Product management and project management are two of the most commonly overlapped roles in tech.
And because of that, that also means product and project managers alike commonly transition from one role to the other. Don’t get me wrong, they are definitely two distinct roles (one focusing on strategy, the other on execution), however we can’t help but agree on one thing: there’s a reason these two roles are so commonly blended together; intentionally or by accident.
That being said, let’s get to it.
Project Managers -> Product Management
This transition is all about switching from an execution-focused mindset to a strategy-focused mindset. Product managers define what should be built (or bought) and why.
With that in mind, get involved in opportunities to collaborate with product discovery and roadmap planning. Engage in customer research, analyze feedback (internal and external), and use data to influence decisions you make whether or not its directly about the product.
At the end of the day, do what you need to go from owning milestones and timelines to owning product value/features and business outcomes.
Product Managers -> Project Management
And, the transition from product to project is, you guessed it, about going from a strategy-focused mindset to an execution-focused one.
And what will that mean? Instead of structuring roadmaps, you’ll want to practice structuring the work to be done, keeping teams aligned and managing risks along the way. You’ll also want to pay particular attention to dependencies and addressing blockers, both foreseen and unforeseen.
You’ll also continue to work with multiple teams like you did as a product manager. While product managers help align teams with the what and why, as a project manager, you’ll be more focused on aligning teams on the how and when.
If you’re considering a switch from project to product management management, or product to project management, reach out if you have any questions! I’ve been at this for well over a decade and am happy to help and share what I’ve seen help and not help.
And with that, and this week’s earlier posts, are some tips to help product managers explore careers in software engineering, UX/UI, marketing, operations, and project management — and vice versa. Hope you all enjoyed and learned something new along the way!
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