F<\/span>rom Jackie Bavaro\u2019s simple and easy to digest Venn diagram<\/a> of product skills to Tarigo\u2019s product skills matrix<\/a>, there are countless publications out there listing the skills that a product manager must have.<\/p>\n I decided to gather some data to understand from people in the product community how important they believe a range of attributes are. In reality, the options I provided in the survey are a mix of attributes and skills, so I will use the terminology interchangeably as the context requires.<\/p>\n To determine the attributes, I used a combination of research into other posts on the topic (including those referenced at the top of the blog) and my own experiences working with and as a product manager in multiple companies. Here\u2019s the six that made the cut.<\/p>\n This encompasses several facets and needs to adapt depending on who you are engaging with, when, how, and why.<\/p>\n Who?<\/strong> Are you engaging with the development team? Leadership? Sales? Marketing? Operations? Customers? Suppliers?<\/p>\n When?<\/strong> Is this during a stand-up? A demo? A workshop? An all-hands? In User testing? At a networking event?<\/p>\n How<\/strong>? Are you presenting? Is it a casual discussion? A face to face meeting? A call? On Slack? Through an email?<\/p>\n Why<\/strong>? Are you trying to convince them of something? Are you telling? Asking? Ideating? Reviewing?<\/p>\n All of these factors impact how a product manager should communicate. Understanding and adapting to these nuances is what this skill is all about.<\/p>\n This attribute is about having an understanding of the financial drivers of the product, company, and wider industry and using it to inform product priorities. This attribute includes the ability to digest and understand financial data, create business cases, and use key commercial drivers to inform priorities, strategies, and the product roadmap.<\/p>\n The ability to hold your own in discussions about solutions with developers and architects by understanding system architecture, knowing your way around an API, and understanding how the product is built. This attribute includes using this knowledge to make technical recommendations to solve business problems.<\/p>\nThe attributes<\/h3>\n
N.B. I did not provide the survey participants with definitions of the attributes as I did not want their responses to be skewed in any way. The descriptions below are to aid my explanation of the work and the results.<\/h6>\n
Communication Skills<\/h4>\n
Commercial awareness<\/h4>\n
Technical Knowledge<\/h4>\n