Ask A Good Product Manager

Ask A Good Product Manager provides real answers to your real product management questions. Ask a question, get a response from an experienced product manager, and hear what others have to say.

Question: How much influence should a product manager have on hiring?

How much do you think the product manager should be involved in hiring new team members? At my current position I am involved in a bit of a professional tiff over hiring. I think if they’re team members who are going to be offering technical or administrative support to my product than I have an obligation to be involved. Part of the problem also stems from the recruitment team we’ve been working with; I have been pushing to find more folks through recruiting sites and other marketplaces where we can get specialized recruiters without breaking the bank. But, I have been at odds with both project and hiring managers who seem territorial. Am I over-stepping my boundaries or do I have a case?

Answer from Derek Britton of Micro Focus: Keep reading →

Question: How much should a product manager get involved with project management?

How much of a product managers time is spent on project management? How hands on is the product manager during a project phase?

I’m in a situation where I’ve been given more responsibilities without having my previous responsibilities reduced. I would like to know what tasks I should keep, what task I should delegate.

Answer from Derek Morrison of All About Product Management: Keep reading →

Question: How can you apply product management to services?

What is the role of product management within consulting and training services providers? What are the activities of product management should take place in this case according to best practices through the whole product lifecycle from idea to delivered service? Can we consider consulting or training services as a product?

Answer from Steve Johnson of Pragmatic Marketing: Keep reading →

Question: How can I establish my authority when I am working in a new industry?

I have less experience in the industry / domain than most of the people with whom I work. How do you convince an audience that has spent more time working in the domain than you, that you have something that they should listen to? How have you managed to say that ‘persuasively’?

Answer from Adam Bullied of Write That Down: Keep reading →

Question: What are the best MBA programs for learning product management?

Answer from Jeff Lash of How To Be A Good Product Manager: Keep reading →

Question: Is there any value in getting product management certification?

I am a MBA student with an engineering background looking to pursue a career in product management. This question is about the certifications helpful to people with my profile looking to start in product management, particularly in boosting the intial career search opportunities.

Among the certifications from organizations like Pragmatic Marketing, AIPMM, 280 Group and others, what are the aspects I should look for in deciding about product management certification?

Answer from Scott Sehlhorst of Tyner Blain: Keep reading →

Question: How quickly should a product manager develop a product roadmap?

After starting a PM position at a new company, what do you recommend as a reasonable timeframe to develop a 3 year product plan?  60, 90, 120 days, etc.

Answer from Rob Grady of RobGrady.com: Keep reading →

Question: How can I move from QA to product management?

I am a Quality Assurance (QA) professional with Bachelors in Engineering and Operations, and I have a good exposure to the software industry. I am planning to switch to product management and would like to know the necessary skills I need to develop to get into this role and what would be the approach I need to follow. I would also like to know is it possible to switch from QA to product management or not. It has been my long cherished dream to get into this role.

Answer from Jeff Lash of How To Be a Good Product Manager: Keep reading →

Question: How can I move from sales to product management?

I’ve been a sales manager and then director of operations for a small web based software company for about 5 years. For the last two years I have been an independent consultant for creating and implementing sales strategies and processes. Since my work has been around small companies, we never had a formal “product management” role, but I have always been intrigued by the work that is involved in bringing a product to life.

I have now decided to pursue this passion, and am currently looking for a job in product management. How can I best position myself considering my experience in sales? How can I best persuade a fellow product manager to consider me as a candidate for the job?

Answer from Adrienne Tan of brainmates: Keep reading →

Question: How can product managers work effectively with industry analysts?

How should a product manager balance listening to an industry analyst opinion versus that of customers? After all, analysts don’t buy the products, customers do. How much influence do analysts really have on purchase decisions? Do they actually spot trends that are for real? Or are they merely pundits who are never held accountable for what they say?

Answer from Paul Young of Product Beautiful: Keep reading →