Fine software project management is key to building engaging and scalable web apps. You can have a whole army of great developers, but it will only take you so far if you don’t know how to turn them into one organism that really works together to build the best product for the right audience. I picked seven qualities that I believe make a great software product manager.
Great Software Product Manager Has Vision and Leadership
Perhaps the most important one — a software product manager is a leader. But it means so much more that just being able to boss people around. They have to set the direction for the team and inspire people to really do their job. They are able to resolve conflicts in the team. They are the link between all of the teams working on the project and it is their responsibility to monitor the flow of information and the progress of individual departments. Often they are in contact with a potential client, so communication skills and the ability to talk about software as an expert in an accessible and understandable way can prove crucial.
Great Software Product Manager Understands What Project Management Is About
Software Product Manager is also involved in Product Management. They know methodologies such as Scrum, Kanban or Scrumban, and above all, they are able to put them into practice. They are responsible for the final implementation of the software, pricing and creating, or at least accepting, a marketing strategy. A Software PM understands the produce life cycle (production, premiere, product/market fit, maximizing productivity, revenues and profits phase) and is able to plan the team’s tasks based on this knowledge.
Great Software Product Manager Values UX/Product Backlog
A Software Product Manager knows how to interact with the potential user and understands the basics of User Experience (UX), an area where technology and marketing expertise overlap. They create buyer personas and design interface mockups. They understand the backlog, have the ability to prioritize tasks and continuously validate their assumptions with results. During the demo, Software PM oversees usability and A/B tests and also does the solution interview.
Great Software Product Manager Produces Killer Roadmaps
The product roadmap is a model for product development in the future. It consists of the most important points in the software life cycle, known as milestones, e.g. software updates, or the release date on the market. Software Product Manager can create such a document based on the identified KPIs and control its implementation. The product roadmap also includes drafts for market entry strategies, information about the main advantages of the product, the benefits of using it, the results expected by the parent company and further goals and directions of development.
Great Software Product Manager Shapes and Follows Business Model
The business model is a document of financial nature and a Software Product Manager can come up with a great one. Estimating the cost of production, creating pricing models, predicting revenue, creating and prioritizing business objectives and their continuous verification — these are all things that must be included in the business model. We warned you that a Software Product Manager is also a businessperson!
Great Software Product Manager Thinks Globally
Product strategy and global market intelligence go hand in hand. The product strategy requires a thorough knowledge of the competition, its strengths and weaknesses, and market segmentation. Each product is placed in a carefully selected niche in the market after carrying out market research; usually there are a few pivots and MVP tests during the development stage. If the software is not doomed to fail, the Software Product Manager should be able to understand the customer and their needs and then use that understanding to shape the final vision of a product.
Great Software Product Manager Oversees Entire Development Process
That’s what sets a great software product manager apart from an average one. Programming experience is not necessary, but is tremendously useful. A Software PM understands the Customer Development/Lean Startup, Business Model Generation, Scrum and Kanban methodologies. Today software is created in an iterative model (it is a process that never ends rather than a goal that must be achieved as soon as possible). As always, the main problem would be to fit in the budget and get there on time with a tight deadline. Once the product is ready, they are in constant contact with potential and current customers, testing how individual solutions implemented during the development phase fare in practice. A good product is somewhat tailored to each client but certainly the experience of each customer is included into the project so the software can be continuously improved.
Originally this post appeared at Sensinum’s blog.
