Product management is a business role for which you manage specific products within your company. It combines strategy, design, leadership, and marketing to help a company successfully sell its product. Product management also guides a product’s lifecycle at every stage, including product development, positioning, and pricing. The focal point of product management is focusing on the product and its customers. In addition to building the best possible product, product management advocates for product customers to ensure that their needs are met. The scope of product management can also differ depending on the organizational structure and demands of the business. For example, factors like the company's size, if they sell physical goods or services, or whether they sell to other companies or directly to customers can all impact product management.

To be a product manager, you'll want to gain skills that will help you balance three things: profit, customers' needs, and what deliverables are technically and operationally possible. Because the role oversees product development, you should also be able to design product strategies that showcase your understanding of how companies approach both product development and product marketing. Keep in mind that product manager skills will vary depending on the size of the company. For instance, you're likely to be more hands-on if you strive to work at a small business. Product managers at larger companies, on the other hand, have the option to collaborate with marketing teams, researchers, and analysts to obtain the information they need. Other skills you'll want to brush up on include communication skills, technical expertise, business skills, research skills, analytical skills, interpersonal skills, marketing skills, data analysis skills, strategic thinking, and prioritizations skills.

Although product managers and project managers often work together, their roles are separate and have some unique characteristics. One of the main differences is that product managers support the entire lifecycle of a product, while project managers assist with a variety of company projects as needed on a short- or long-term basis. A product manager might assign project managers to help manage specific tasks throughout the stages of product development. While the product manager focuses on the product's success, the project managers' will make sure that the team completes the project on time and within budget.