The Product Management Process Explained
What is the Product Management Process?
The Product management process enables teams to develop the right solution for all stakeholders. It’s about using data and experience to establish *why *a certain feature or product is what customers need. And it’s about creating a product that will satisfy all internal stakeholders and other parties.
This process guides strategic planning and has oversight of the profitability of new products. A product management process generally involves:
- Customer visits
- Market research
- Product definitions
- Feature lists
- Product roadmaps
- Customer support
- Success metrics
- Obsolescence plans
Companies have a real opportunity to improve their product management processes. Research shows that while a fully optimized product manager can increase profits by 34%, only about one-half of companies have a consistent product management process. Thus, an effective product management process is an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage.
How Does the Product Management Process Differ from the Product Development Process?
Product management role is to lead and guide the product management process. They are responsible for representing all stakeholders from the front end when products are merely concepts until the company launches a marketable product (from start to finish, this is called time to market.)
The product development process is a subset of the product management process that is concerned with executing and launching a product idea. The product management process is broader.
The product management process tends to look at products from a customer and product marketing perspective, while product development is more concerned with the detailed design of the product. It is also concerned with the project management involved in bringing a solution to market that meets business goals.
The product management process is also distinct from product lifecycle management. Product lifecycle management concerns new and existing products and product lines. It manages each phase of a product’s existence until it is ready to be replaced in the market.
Whereas product management process is concerned with developing new solutions and bridging stakeholders and product developers, product lifecycle management involves the shepherding of in-market offerings right through to the product’s obsolescence.
