Read on to further explore the similarities and differences between project and product management. Both disciplines are in high demand, command large salaries, and report high levels of job satisfaction. However, there are several key differences between the two disciplines, including responsibilities, skills, career trajectories, and required education. Both project management and product management disciplines involve working directly with clients and collaborating with a team to deliver a product or service that meets their expectations.
Product manager vs project manager download#
For more information on the AIPMM unique KAs and the PMF, go to the web site and download the APMF whitepaper.The role of a project manager versus a product manager can be confusing, as many of their responsibilities can overlap.
Hopefully this explanation has introduced some clarity and consistency into the discussion. (and very often the Program Manager is a member of the cross functional product management core team). The Program KA involves the management those cross-functional projects required to bring products to market. They are: Customer, Strategy, Product, Market, Business, and Program. Programs are collections of related projects but still require mastery of the 9 unique project management KAs.ĪIPMM has defined 6 unique product management KAs as part of a universal, cross-industry Product Management Framework (PMF) required to manage products. They are: Integration, Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Resources, Communication, Risk and Procurement. PMI has defined 9 unique project management KAs required to manage projects and programs. Both product and program managers must master their unique KAs and manage the activities and deliverables associated with them in order to successfully complete their products or programs.
Product manager vs project manager professional#
thinking more of "vision" / "value props" that individual product subunits then go "align" themselves toward)ĪIPMM and PMI, two professional organizations in these fields, have both defined unique knowledge areas (KA) associated with their professions that can answer this question. (not the nitty gritty, of course Program Managers & UX designers are the experts at specifying the details. More generally, they define the "message" that they hope people (mainstream media, word-of-mouth, and everything in between) will associate with each release.īoth positions gather a lot of data about where the market is heading - Program Managers from their relationship with the technical community, Product Managers from their industry & media contacts - but the ultimate decisions about what to build are made by someone higher in the chain.
Product Manager = basically a synonym for "marketing suit." They design the product's ad campaigns, sales website, and related swag. Typically responsible for designing & specifying features, planning release cycles, triaging bugs, presenting at technical conferences, managing compliance with technical regulations (internal & governmental), connecting with online communities, and more. Program Manager = one of the members of the core technical staff (alongside developers and testers). Microsoft, for instance, has its own rather unusual definitions: