What is a PM?

Different people call them different things — product managers, program managers, and project managers — depending on their culture, organizational structure, and the type of work their group performs. However, they all count as P.M. to me. Here is one perspective on their work from the New York Times technology editor, David Pogue:

When I’m reviewing something for my Times column, the first line of defense for the company whose product I’m trying out is usually the P.R. person. Often, though, I’m then put through to the person who really has the answers: the product manager.

The product manager (P.M.) is an interesting beast, sort of a crossbreed: somebody who knows a lot about the product and its target audience, as the engineers and programmers do, but who’s also there to promote the product, as the P.R. people do. (Just as the P.R. person is a gatekeeper for the P.M., the P.M. is a gatekeeper for the engineers if the questions get too tough.)”

References

David Pogue, ‘Amusing Tales of Product Managers’, The New York Times (September 6, 2007) <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/technology/circuits/06pogue-email.html> [accessed September 6, 2007] (para 1–2)

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