The 10 best and worst Venn diagrams explaining product management
“What do I do all day? Let me draw you some circles”, said every product manager ever.
Product management has come a long way in the last decade. There used to be one Venn diagram trying to explain what we PMs actually do. Now, for better of for worse, there’s at least 10.
1. The classic PM venn diagram
This is the one that started it all. It’s the Patient 0 of PM venn diagrams. It begets all that came after it.
And, yeah, it’s pretty great. It’s clean, easy to read, and it’s a starting point for explaining what a PM does. But it’s clearly not enough on its own. Or we wouldn’t have hundreds of articles about what product managers actually do (let alone all the Quora questions). And we also wouldn’t get the next 9 venn diagrams. So let’s be happy for its shortcomings.
2. The one in which the PM does 50% of everyone else’s job (as well as her own)
I hope no-one shows this to my boss.
3. The one where the PM and UX Designer can’t decide who does what
All the confusion over who should do what — captured in a single GIF!
4. The one where the product owner gets a way smaller circle than the product manager
Sure, “owner” sounds more important than “manager”, but fortunately we have this diagram to prove otherwise.
5. The one without product management in it
Technology, business, design? Come on UX, we see what you did there. And we’re not buying it.
6. The one where product management has the same size circle as … the future
I’m glad that someone truly appreciates the role of product management.
7. The one with the watercolours
It’s beautiful!
8. The one that’s just a list of things masquerading as a venn diagram
There seems to be an unwritten rule on Quora that every question about product management gets a Venn diagram in return.
9. This one …
No, me neither.
10. The one that tells the truth
Ah, well, someone finally nailed it.
