, when the company reaches a certain scale, it is difficult for such staffing to keep the project healthy. After all, a person's energy is limited, and the larger the company, the higher the skill requirements and the more detailed the division of labor, it is difficult for one person to take care of it all.

 

  As a practitioner, how to choose the two positions of product manager and project manager?

  In reality, there are many examples of project managers, lead programmers, system analysts, etc. transferring to product managers, and many of them can become very good product managers. Because the position of product manager still requires technology, product managers who understand technology can better perform this responsibility. There are fewer examples of product managers turning into project managers. After all, project managers have relatively high requirements for technology. Technology is not only a change in thinking, but a real practical ability. Therefore, unless the product manager has a certain degree of understanding of technology, it is not recommended to transfer from the product position to the technical position. As for students in technical positions, first of all, they must have a curious mind, and change from the way of thinking focused on realization to focusing on innovation, user-centered, and slowly learn the knowledge of products, at least to become a qualified product manager.

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