9th
Who should drive product strategy?
I’ve always thought that product management (PM) should drive product strategy for the following reasons:
- PM should constantly be in the market, uncovering customer problems that the product and company can solve
- PM should be uncovering problems with the existing product that need improved
- PM should be evaluating competitor offerings, staying in touch with technology developments in the industry and differentiating the product
- PM would consolidate feedback on internal tools needed to improve product performance and scalability
This would add up to a PM team that is highly aware of market requirements, customer requirements, market trends, and inefficiencies in the current product. A product that can address external (revenue) and internal (scalability) issues would be delivered.
I’m starting to see a new way of addressing product strategy. That strategy would start with executive management across the firm defining corporate and market strategy. Once high-level objectives are decided (with input from PM), product management would then build a product to support these objectives (while still using a tuned-in approach). PM would define features, create prototypes, and test assumptions.
Should product management drive revenue-creation strategy for the company, or should PM follow the lead of executive management?
