How do you define the differences between a Product Manager vs. Technical Product Manager? How do you break down the responsibilities?
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CPOa year ago
A product manager is the GM/mini-CEO of the product, and addresses:- What is the unmet market need?
- What is the company's right to win?
- What bundle of functionality will win and why --> What is the right product roadmap
- Pricing
- Go-to-market approach
- Positioning
In short, the PM creates the vision and the cross-functional operating plan for the product
The Technical Product Manager is frequently a leader within the Engineering team, who trades-off feature sequencing, tech stack, and vendor decisions within the product roadmap.
In reality, there is frequent tension between these roles. In high-performing companies, it is a healthy tension. In mediocre companies, it becomes a blame game.
A better operating model is to have a single cross-functional Product organization, which includes Product Managers, (more detail oriented) Product Owners, and a Scrum Team Leads. Agile development generally uses this terminology.
A Product Manager (PM) is responsible for the overall strategy, development, and success of a product throughout its lifecycle. They act as the bridge between various teams such as engineering, design, marketing, and sales, ensuring that the product aligns with the company's goals and meets customer needs. PMs are focused on understanding market trends, customer feedback, and competitive landscape to define the product roadmap, prioritize features, and guide the development process. They often create user stories, manage the product backlog, and collaborate closely with designers and engineers to deliver a valuable and user-friendly product. Additionally, PMs play a critical role in launch planning, marketing strategy, and post-launch analysis to continuously improve the product's performance.
Technical Product Manager:
A Technical Product Manager (TPM) is a specialized role within product management that requires a deeper technical understanding of the product and its development process. TPMs bridge the gap between the product and engineering teams by providing technical expertise and ensuring that the product's technical aspects align with the overall vision and goals. They work closely with software engineers, architects, and other technical stakeholders to define technical requirements, manage technical debt, and make informed decisions regarding architecture, scalability, and integration. TPMs often have a more hands-on role in terms of technical discussions and may also be involved in writing technical specifications and guiding the implementation process to ensure the final product meets both functional and technical requirements.