Titles in tech have always been treated the same way as engineering processes – everyone has their own definitions. In some organisations, Product Management is a senior position for Engineers who have grown out of programming. For other organisations, the role is used as a consolation for Senior Engineers who don't fit the Unit Manager role; or for Unit Managers who have lost their position due to organisational changes. The role description is nevertheless not the same across all organisations. Some Product Managers develop use cases or user stories, others write high level summaries that deal with the overlap in product and commercial development. The true responsibility is, however, far deeper and more important than developing big stories.
Positioning of a product or service has traditionally been about perception, pricing, visibility, access and in some cases style; and it has been done by marketing professionals after a product or service has been developed. With tech, the positioning is largely decided when the product is built. Positioning is itself part of the strategy, together with market segmentation and which customer category is targeted. A product or service in tech cannot first be built and then positioned; an Internet subscription service is already positioned with regard to perception, visibility and access when it's built. Pricing is the only decision that can be made afterwards, although in a perfect world it ought to be made before the first line of software is written.
Products are codified the same way brands are. It's not the Product Manager's responsibility to associate a product with colours, words and symbols – many different roles are involved in these decisions, from design to marketing – but the Product Manager is responsible for the total impression. A Product Manager is for a product what a Marketing Manager is for a brand. Other decisions include where a product should appear, its settings, whether it's attended exhibitions, created web-pages and used ads, or channel partners and stores to work with — everything a customer is familiar with and would expect.
The first a Product Manager should do is to analyse the position of competitors, their problems in the market, and what opportunities there are for a competitor. The analysis should also address relevant past performance and failures of own products. Past failures are usually swept under the rug in favour of a clean sheet and overoptimistic sales forecasts, but insight into own failures can fine-tune a strategy. Uncovering new opportunities requires a certain amount of honesty without blaming individuals.
The analysis results, together with the strategy and codification, should act as input to engineering activities and guide them in their decision making. Engineering is often faced with a product cycle that presupposes new releases of existing products – economics and an installed base makes it necessary – but end-of-life is almost always the result of mediocre sales or strategic shifts in the market that requires the introduction of new ideas and new products.
Artificial Intelligence will influence the way marketing is done, and thereby the responsibilities of a Product Manager. A talented Product Manager will benefit from AI, while a mediocre one is made redundant.