What’s the Difference Between Product Manager vs. Project Manager?
Product manager responsibilities often vary from product-to-product, team-to-team, manager-to-manager, and at first glance, it seems like no two product manager jobs are identical. Despite this, they have one primary mission: build a commercially successful product. The Product Manager must be seen as an expert in their field and respected for having a thorough understanding of the interactions of all functional areas of the company.
Product Manager skills:
- Communication
- Organization
- Cross-discipline knowledge
- Empathy
Product Manager Responsibilities:
- Idea creation
- Strategy development
- Profit-loss analysis
- Communication
- Documentation
The project manager’s role embraces the culture of an ongoing commitment to delivering exceptional products/services and specific results within the defined scope and top quality. The project manager needs to clearly state what is to be delivered by the project (that’s about deliverables) and then determine how to produce the project outcome within the schedule assigned and the budget allocated. Actually, that’s the main challenge of any project manager.
Project Manager skills:
- Leadership
- Time management
- Risk management
- Adaptability
- Technologically savvy
Project Manager Responsibilities:
- Budget allocation
- Team organization
- Planning tasks
- Periodic progress updates
Project management and product management are crucial yet distinct positions, and they are often interchangeably confused by all levels of business executives. Projects are temporary, with a clear definition of activities and timeframe for delivery, whereas products create continuous value for customers and don’t necessarily have a set timeframe.
If you are willing to learn more about the difference between a project manager and a product manager, feel free to check our recent blog post.
