The document discusses the roles and responsibilities of product management and product marketing, highlighting the importance of these positions in driving business success. It defines the challenges faced by product managers, such as limited authority yet significant responsibility, and emphasizes the need for clear role definitions within teams. The content also provides best practices for organizing and executing product management tasks effectively.

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Product Manager or Product Janitor:
It’s Your Choice
Pro-duct Man-a-ger
noun
• Someone with all of the responsibility and little or no
authority
• A person who loves bringing great products to life
• The one person who has the ability to dramatically
affect a product’s success or failure.
Charles Myers
Product Camp Boston 2015
May 2, 2015

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• Why Product Management?
• Typical Roles and Responsibilities
• Party Time
• Bringing It Home
• The Choice
Agenda

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Chuck Myers
• Senior Consultant and Trainer, 280 Group
• Software developer and engineering manager
• Thirty five years Director & VP level Engineering,
Product Management, Business Development, Technical Marketing
– Desktop Software - Frame Technology FrameMaker, Adobe Acrobat, eBook Reader
– Server Software (J2EE, SaaS) - Adobe Reader Extensions Server, Datalogics WebAPI, Adobe LiveCycle
– Ecosystem Development - Partner and sales enablement, Training creation, delivery and certification
• Domain expertise beyond product management
– Publishing, Document formats (XML, PDF), Metadata, Accessibility
– Standards Process
– Root Cause Analysis, Process Improvement - Six Sigma/DMAIC
– Agile process, Software Quality
• Electrical Engineer, Purdue https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmyers4

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Mission
We help individuals and companies
do GREAT Product Management
using our Optimal Product
Process™ framework.
Consulting – Contractors –Training –Templates – Books – Coaching – Certifications
4

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Download: http://go.280group.com/pcamp-ppm
Take Our Survey: http://go.280group.com/pcamp-survey
(Challenges In Product Management)

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280 Group Optimal Product Process™

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Source: CBS News2013poll of corporate executives
• CEO
• Senior Executives
• General Manager
• Product Manager
Fourth MOST Important in Corporate America

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Evolution of Product Management
Originating in the ’30s, Proctor & Gamble creates Product
Management role within Marketing (aka Brand Manager)
High tech industry places Product Management within
Engineering
During the ’80s, Product Management becomes part of
Marketing
Late ’90s Product Management promoted to autonomous
corporate entity

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• Why be a product manager or product marketing
manager?
– Ability to be change agent, solve problems, see all aspects
of company's business.
• Focus on value and business motivations
• Make a real impact on the business
• Fulfilling and interesting career
The Excitement of Product Management

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PM
Sales
Customers
Support
Channel
Operations
ExecutivesPartners
Finance
Engineering
Marketing
Press/Analysts
• Central point of
communication
• Whole product
• Define Product Strategy
• Define Go-To-Market
Strategy
• Gather requirements
(VOC)
• Guide Engineering
• Guide Sales and Marketing
Unique Position or PM and PMM

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• Few people understand it
• No standard definitions or processes
• Job defined by expectations of people outside PM
• Lots of responsibility
– Reliant on influence
– No intrinsic authority
• Highly dependent on context
– Dependent on team dynamics
– Agile to heavyweight
– Wide variation by company and culture
Challenges of Product Management
One size does
not fit all

12. Agenda
Roles and
Responsibilities

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Product Management and Product Marketing
Roles and Responsibilities
Get product onto shelves Get product off shelves
Conceive Plan Develop Qualify Launch Maximize Retire
Product Management
Determining user needs
Product Marketing
Conveying value to buyerNegotiated
Overlap

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• Market expert
– Customer and market research
– Identifies customer needs
– Voice of the customer
• Strategy
– Owns vision and roadmap
– Portfolio management
– Manages product lifecycle
– Bridges engineering and marketing
• Business Case development and
realization
• Presents “needs”
– Not the problem solver
– Does not design features
• Feature, schedule, and cost tradeoffs
– Minimum Viable Product
• Brings products to market
– Valuable and differentiated
– Whole product definition
– Beta programs
– Market plan realization
• Responsible for value delivery through
business ecosystem
– Internal value chain
– Suppliers, partners, and 3rd party
vendors
Role: Product Management
Roles and Responsibilities

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Market Engineering
Business PM
• Market expert
• Voice of the customer
• Competitive analysis
• Positioning strategy
• Business strategy
• Portfolio management
• Market requirements
Product Manager Directions
Roles and Responsibilities
Technology PM
• Product/technology
expert
• Design and scoping
• Architectural vision
• Defect management
• Feature definition
• Usability

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• Marketing expert
– Competitive analysis
– Ensures consistency of
messages across media
– Product pricing
– Works with MarCom
• Strategy
– Success in the market
– Launches new products and
ongoing marketing
• Supports sales
– Demand generation
– Sales tools and training
– Compelling reason to buy
• Guides marketing
programs
– Balance revenues with
program costs
– Positioning, value
proposition, messaging,
feature/benefits, unique
selling proposition
Role: Product Marketing
Roles and Responsibilities

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Marketing Sales
Business PMM
• Marketing expert
• Market Strategy
• Key messages and content
for collateral, web site, press
releases, ads, sales tools, etc.
• New product launches
• Marketing programs
definition
Product Marketing Manager Direction
Roles and Responsibilities
Sales PMM
• Current product revenue focus
• Sales call focus
• Marketing programs
operational role

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Technical Sales and Marketing
• Product Architect
• Project/ Program
Manager
• Scrum Master
• UX
• Sales
• Sales Engineer
• Corporate Marketing
Complementary Job Roles
Roles and Responsibilities
Key team members
and stakeholders

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• Do you define roles and responsibilities in your
company differently than as presented here?
• Are you missing something in how you define
them?
• Are you missing roles which need definition or
clarity?
• Any specific challenges?
What’s It Like In Your Company
Roles and Responsibilities

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Beach Party
We have always had a summer party
Business just improved
But cash is tight, so it’ll be potluck

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• Driver: VP of HR
• Approver: CEO
• Contributor: Employee
Activity Council, CFO
• Informed: All employees
and their families
Step 1: Decide Location
and Date

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• Responsible: All Employees for one or more tasks,
by area
• Accountable: Committee Leads
• Consulted: Execs
• Informed: Non-Volunteer
Step 2: Get Event Preparations Done

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Beach Potluck RACI
Work Area
Executive
Management
Organizing
Commitee
Volunteer-
Beer
Vounuteer-
SoftDrinks
Voulunteer-
Snacks
Vounteer-
Grills
Volunteer-
Meat
Volunteer-
Games
Volunteer-
Signs
Non-
Volunteer
Beer C A R I
Soft Drinks and Water C A R I
Snacks C A R I
Grills C A R I
Meat for Grilling C A R I
Games and Activities C A, R R I
Signs C A R I
Key: R = Responsible A = Accountable C = Consulted I = Informed

24. Agenda
Bringing
It Home

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• Take ownership of
defining your role and
responsibility
• Rarely one person good at
multiple roles
Achieving Excellence
Best Practices
Define team roles
Decide on process and
methodology
Clarify roles and responsibilities
"Learn the rules so you
know how to break them
properly." - The Dalai Lama

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• Seek agreement and
move forward
• Assess team culture
– Personalities, work style,
history, management
– Be transparent and
respectful
– Work as team with key
members
• No surprises
• Interim discussion, input,
and buy-in
– Discuss contentious or
high-risk beforehand
• Allow sufficient time for
discussions, negotiations
Best Practice
Best Practices

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Tell People What You Do – and Don’t Do

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1. Form Operating Group (if doing on large scale)
– Collaborative Activity, Cross-Functional
– Program Managers are Essential
2. Define Role Names
3. Define Standard DACI for Decisions
4. Define Standard RACI for Activities
• Handle Specific Cases first to get familiarity (start at #4)
• Start by defining yourself and your department, let it
spread
Steps in Role and Responsibility Definition

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Role Responsibility Deliverable Expertise
Product Manager
Understand customer needs
and document market
problem
• Business Case
• Market needs
• Roadmap
Market and customers
Product Architect,
Technical Lead
Design solution
• Product description
• Technical specifications
• Roadmap
Product and technology
Sales Engineer Pre- and post-sales support Demos, roadmap and technical presentations
Product and technology, and
customer relationships
Product Marketer
Develop go-to-market plan
and materials
• Market Strategy
• Launch Plan
• Market Plan
• Sales tools
Marketing
Program/Project
Manager
Keep project on track
Schedule, budget, staffing plan, risk plan and
charter
Project management
User Experience
Understand user behavior
and design user experience
• Personas
• Problem Scenarios, Use Cases
User experience
Development Team,
Operations
Build the solution,
Manufacturing
• The Product
• Packaged and Shippable
Technology, Implementation,
Quality, Release Management
Core Team Roles and Responsibilities

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DACI: Example
Decision
Executive
Management
Product
Management
Product
Marketing
Corporate
Marketing
Public
Relations
Sales
Development
Product pricing A D C C I C I
Product Launch Schedule C C C C I A D
Marketing Budget A C D C I I I
Market Needs A D C I I C I
Product features C C I I I A D
Business Model A D C I I C I
Marketing mix C C D A I C I
Competitive Positioning A D C I I C I
Localization Strategy C D C C C A I
PR strategy A I C C D C I
Advertising Strategy A I C D I C I
Customer Training Strategy I D I I I A I
Key: D = Driver A = Approver C = Contributor I = Informed

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RACI: Example – Product Release
Decision
Executive
Management
Product
Management
Product
Marketing
TechPubs
Release
Engineering
Support
Development
Engineering
Management
Program
Management
Release Level (Major, Minor Patch) I R C I R C I A R
Release Notes C R C C C A
Documentation Update C R C A
Samples Update C C C C R R A
Installer Build I I C R C A
Upload Product to FTP Site R A
Update Doc on Developer Site R R A
Customer Notification I C R I I R I A
Internal Notification I R C I I C C C A
Sales Training I R R C C I C A
Launch Readiness Meeting A R R C C C C R R
Key: R = Responsible A = Accountable C = Consulted I = Informed

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• Distributed Control of Teams requires extra care
• RACI+F (Facilitation): Especially appropriate for
Agile Teams
• Delegation Boards between
management and self-organizing
Agile teams
Agile Teams Need R&R Clarity

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1. Tell
– You make a decision for others and you
may explain your motivation. A discussion
about it is neither desired nor assumed.
2. Sell
– You make a decision for others but try to
convince them that you made the right
choice, and you help them feel involved.
3. Consult
– You ask for input first, which you take it
into consideration before making a
decision that respects people’s opinions.
4. Agree
– You enter into a discussion with everyone
involved, and as a group you reach
consensus about the decision.
5. Advise
– You will offer others your opinion and
hope they listen to your wise words, but it
will be their decision, not yours.
6. Inquire
– You first leave it to the others to decide,
and afterwards, you ask them to convince
you of the wisdom of their decision.
7. Delegate
– You leave the decision to them and you
don’t even want to know about details
that would just clutter your brain.
Delegation Board Levels

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Strategic Product Manager or Product Janitor?
Roles and Responsibilities

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Strategic PM Product Janitor
Based on knowledge & confidence Opinions
Owns success of product Too many factors outside their control
CEO of Product Marketing resource for engineering
Drives the what & why Defines the how
Grows the business Builds bells & whistles
Tells the story Presents features
Defines their role Others define role
Strategic Product Manager vs. Product Janitor
Roles and Responsibilities
Based Upon: Ben Horowitz, 1996

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• Role and responsibility clarification will identify
gaps in organization where nobody is responsible
– This helps the whole organization, not just you
• Defines product management role and
responsibilities better and allows easier headcount
growth
• Clarification is often done as part of a larger
organization transformation or assessment effort
How to Justify This Effort to Managers

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• The Optimal Product Process eBook
– go.280group.com/pcamp-opp
• The Phenomenal Product Manager eBook
– go.280group.com/pcamp-ppm
• Challenges In Product Management Survey
– go.280group.com/pcamp-survey
– https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmyers4
Thank You – Free Downloads and Survey