Table of Contents
What is Product Management?
Product Management is the practice of guiding a product from idea to reality. From strategy to execution. From whiteboard to user’s phone.
A Product Manager (PM) is the one that leads this process. Not by coding. Not by marketing. But by owning the why, what, and when of the product.
If engineering builds the car, product management decides where it should go and why people need it.
What Does a Product Manager Really Do?
Product Managers sit at the center of three worlds:
- Users – who have problems
- Technology – that powers solutions
- Business – that pays the bills
They connect the dots.
Here’s what a typical PM handles:
- Talking to users to understand their pain
- Defining product goals and priorities
- Writing product requirements (PRDs, specs, user stories)
- Collaborating with engineers and designers
- Managing timelines and releases
- Measuring what’s working and what’s not
They don’t build the product with code. They build it with clarity, strategy, and teamwork.
Product Manager Responsibilities
The responsibilities may vary based on company size, product stage, or industry. But in general, expect this:
- Product Strategy – Define the vision and roadmap
- User Research – Validate ideas with real users
- Feature Definition – Turn ideas into features
- Cross-functional Collaboration – Align designers, devs, marketers
- Launch & Delivery – Ship the thing!
- Iteration – Improve based on feedback and data
You’re the one making sure the right thing gets built at the right time—for the right users.
PM Skills You Must Master
You don’t need to know how to code. But you need to understand how products work.
Here are the essential PM skills:
- Communication – Clear writing and speaking
- Prioritization – What comes first and why
- User Empathy – Deep understanding of user needs
- Data Literacy – Read and interpret product data
- Leadership – Drive progress without direct authority
- Business Acumen – Know how products make money
You’ll learn these skills by doing. Start small. Iterate fast.
A Day in the Life of a Product Manager
No two days are the same. But here’s how it often goes:
- 9:00am: Check Slack and Jira, reply to blockers
- 10:00am: Daily standup with engineers
- 11:00am: User interview or feedback review
- 1:00pm: Write or review product requirement docs
- 3:00pm: Strategy session with leadership
- 4:30pm: Sync with marketing on feature launch
- 5:30pm: Track product metrics on dashboards
You’re switching context. You’re solving problems. You’re keeping the team focused on what matters most.
How to Become a Product Manager
There’s no single path.
You can come from:
- Engineering – Technical PMs
- Design – UX-minded PMs
- Marketing/Sales – Customer-focused PMs
- Ops/Support – Problem-solving PMs
What matters:
- Curiosity about users
- Passion for solving problems
- Ability to learn fast
- Willingness to own outcomes
To get started:
- Learn product thinking
- Build side projects
- Shadow PMs
- Read product case studies
- Join product communities
Certificates help, but experience trumps paper. Solve real problems. That’s your proof of work.
Why Product Management Matters
Without Product Management, teams build features. With Product Management, teams build impact.
PMs bring clarity to chaos. They ask hard questions. They represent the user when no one else does. They drive value—not just activity.
If you want to lead without a title… If you enjoy solving problems, not just executing tasks… If you like thinking big, but sweating the details…
Product Management might be for you.
Dr. Oluwaseun Ogunmola AI Evangelist | Product Manager | Project Manager www.seunogunmola.com.ng https://www.linkedin.com/in/seunogunmola
Sources:
- Atlassian: What is Product Management?
- Product School: What Does a Product Manager Do?
- Harvard Business Review: The Hardest Role in the C-Suite
- Mind the Product: What is a Product Manager?
- Roman Pichler: Product Management Guide
