Manages activities for a software product development department.
Researches and develops the roadmap for new products, features or enhancements and oversees the technology lifecycle. Gathers insights from customers and the marketplace. Guides the conceptualization, requirements gathering, specification creation, release, and implementation processes. Ensures that product delivery schedules and tasks related to all aspects of product development are coordinated with stakeholders to successfully release new products on time and within budget.
Salary.com identifies five increasing levels of proficiency for each skill/competency. Some jobs require only a relatively low level of proficiency in each skill/competency, while other jobs will require a more advanced level of proficiency in the same skill/competency. These levels rate the degree of proficiency (skill level, expertise) we expect the incumbent to perform in the given skill/competency for the given job. Note that we intentionally do not associate timeframes or years of experience in performing the skill/competency because that can be misleading. Proficiency levels identify what the incumbent knows and can do rather than how long they have been doing it. Also, note that the proficiency levels are cumulative, e.g., a level 4 proficiency implies the ability to perform all the behaviors at the lower levels.
Check each Product Management Manager skill and competencie below to view definitions.
Skill definition-Designing, implementing, and managing software product lifecycle from inception to delivery to maximize revenue and meet user experience.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Explains the main function of product management in software development.
Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Gathers software requirements and feedback from customers to identify product functionality and needs.
Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Participates in iteration planning sessions to discuss the pros and cons of software product management.
Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Recommends product customizations and improvement based on product feature requests to meet end-users’ needs.
Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Improves software product development processes to manage costs and allocation to features and functionality.
Skill definition-Managing all forms of technical information and data within an organization to improve accessibility, security, and collaboration.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Describes the basic functions and features of a technical data management system (TDMS).
Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Follows established principles and guidelines in producing reliable and accurate technical documents.
Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Reviews the technical documentation of software products to verify their conformity with specified requirements.
Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Enforces guidelines and standards to ensure proper management of technical documentation.
Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Designs and deploys optimization tools to streamline the technical documentation management process.
Skill definition-Developing software solutions to understand and target customer needs in a repetitive process.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Describes processes and basic guidelines of design thinking.
Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Documents successful solutions in using design thinking to drive cross-functional alignment and storytelling.
Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Makes a variety of different prototypes to identify the best possible solution for each problem found.
Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Facilitates formulation of innovative design solutions to achieve optimal business performance.
Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Creates new standards of excellence in design thinking and creative strategy.
Skill definition-Managing and prioritizing resources and workloads by creating well-organized plans to attain organizational goals and objectives.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Documents best practices in planning and organizing work to address important tasks.
Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Discusses the positive and negative outcomes of planning and organization in the workplace.
Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Helps set up new practices to anticipate and address the needs of planning and organization initiatives.
Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Facilitates the adoption of advanced tools to streamline the process of planning and organization.
Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Develops best practices in planning and organizing activities to improve organizational efficiency.
Skill definition-Evaluating and establishing activities according to urgency and importance to arrange the order of task assignments more effectively.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Describes the importance of prioritization in maintaining an efficient operation.
Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Assists in analyzing the relative importance of activities and assignments and adjusting priorities.
Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Analyzes requests to identify those that seem urgent, but are not important, and those that are important but not urgent.
Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Creates a prioritization framework to help in assigning tasks based on importance.
Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Designs prioritization strategies to manage possible issues and mitigate risk.
There are 7 hard skills for Product Management Manager, Software Product Management, Technical Documentation Management, User Experience Design, etc.
1 general skills for Product Management Manager, Design Thinking.
12 soft skills for Product Management Manager, Planning and Organizing, Prioritization, Coordination, etc.
While the list totals 20 distinct skills, it's important to note that not all are required to be mastered to the same degree. Some skills may only need a basic understanding, whereas others demand a higher level of expertise.
For instance, as a Product Management Manager, he or she needs to be skilled in Planning and Organizing, be skilled in Prioritization, and be skilled in Coordination.