This course highlights the importance and role of software product management. It also provides an overview of the specialization, as well as its goals, structure, and expectations. The course explains the value of process, requirements, planning, and monitoring in producing better software.
1.1.3: The Role of a Software Product Manager
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Del curso dictado por University of Alberta
Introduction to Software Product Management
3392 calificaciones
De la lección
Module 1: Software Product Management - The Discipline
Are you ready to start? Our starting point will be the goal of software product management, and that is to build better software. We will delve into the role of the software product manager, where you will hear from software industry representatives. This module will also cover the path which you will take through this specialization, which offers to prepare you for taking on a software product manager role.
Conoce a los instructores
Kenny WongAssociate Professor
Computing Science, Faculty of Science
[MUSIC]
Okay, so now that I've covered the importance of software product management,
let's talk about what your role would be as a software product manager,
It is a central management role.
It sort of resembles being a producer and a director for a movie, but
without the red carpet fame.
You're in charge of the success of a software product.
But the role is much more than just managing a project.
The role involves really understanding the product.
That is, you have to know what it does and its unique benefits, like a real user.
You're also going to have to know the business case, that is,
the value that this project will have for the client, and
the way the software will change the game for this client's business.
Great software product managers have mastered multiple disciplines.
They can speak to both clients and developers in their terms.
They can listen and imagine a client's vision, communicate effectively with their
development team members, and motivate the team to achieve the best outcomes.
They can also manage clients' expectations, and
they also know how to get the best efforts out of their development team.
They care about their people.
Does that sound like something you'd be good at?
Success of your product also depends on solid teamwork.
Programmers, testers, interface designers, graphic artists, must work together.
Your role is to empower them to bring their best efforts to your project.
Software product management is a leadership role.
Let's take a look at a few interviews of what those already
in the industry feel about this role.
[MUSIC]
>> My role actually is one of leading software development teams.
I do see myself, though, as a product leader,
and I encourage everybody on the team to see themselves as a product leader.
>> I have a software product manager on my team.
We work closely together in partnership.
The product manager works to bring requirements to me, and
to help me understand what our customers need, and
then I work to fulfill those requirements with the team.
>> So a lot of what I do is to define a vision product strategy,
product road map, and also specifications for
the developement team, as well as our experienced design team
[MUSIC]
>> What excites me, what challenges me, is getting the engineers,
the testing team, the documentation team, understanding in no uncertain
terms what the problem is we are trying to solve, that makes my day.
>> The product manager meets with the customer,
they get an idea, they get a vision for how something could be, they articulate
that vision back to their engineering team and the associated stakeholders, and
then they actually see it be produced as working software.
And it's tremendously satisfying for the product manager to see it actually
delivered and to then see the impact that has on the customer and their reality.
>> Seeing how customers react to the finished product,
reading reviews about it, seeing it in stores, is enormously rewarding.
[MUSIC]
>> Getting the team to rally around the problem.
If people show up for work because there's a job for them, they don't innovate.
They'll do what you tell them to do and they'll go home.
If they internalize the mission of the problem you're trying to solve,
magic happens.
>> Ambiguity is huge.
I think we see that
customers don't always have the ability to explain what exactly it is that they want.
And so we tend to employ a lot of different strategies to
uncover what it is they want, even if they can't tell us.
So we might watch a customer.
We might sit and watch them do their job for a while to help get past the ambiguity
of them saying something, even and to find out what they actually need.
People can have 100 different ways of solving it, right?
And so this is where, for me, the approach of experimentation,
rapid iteration, is really the key to solving that.
So it’s acknowledging the differences of opinion and
the lack of shared vision, and say okay.
What are we gonna do to actually solve that and
how do we determine whether that's the right course of action or not?
[MUSIC]
>> As a leader, first and foremost, you need to be able to do three things.
You need to be able to motive with your vision, you need to be able to
organise the work that needs to be done, and you need to be able to innovate.
Frankly, if you can't innovate yourself,
it is your job to hire people who can help you innovate.
>> They need to be able to hear what somebody is saying,
what a customer is saying, and turn that into a requirement and
ultimately a specification that an engineering team can build and deliver.
>> Next thing, you need to be able to communicate.
As a person who communicates, or sells, your vision across the organization at all
levels, to executives, to engineering teams, to sales teams, to marketing teams.
You need to be able to understand at what altitude all these things exist at and
what messaging resonates with them.
>> The ability to form really great relationships, think strategically.
Also be really tactical when need be.
>> It's not about you.
It's never about you as a product leader.
It's about the customer problem.
Your job, my job, fall in love with a customer problem.
[MUSIC]
>> People will either start from the business side and
realize they've got some interest and skill at software,
and they understand kind of the general idea of how software is built.
And so then they'll get a little more technical aptitude and
they start to get involved in things from that side.
>> Personally, I came from a comp sci background.
I grew up as a programmer.
And slowly I've migrated into a product leadership role.
But I've also seen people with music majors
who have become amazing product leaders.
What do we have in common?
Me, who has a computer science degree and the guy who has a music degree,
is, first and foremost, leadership.
If you're able to motivate people, able to organize people and
can innovate, you can do well in product management.
I think other's come at it from the engineering side,
where they're a great engineer, but maybe they decide they've got more passion for
that vision, and the planning side of things, and
the collaboration, rather than the implementation side.
I think a lot of product managers learn on the job, when you get right down to it.
[MUSIC]
>> Apply for it.
Apply for it.
Look for it online, apply for it. But understand this, you are here to lead
people, you are here to lead a process, you are here to solve a customer problem.
If you believe that that is you, from a self-awareness perspective, apply for it.
>> They should get to know their engineers, they should get to be very well
aligned with the problems faced by engineers, with the opportunities
that engineers can bring to the table, and really focus on that partnership, I think.
Customers and customer research is critical, and
that's a basic skill of a product manager, so that's just expected.
I think over and above that, though,
to just really be good at building those partnerships with their own team and,
again, with their stakeholder teams as well.
>> For me, it's be customer obsessed.
Be grounded in the customer, understand them really,
really well, because it's gonna be your job to represent them.
If you start with that, and you can do that really well,
if you can understand your customers at a deep level,
then you're already kind of ahead of the game, if you will.
>> As you've just seen,
the position of a software product manager can be a fulfilling career path.
Capable managers earn the respect of both clients and team members.
Great managers are sought after for
their track record of successful product deliveries.
Whether you want to make a move from developer to product manager, or
you understand the business side and you want to move to more of a hands-on
role in shaping the software, or maybe you want to look for a career change and
work more in software project management.
So whatever your reason for starting this path, this specialization will guide you
step by step to become a competent, confident software product manager.
So what are you waiting for?
Check out our next lesson to see an overview of this specialization.
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