By Andrew Park | 2024-08-13
As a Vice President of Engineering since 2006, I’ve often worn the hat of a Product Manager on a part-time basis, particularly for our flagship analytics products. This dual role has provided me with unique insights into the critical importance of Product Management and the necessity of cultivating business empathy among technical performers. Throughout my career, I have guided my engineers to be willing and effective collaborators with their business colleagues, recognizing that true success stems from close cooperation between the technical and business sides.
Technical performers—whether engineering managers, tech leads, software developers, QA/Test engineers, or Agile professionals—rarely understand what happens on the business team. Many technical professionals, including engineering leaders, often have an incomplete and vague understanding of the roles, responsibilities, and commitments of their business team colleagues. This lack of knowledge contributes significantly to the chasm that frequently exists between the technical and business sides of an organization.
This gap results in a high proportion of projects that fall short of their product visions and fail to deliver the intended value. It also leads to disappointment at the executive level, where outcomes don’t meet expectations without a clear understanding of what went wrong or how to improve future results. To bridge this gap, technical professionals must develop "business empathy"—a deep understanding of the broader business context in which they operate. A key component of this is gaining a clear understanding of the role of Product Management.
The Broad Scope of Product Management Responsibilities
The role of Product Management is often underestimated by those on the technical side of product development. Product Managers are not only responsible for guiding the collaboration with technical teams, but they also oversee a wide array of functions that are critical to a product’s success. The scope and ambition of the product vision they set play a significant role in determining the overall size and composition of the technical team required to support that vision. To illustrate how broad the job function of Product Management is, I will present typical functions of the Product Manager (or Product Management Team) for various technical team sizes. This will emphasize that Product Management is a centrally important role, responsible for aligning technical efforts with strategic business goals and ensuring the product’s long-term success.
Tech Team Size: 5-20 People
In small tech teams of 5-20 people, a single Product Manager wears many hats. They are responsible for creating product strategies that align with business goals and work closely with developers to define product requirements. This collaboration with the technical team is essential, but it’s just the beginning.
The Product Manager also conducts market analysis to understand customer needs and works with designers to enhance the user experience, often managing these tasks directly. Additionally, they build and maintain relationships with customers and end users, ensuring that their feedback is integrated into the product. Collaboration with sales and marketing is crucial for aligning product features with customer needs and planning promotional activities. Product Manager go-to-market (GTM) activities can include pricing strategy, distribution strategy, partnerships, product marketing, packaging, and sales enablement. In many cases, the Product Manager also takes on project management duties, coordinating timelines and resources to ensure the product is delivered on time.
Tech Team Size: 20-50 People
As the tech team grows to 20-50 people, the role of Product Management expands. One or two Product Managers may be involved, focusing on developing long-term product strategies that align with broader business objectives. While they continue to work closely with the technical team, they also start to delegate some tasks as the complexity of the product increases.
Market analysis becomes more structured, with the Product Manager leading the effort but beginning to delegate routine research tasks to direct reports. They oversee user experience improvements, ensuring the design team effectively implements their vision. Managing relationships with customers and end users remains a priority, though some interactions may be delegated. Collaboration with sales and marketing becomes more strategic, with a focus on aligning product features with market demands and planning for product launches. At this stage, Project Managers may still be uncommon, except in larger organizations where a Project Manager is assigned to every project, regardless of size. As a result, Product Managers often take on the responsibility of managing project timelines and resources, while also coordinating with finance on budgeting and collaborating with customer success teams to gather feedback and improve customer satisfaction.
Tech Team Size: 50-100 People
In tech teams of 50-100 people, the Product Management function typically includes 2-4 Product Managers, often called Principal or Lead Product Managers. Their responsibilities expand significantly, covering detailed strategic planning with a strong focus on market fit. While they continue to work closely with technical leads and senior leadership, Product Managers at this stage may begin to delegate more direct interactions with developers and other technical staff to their direct reports, allowing them to focus on higher-level strategic issues.
Market analysis becomes more complex, with Product Managers overseeing strategic decisions and delegating detailed research tasks. They remain heavily involved in user experience decisions but delegate much of the design work to their teams. Customer and end-user relationships are managed strategically, with routine feedback gathering increasingly handled by direct reports. Collaboration with sales and marketing intensifies, ensuring that product offerings meet customer needs and are effectively promoted. At this stage, Project Managers are likely present, allowing Product Managers to focus more on product vision and strategy, while Project Managers handle the detailed execution of timelines and resource allocation.
Tech Team Size: 100-200 People
In tech teams of 100-200 people, Product Managers play a critical role in driving comprehensive strategic planning across multiple product lines. The Product Management team typically includes 4-6 managers, such as Senior Product Managers, Lead Product Managers, and possibly a Head of Product. These managers ensure that product requirements are refined and prioritized, collaborating with cross-functional teams and senior technical leadership.
At this stage, Product Managers often delegate direct interaction with developers, Scrum Masters, and Agile Coaches to their direct reports, allowing them to focus on high-level strategy and decision-making. They oversee comprehensive market analysis, setting high-level direction while their teams handle the majority of research. Product Managers set the overall strategy and vision for user experience, with designers handling day-to-day execution. Managing relationships with customers and end users remains a key responsibility, though most interactions are delegated to their teams. Collaboration with sales and marketing is critical, ensuring the product strategy aligns with market demands and drives revenue growth. Multiple Project Managers are typically employed to manage different teams or value streams, with Product Managers ensuring that execution aligns with the strategic vision. Product managers also work closely with finance on financial forecasting and budget management, collaborate with legal on compliance and intellectual property issues, and lead strategic initiatives with customer success to enhance product adoption and loyalty.
Tech Team Size: 200-400 People
In large tech teams of 200-400 people, the Product Management function is extensive and complex. Typically, there are six or more Product Managers, including Senior Product Managers, Lead Product Managers, a Head of Product, and possibly a Chief Product Officer (CPO). These Product Managers oversee complex, multi-product strategies that align with the company’s overarching business goals. They ensure that product requirements are fully aligned with strategic objectives and delegate the finer details to their teams.
At this scale, Product Managers no longer interact directly with individual developers, Scrum Masters, or Agile Coaches, instead delegating these responsibilities to their direct reports while focusing on high-level strategic alignment with senior leadership, including CTOs and Technical Directors. They lead extensive market research efforts, aligning the findings with corporate strategy while delegating the research and analysis to senior team members. The Product Managers also oversee the overall user experience strategy, ensuring deep integration of user insights into the product vision while relying on senior designers for execution.
Managing comprehensive customer and end-user engagement strategies remains a key responsibility, though Product Managers delegate day-to-day interactions to their teams. Collaboration with sales and marketing is crucial, with Product Managers ensuring maximum alignment to drive product-market fit and revenue growth. Multiple Project Managers are essential at this stage, handling detailed execution while Product Managers focus on strategic direction. Product Managers also oversee strategic financial planning, ensuring that product development and profitability goals are met, work closely with legal to manage risk and compliance, and lead strategic initiatives with customer success to enhance product adoption and loyalty.
The Critical Role of Technical Team Collaboration in Product Management
While collaboration with the technical team is essential for the success of a product, it is just one of many responsibilities that fall under the purview of a Product Manager. Product Managers can be likened to pocket-passing quarterbacks on a football team. Just as a quarterback is responsible for reading the defense, calling plays, and making strategic decisions about where to throw or hand off the ball, Product Managers must understand market needs, set product strategies, and make key decisions about the direction of the product.
On the other hand, technical team members—such as engineering managers, tech leads, software developers, QA/Test engineers, and Agile professionals—are like the running backs and wide receivers. They are the ones who execute the plays, taking the handoff or catching the pass to advance the product down the field. No touchdowns are scored without the technical team doing their job effectively. However, just like in football, the technical team alone cannot win the game. Their success is deeply intertwined with their close collaboration with the quarterback, or in this case, the Product Manager.
In this analogy, the Product Manager orchestrates the game plan, ensuring that each play (or product feature) is strategically aligned with the overall goal of winning (or achieving business success). Without this alignment and without the Product Manager making the right calls at the right time, the technical team’s efforts, no matter how skillful, may not lead to a win.
Conclusion
As someone who has worn both the hats of a Vice President of Engineering and that of a Product Manager, I cannot stress enough the importance of developing business empathy for technical professionals. Whether you're an engineering manager, tech lead, software developer, QA/Test engineer, or Agile professional, cultivating this understanding is essential not only for the success of your projects but also for your personal career growth.
Over the past 20 years, tech professionals have enjoyed some of the highest starting salaries in the industry, yet only a few make it to the senior leadership roles. A primary reason for this is often a lack of business empathy—a critical gap that hinders the ability to deliver excellent outcomes. Without a strong grasp of the broader business context, even the most technically skilled professionals may find their careers stalling, unable to rise into senior leadership roles.
Understanding the broad scope of Product Management is key to bridging the gap between technical execution and business strategy. Product Managers are not just collaborators; they are the orchestrators of the entire product development process, ensuring that every move aligns with the overall business objectives. By developing a deeper appreciation for their role and responsibilities, you can become a more effective collaborator, a stronger leader, and a more valuable contributor to your organization's success.
Don’t let a lack of business empathy be the reason you miss out on reaching the highest levels of your career. Embrace it, learn from it, and allow it to transform your approach to work. This understanding will not only make you a more well-rounded professional but will also position you to achieve greater success in your career trajectory.
