Mistakes to Avoid on the Path to Product Success

How product managers and program managers join forces

Does the relationship between the product manager and the program manager matter on a product team? Yes! This partnership can make or break a product!

This partnership is underestimated by many product teams.  The relationship needs continuous attention or product chaos follows.

Basics of Product and Program Management

As the key leaders of the product team, product managers and program managers are crucial to delivering high-quality products.  The crucial jobs are:

•  Partner with each other

• Collaborate on requirements

• Anticipate issues in the product lifecycle

• Lead the product team together

The Shared Role and Mistakes

There are 3 major areas where product managers and program managers make mistakes.

1. Role-based value - the value of each role isn’t clear

2. Independent work plus connected work - aligned with each other even when doing independent activities

3. Joint decision-making - work together on shared goals

 By focusing on these areas, product teams get the full value of these two leaders!

How Does This Prevent Mistakes?

When product managers and program managers focus on the work at hand, it is easy to skip fundamental understanding of each other's leadership roles.  Some of the key fundamentals to keep in mind are:

• Responsibilities: Clear role and responsibility between product management and program management

• Conflict management: managing disagreements without escalation

• Regular check-ins: manage dependencies together in 1 on 1s

• Independent work: individual initiatives that align with shared goals

• Timelines: lockstep on deadlines and plans

• Risk assessment: no surprises and alignment on risk triggers

• Business success: high priority shared goal

The table below shows how to avoid typical blunders.

Conclusion - Avoiding Mistakes on the Path to Product Success

Products and their environments are complex systems.  Product managers and program managers can make mistakes in spite of working on fundamental shared goals.  The good thing about these fundamentals is product managers and program managers fall back on their relationship to repair mistakes.

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