in 1 week, I’ll be at ProductCamp 2019 for another fun day meeting peers, pitching my presentation and hopefully gaining the opportunity to present. 30 years ago, product management required all the project activity required today. However, back then, product management required just about everything else required to keep the company going. Here are some of the things I did back then and still do even today that go beyond standard product management:
- Product marketing
- Documentation writing
- QA test plan creation
- Competitive analysis
- Sales pitches
- Analyst roadshows
- Pitch deck creation for funding rounds
- Event management
Most of the product managers I interact with today are really good at core project management. However, they really don’t like selling. They don’t have technical skills. They own their backlog but they don’t really “own” their product. In fact, the product “owner” is a term that implies the product manager isn’t the owner.
As I begin to mentor product managers via product404.org, I will introduce that true feeling of ownership. From the product itself, to hosting, to the support site and associated content to funding to ….. everything.
