What is Solution Product Management?

The relationships are the difference

Most product managers know the role of their product in their end-to-end solution. A few product managers manage a solution as a product. With more and more APIs and well-defined protocols between products, there are increasing needs for solution product managers. The solution product manager works with multiple product managers to prioritize cross-product initiatives.

Solution Product Managers and Product Managers

The below table summarizes the differences between product managers and solution product managers. The key difference is in the key relationships: a solution product manager works with multiple product teams and the product manager works inside the product team.

There are three key areas that are the same for product managers and solution product managers.

Stakeholder Management

Identifying key stakeholders and communicating with stakeholders is similar for product managers and solution product managers.  Stakeholders in both cases care about business outcomes, costs to develop, and satisfying customers.

Product managers are great at defining products and solutions for their stakeholders.  Additionally, all product managers are skilled at prioritizing features and capabilities so there is incremental benefit in each program phase.

Leadership

All product management roles need strong leadership skills to compel many different teams to work on a common goal.  Working with key leaders in engineering, sales, marketing, and program management is important to deliver the right solution for the targeted customers.  Leading a diverse product team takes clear communication about the product and solution vision.  Knowing where you want to go leads to rapid decisions that the product team can use to support the product manager's vision.

Technical Knowledge

Product and solution knowledge is very helpful to any product manager role.  While you don't need to be able to develop the product, you do need to understand the product from the user's perspective.  Additionally, you need to know the environment in which the product is used.  Solid relationships with engineering and marketing teams can enable you to learn the product and understand the product's environment quickly.  Likewise, meeting with key customers is another great way to learn how your product or solution is being used.

Conclusion

There are a few differences between the product manager and the solution product manager roles.  The key skills of stakeholder management, leadership, and technical knowledge are needed whether you are a product manager or a solution product manager.