Comments on: How Technical Should a Product Manager Be? http://www.productbeautiful.com/2008/09/18/how-technical-should-a-product-manager-be/ Building Product Management from the Ground Up by Paul Young Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:13:16 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Carole-Ann Matignon http://www.productbeautiful.com/2008/09/18/how-technical-should-a-product-manager-be/comment-page-1/#comment-1649 Carole-Ann Matignon Thu, 25 Dec 2008 14:53:17 +0000 http://www.productbeautiful.com/?p=144#comment-1649 I agree with your perspective but I wanted to nuance it a bit if you don't mind. If your product is a tool / technology for developers, I believes it becomes a necessity to be more technical. I do not use my technical background so much to reverse-engineer Product Development's estimates (although it does help sometimes to brainstorm on a design they did not think of -- only once in a while though). I do use it every single day when talking to customers. How can I fully understand the challenges of a software developer if I don't speak the same language? All of the PMs in my team do not have the same technical background of course, but it makes a real difference. I think the non-technical PMs tend to list what customers have requested, while technical PMs can drill down into the core problem (which is often different from the solution they requested). Huge value. Again, this is only applicable if the product you manage is a technical product ;-) I agree with your perspective but I wanted to nuance it a bit if you don’t mind.

If your product is a tool / technology for developers, I believes it becomes a necessity to be more technical. I do not use my technical background so much to reverse-engineer Product Development’s estimates (although it does help sometimes to brainstorm on a design they did not think of — only once in a while though). I do use it every single day when talking to customers. How can I fully understand the challenges of a software developer if I don’t speak the same language?

All of the PMs in my team do not have the same technical background of course, but it makes a real difference. I think the non-technical PMs tend to list what customers have requested, while technical PMs can drill down into the core problem (which is often different from the solution they requested). Huge value.

Again, this is only applicable if the product you manage is a technical product ;-)

]]> By: Mindy http://www.productbeautiful.com/2008/09/18/how-technical-should-a-product-manager-be/comment-page-1/#comment-1597 Mindy Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:58:43 +0000 http://www.productbeautiful.com/?p=144#comment-1597 This is a great post and something that I've distributed to all of the other product managers on our team. Just curious though...when looking at all of the product management positions out there, I've noticed that many (if not all) require that someone have a Computer Science degree. Why do you think the industry is trending this way. I have almost 10 years of product management experience and majored in English Literature. And, I have to say that my English major has helped tremendously in drafting these requirements and in communicating these features across all departments (and of course, to customers). Is someone with 10 years of product management experience AND a computer science degree really that much better? This is a great post and something that I’ve distributed to all of the other product managers on our team. Just curious though…when looking at all of the product management positions out there, I’ve noticed that many (if not all) require that someone have a Computer Science degree. Why do you think the industry is trending this way. I have almost 10 years of product management experience and majored in English Literature. And, I have to say that my English major has helped tremendously in drafting these requirements and in communicating these features across all departments (and of course, to customers). Is someone with 10 years of product management experience AND a computer science degree really that much better?

]]> By: Stewart Rogers http://www.productbeautiful.com/2008/09/18/how-technical-should-a-product-manager-be/comment-page-1/#comment-1573 Stewart Rogers Fri, 19 Sep 2008 03:46:48 +0000 http://www.productbeautiful.com/?p=144#comment-1573 Well said Paul! I agree completely that you need a hint of technical juice in you to understand because you cannot avoid face time with the team that does the building and you need to function as peers with them. It is no different than the other teams you need to interact with, you need a hint of sales, hint of leadership, hint of marketing and TON of time. Well said Paul! I agree completely that you need a hint of technical juice in you to understand because you cannot avoid face time with the team that does the building and you need to function as peers with them. It is no different than the other teams you need to interact with, you need a hint of sales, hint of leadership, hint of marketing and TON of time.

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