This is what product managers do, and what you can expect from a day-in-the-life
Did you happen to see this video of beautiful ladies who were working in the pool and had tech bros bring out their pitch forks? So apparently, because they had their laptops and wearing bikinis on a work day, their revelations that they were product managers had folks wondering if product managers are actually useful professionals in the tech world.
So, despite TikTok trying to turn product management into an aesthetic where you work very little and have lots of office snacks and brunches with your besties, being a PM is really involving work. It's not a destination for 'failed' engineers who cannot code but want to make six figures, it's a lot more encompassing than that.
What's product management?
Product management is a role that combines the needs of the end user, the ambitions of the business and the function of tech to build something customers want, makes the business money (short-term and long-term) and is technically sound.
Here's what a good PM does:
And here is what a GREAT, Empowered PM does:
So, what do product managers do on a day to day?
While different companies have different ways of approaching Product Management depending on their industry and their products, there's some similarities on what PMs do on a day to day. Additionally, most times there are no two days that are alike, hence some tasks could be relevant in one week and others done monthly.
However, let's break it down what a Product Manager does into three core buckets.
1. Product Leadership
What this looks like usually, is meeting with your bosses and sometimes their bosses and sharing with them new discoveries you've made regarding the market or competitors, or highlighting urgent risks that need to be tended to asap. It could also look like negotiating timelines for specific deliveries.
Perhaps you had told Leadership that the new payment gateway will be shipped in time for Black Friday and they had made business projections based on that promise. However, half your team is quiet quitting and unionising and half of the rest are out from covid. Because your capacity has been reduced to 25%, you cannot ship that feature in time unless a few mitigative steps are taken, such as bringing in contract freelancers short-term and it will cost money.
Bringing in solutions to problems or highlighting opportunities to be leveraged is a great way of showing Product Leadership for an empowered P.M.
2. Product Strategy
A PM that's in their bag will be intentional about thinking ahead. Great strategy ushers you into great leadership, upon which you can just write your own check. So what could this look like on a day-to-day?
At the core of great strategy is deep, intimate knowledge of your user. So, PMs whose calendars curve out time to reach out to customers and chat about their (customers' needs) will always be winning. Sometimes, B2B PMs visit their user's place of work to observe how their products are being used and complaints that are coming up that have somehow not been logged yet. Nurturing a relationship with your users gets you true fans; even if your product is not perfect.
Product strategy could also look like talking to other teams within your company. A PM who operates within the product silo ends up drinking their own cool aid and building things not enough people want. You want to be able to find your users' pain points and your company's unexplored opportunities. An additional benefit to this is you gain visibility and influence across different departments and allow your colleagues to share ideas, feedback and opinions that could help you build better products. That's how you build a solid strategy.
Curve out time in your weekly calendar for such cross-functional tag teaming.
3. Product Execution
This is the one task that's most likely to feature in your to-do as a Product Manager. What this entails, again, will depend on what stage your product is at. Is it at discovery or at testing? Here's some examples of what that could look like.
Monitoring key metrics: Is there a sharp fall in user engagement? Or perhaps you got posted on TikTok and suddenly the whole internet is trying to get to know you. This helps you uncover emergencies you need to take care of asap or helps you maintain cruise control if everything looks solid.
Organising your product backlog: What tickets have become outdated or which ones have gained a new sense of priority. You always want to DEEP condition your backlog so it stays clean and updated.
Brainstorming with your team: Perhaps there's a beta release coming up and you want to find ways to generate excitement and get beta testing volunteers. Multiplying brain power with your team is something you'll do A LOT of as a PM at least 50% in any given week.
So you think you can make a good PM?
While the simplified summary above may not be all-inclusive. You need to know a lot about a lot, you'll need to lead without authority while you cultivate influence, and you'll find out soon enough why you really are NOT the 'CEO of the product'.
But, if you're good with people, love solving problems and a team player, perhaps product management could be for you. I have put together the ultimate guide that will help you land and navigate your very first PM role and show up like the boss you could be.
Click here and go get your guidebook.