McDowell

Because companies in online software collect more data, it’s important that these PMs are skilled with data analysis and designing experiments. It’s also important to work well under pressure, as servers can fail at any time and PMs often have to make quick decisions.

Depending on the team, sometimes PMs on B2B products are responsible for thinking about how product decisions will affect revenue. They’ll need to balance features that match their long-term strategy against features that current big customers are clamoring for.

As a PM on a mature product, it can be very important to make sure you don’t get stuck making small incremental improvements. Often, a mature product’s biggest competitor is the last version of that same product. At the same time, mature products often have the luxury of time to make big bets on new ideas.

PMs who want to work on products used by millions of people would enjoy working on mature products. Mature products are also a great place to learn from the people who were able to make the product succeed.

Product managers are responsible for identifying problems and opportunities, picking which ones to go after, and then making sure the team comes up with great solutions, either by thinking of the solution themselves or by working with the designers and engineers. This is why product sense—having the intuition to recognize the difference between a good product and a bad product—is so important for product managers

Marketing folks focus on getting users into the product, while product managers define what happens once the user is in the product.

PMs do need to meet with the key stakeholders and understand their opinions and priorities, but then they synthesize those perspectives, lay out the tradeoffs, and come up with a recommendation that will satisfy all of the stakeholders. In any meeting or conversation, the PM needs to represent the interests of all the people who are not in the room.

Instead, PMs influence without authority, building up credibility with the team, communicating clearly, gathering data and research, and being persuasive to lead the team. Teams follow PMs when they’re convinced that their goals align and that the PM will help them better achieve their goal

As a PM, you’re responsible for the success or failure of your product, and no job is beneath you. If there’s work that no one wants to do, you need to find a way to get it done, even if that means doing it yourself. If you let the work slip by, no one else will make sure it gets caught.

Clarify goals and gather satisfaction metrics.
Determine the people and skills needed to complete a project.
Set up project management tools, plans and processes.
Run status meetings and gather status reports.
Analyze data to identify opportunities.
Identify & implement changes to improve efficiency.
Manage changes that come in from the customer.
Find ways to keep the project on track even when things go wrong.