Interestingly, this year’s Study of Product Team Performance illustrates a direct correlation between high performance and how well the role of the product manager is defined. When the role is well defined, product managers are positioned to lead the creation of value throughout a product’s lifecycle.
Last year’s study illustrated that product managers and product owners are the only parties that stay with a product from its conception until its ultimate retirement. For example, while an organization may have a project manager work in tandem with the product manager, the project manager might lead the project only from the initiation of the project charter until the product or product capabilities become tangible and are ready for launch. This is typically when the project manager rolls off the product development effort to pursue the next project. Meanwhile, the product manager stays the course – continuing with the product throughout the phases of the lifecycle while other functions come and go.
Our regression analysis clearly shows that the more well-defined the product manager’s role is within the organization and the product team, the more likely the team is to be high performing.
How well defined is the product manager role in your organization? The answer may be telling.
Greg Geracie is a recognized thought leader in the field of product management and the President of Actuation Consulting, a global provider of product management consulting, training, and advisory services to some of the world’s most well-known organizations. Greg is also the author of the global best seller Take Charge Product Management. He is also an adjunct professor at DePaul University’s College of Computing and Digital Media where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on high-tech and digital product management.