Do Protocols need Product Management?

It’s no secret many protocol teams are missing deadlines and struggling to find product-market fit. Shipping on time and pleasing users are typically the responsibility of a product manager, which begs the question, “Should protocols establish product management?”

In pursuit of this question, I had conversations with 7 protocols and the groups who work closely with them. To my interest, devs, VCs/investors, product managers, CTOs, founders, & foundations¹ working on the same protocol had differing opinions, anecdotally shown below².