What's the difference between a proDUCT manager and a proJECT manager?
Some people ask me about the difference between a proDUCT manager and a proJECT manager. I find the easiest approach is to consider the two roles against the product life cycle. A project manager typically has authority to plan, manage, and execute a given scheme--usually a single iteration of a product release while a product manager focuses on managing a product throughout its lifecycle across multiple releases.
While agile teams have done away with the traditional project manager, many organizations still need someone has to keep track of project status and deliverables. Project or product status is part of a product playbook. (You have one, right?)
Udemy offers this interesting infographic in the description of their online proJECT management course.
About Steve Johnson
Steve Johnson is a product management process coach, author, speaker, and advisor. His approach is based on the belief that minimal process and simple templates result in a nimble product marketing and management team. Before founding Under10, Steve was a Pragmatic Marketing instructor for over 15 years and personally trained thousands of product managers and hundreds of company senior executive teams. Learn more at www.under10playbook.com
In his spare time, Steve enjoys making music, and has an album available on iTunes. Check out Steve’s music at notExactlySteve.com