Who can become a product manager? One should go through three different life cycles of a product to turn as a product manager. Of course, product has one life cycle but a product manger can be onboarded at different phases of the cycle. A product starts from research or product from growth/maturity or a product from maintenance. Unfortunately, majority of the product manages are being onboarded at maintenance stage. So, these experts are not bothering about the other phase of the life cycle. That is the reason I have addressed them as three different cycles.

Regardless of the phases product life cycle has, business cycle included in it, and the PM is responsible for that. A person who consider it as just like project life cycle doesn’t have business sense. He is unfit for the product management. Eventually, understand the product well and apply the business – As simple as that.

A Person who always in the shoes of a customer and wear a hat of product design per customer need is a product manager.

Narasimha Mohan

How to get transformed as a product manager from different roles? What is the path to product management? A typical customer can be a product manager, A functional consultant can be a product manager, a techie can be a product manager, a person from testing can be a product manager, an architect can be a product manager, a business consultant can be a product manager. for that matter any aspirant can be a product manager, all you need learn is

Why am I building this product?

Understand, why the product is being built, is it for charity? is it for a commercial gain? it is for solving a problem? is it fulfilling a basic need? Is it luxury? Is it creating a new trend? Is it creating a need for itself? Is it solving a future problem? Is it for businesses? Is it for consumers? Is it for both? These questions will help to determine the product is needed or doesn’t make any sense.

Who are the beneficiary?

Understand, who is getting benefited directly and indirectly out of it, and what is the benefit so that a PM should work towards getting maximum benefit for them. The list contains the stakeholders, business owners, employees, business associates, dealers and online affiliates. The key here is to create benefit for all these people, the customer has to get benefited out of the product either. The benefit for customer to business owner is directly implies. Eventually, find the target customers who are getting benefit out of it, and benefit them as much as possible to make benefit for business owners.

What am I gaining out it?

When it comes to work or business, self questioning is very much imperative. What am I getting out of it? Salary or share or incentive or salary + incentive? Indeed, money is one of the motivating factors to put more efforts and focus. Eventually, the PM ownership gets increased. The ownership drives the product towards sustainability. So, never forget to learn what is your gain.

How much need to be spent?

Understanding who are the beneficiary? What am I getting out of it are okay. However, how much to spend in terms of efforts, money, time, infrastructure, and other resources to get benefited. Without knowing these calculations, how to determine the benefit?

What is the ROI?

ROI (Return on investment) is not the profit but it could be a benefit. Anything is getting generated out of investment is benefit but something more than the benchmark is profit. So, any business should understand the benefit and the profit margins to determine the health of the product business.

Why it require continues enhancements?

Why do we need fuel for a car? Why do need maintenance for a car? Why do we need a next version of a car? Can’t we drive the same care for decades together? As simple as that for any product. Fuel is customer satisfaction, maintenance is maintenance, and of course to have next version we need to incorporate new enhancements. To have the product sustainability for a longer time product demands continues enhancements.

A guy who understand these basics meticulously, can transform to product management.

Another good read

Domain knowledge helps a product manager to be successful