Comments on: How can a software engineer become a product manager?

By: Himanshu

Himanshu — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:09:33 +0000

Derek, If one have a 8-10 years exp in product engineering and want to move to product management roles. Do you think going for an MBA course will help in filling the concepts and voids of allround business education much needed for PM roles

By: benson

benson — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:51:38 +0000

Any promotion strategic plan/event for software products? Any suggestions?

By: Cindy Alvarez

Cindy Alvarez — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:32:33 +0000

Of the advice above, I would doubly stress “be able to communicate technical concepts to a non-technical audience”.

Many companies suffer from a disconnect between the product management and engineering sides of the house, and being the person who can bridge that gap by explaining concepts to the less technical and negotiating with the more technical is a crucial role.

Once you’ve done your SWOT, you may want to search specifically for “Platform Product Manager” roles and compare against those – these live in product management and typically own areas like a product SDK, analytics, infrastructure or mobile channels. Even if that’s not where you want to eventually be, it could be the right “foot in the door”. (I was hiring for this role late last year and trust me, there’s a shortage of folks with STRONG technical background who “think like a product manager”.)

By: Jeff Lash

Jeff Lash — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:21:01 +0000

A few other links to mention:

Moving From Engineering To Product Management from the Silicon Valley Product Group
What should I study to become a product manager?, here at Ask A Good Product Manager
What tips do you have for a new product manager?, also here at Ask A Good Product Manager

By: Raj P

Raj P — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 05:00:23 +0000

In addition to the excellent recommendations above, I’d also recommend taking some of the Product Management courses offered by well-reputed training organizations such as Pragmatic Marketing. I believe this demonstrates to your prospective employer that you have a sincere interest in Product Management, and you are investing your time and energy in learning it.

Best wishes,
Raj
Accompa – Affordable requirements management software for product managers

By: Michael Ray Hopkin

Michael Ray Hopkin — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 04:18:11 +0000

The key for my transition from software engineering to product management was taking every opportunity I could to learn about PM, interact with the PM team and asking a lot of questions. Like Derek says, I looked for opportunities to fill in when I could. One of the best things that happened was an opportunity to do a six-week consulting gig for one of our customers. Though it was an engineering job, it gave me the opportunity to interact with the customer and begin to develop that important PM skill. I also made sure the right people on the PM team knew I wanted to join their team.

Start seeing yourself as a PM, keep reading the blogs, hone your skills and the opportunity WILL come.
All the best!
Michael

By: Gopal Shenoy

Gopal Shenoy — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:28:52 +0000

I had done a SWOT on myself earlier this year and had written about how to go about doing one. My blog post can be found at http://productmanagementtips.com/2007/12/11/state-of-you/

By: Derek Morrison

Derek Morrison — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:45:40 +0000

Always happy to help. Please let us know how you get on – send me an email at allaboutproductmanagement@yahoo.com when you make the transition I’m sure it would make a good case study and could help someone else who is trying to make the transition . BTW if you get an interview and want any help in prep work then let me know via the same email address.

Derek

By: The asker

The asker — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:12:27 +0000

A SWOT on myself! But of course! I use SWOT for everything else, I don’t know why it didn’t cross my mind until then. Look at where I want to be, look at where I am today, identify the gaps, and act on the gaps.

I also did read your series of PM interviews, that’s some really great stuff, absolutely love it.

Thanks guys!