Roles and context
Product types
Product Manager Types: B2C, B2B, platform, growth, data, and internal product – tasks, context, and core competencies.
Product type changes the set of daily decisions, but does not eliminate the overall responsibility for value and outcome. Compare roles by user, customer, feedback loop, economics and technical constraints — these parameters, more accurately than job titles, show what kind of experience we really can tolerate.
Brief definition
What is a “product” and why divide types
The product manager is the product manager, and the person who is responsible for the value of the product to users and businesses, and the reason that you have to divide product types is because the set of tasks, the area of responsibility, and the expectations of the product vary greatly depending on the role, the structure of the company and the product.
In practice, there are several key types: product manager (PM), product-uner (PO), product team, product line manager, CPO.
Main product types
Product Manager (PM) (Product Manager)
Classic product: Responsible for market analysis, strategy, roadmap, task prioritization, delivery. PM is the generalist, connects development, business, support, users.
**Example: PM in the internal service of the bank - develops widgets for support staff.
Product Owner (PO) (Product Owner)
PO is often confused with PM, but PO is closer to development, and its responsibilities are backlogs, task descriptions, feature readiness, and in large companies, PO is subordinate to PM.
Example: Online store PO updates backlog and controls delivery with the team.
Product leader and product line manager
He leads multiple products or product teams, plus is responsible for aligning goals between PM and business management.
Example: Mobile application lead sets priorities for all teams that make different versions of the service.
CPO and Head of Product
CPO (Chief Product Officer) defines the product strategy of the entire company and builds the processes of product management at the portfolio level.
Example: CPO of the bank holding builds end-to-end product metrics, is responsible for launching new product lines.
How to choose the type of role for the task
Focus: Product, team or business
Where you’re in the realm of your role and your influence depends on the scale of the product, the structure of the company, and the stage of development. Small product — more often PM combines strategy and operating system. In a complex product portfolio, zones are split. It’s important to agree on who has responsibility and where the boundaries are.
** Case:** In an early-stage SaaS company, one PM does everything from research to production. In a 10+ company, each product has its own PO, multiple products and lead role at the top.
How to set boundaries
The boundary of responsibility is governed by the org chart, role description, and day-to-day decision-making practices, and when the boundaries are blurred, you get conflict, loss of focus, and shifting tasks.
When areas of responsibility are not defined, chaos grows, and the faster a company grows, the more important it is to clearly describe the roles and artifacts of the products.
Mistakes and anti-patterns
Fragile separation – more problems
A common mistake is to do PM and PO on the same team and not to separate responsibilities, so PM is busy with the “routine” of development, and backlog is broken down by performer.
Example: In a company, 2-3 teams are planted on one product, but they do not give PO - priorities are lost, there is no time for strategy, the product is stalling.
Mixing business and technical tasks
When a product spends time on technical descriptions of tasks instead of working with the market and strategy, the product loses its speed.
Where to look for benchmarks and additional materials
The description of roles and examples of differentiation can be seen:
- Product Management for Beginners: Role Types and Development Maps
- Classical article on roles from SVPG
The exact numbers and distribution of roles depend on the company, market and product stage.
FAQ
How is PM different from PO?
PM is responsible for strategy, value and business goals, PO is responsible for “translating” strategy into work tasks for the team.
Should PM and PO be separated in small products?
No, usually the same person combines, divides when the product and the team are big.
Who reports to the CPO?
All major products, product leads, sometimes product analysts.
How do you know if you need a separate product?
When you add another product team or product, you increase the amount of coordination and strategic objectives.
Is PM always the head of the team?
No. Usually, there’s designers, analysts, engineers on the team, and PM is just the product manager.
What if the product’s tasks become unmanageable?
Select PO, focus PM on strategy, regroup areas of responsibility.