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{"id":48,"date":"2020-05-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chrismiles.co\/product-vs-project-management-batman-robin-or-marvel-dc-bd42a7069cd8\/"},"modified":"2020-09-09T15:54:10","modified_gmt":"2020-09-09T15:54:10","slug":"product-vs-project-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chrismiles.co\/product-vs-project-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Product vs Project Management\u200a\u2014\u200aBatman & Robin or Marvel &\u00a0DC?"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 5<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

During my career, I have worked extensively as both a project manager and a product manager; within consulting and in multiple industries. I\u2019ve worked in companies that have both roles, companies that only have project managers and companies that only have product managers.<\/p>\n

Several prominent blogs that I\u2019ve read assert that project managers and product managers are \u2018two sides of the same coin\u2019 and should work harmoniously to deliver product goals. I wanted to dig into this assertion based on my experiences and provide my thoughts.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
Product and Project Management \u2014 two sides of the same coin?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Even LinkedIn has only recently updated its search algorithm to better distinguish between the two\u200a\u2014\u200awhen searching for a new role back in April 2019, 35% of the results for my search for \u2018Senior Product Manager\u2019 in London were project<\/strong> manager roles.<\/p>\n

Do they work together to fight crime (aka solve customer problems) and make the world a better\u00a0place?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n
\n

\u2018The only sensible way to live in this world is without rules\u2019
(Batman, talking at a recent product event about his preference for Kanban over\u00a0Scrum)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

To answer whether they can, and should, work together I have considered 3 categories: skills, stages and application of these skills.<\/p>\n

What skills do both roles\u00a0share?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\"\"
Some of the top skills required for each role are shared.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

A number of the key skills required for each role apply to both, which means it\u2019s hardly surprising that PM Festival found that of people working in product management, the most common job they had before was as a project manager.<\/p>\n

So at a foundation skills level, there are similarities between the two roles but there are additional skills required for each.<\/p>\n

Strategic thinking and user empathy are critical skills for a product manager but less crucial for a project manager, who needs to be structured and methodical and relentless in their insistence in the plan being followed.<\/p>\n

The stages of product development<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Using six questions we can determine the primary role of both product and project managers concerning product development.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
The 5 Why\u2019s and How \u2014 often used in journalism and police investigations but highly applicable to product and project management.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
<\/figure>\n

A product manager focusses on the first four and influences the \u2018when\u2019 through a prioritised backlog and roadmap. They do not, however, dictate the \u2018how\u2019, as this is determined by the development team.<\/p>\n

In contrast, a project manager focusses on the how and the when. They liaise with stakeholders across the project to determine the plan of how it should be delivered and subsequently when it will be completed. That\u2019s the theory, anyway. In reality, the deadline often comes first and you have to work backward from there!<\/p>\n

This gives some indication that collaboration would be possible between these roles, with a handover during the \u2018when\u2019 stage. However, it does not take in to account the application of the skills they both hold and the ideologies they support. The third section is the one that will shed light on this, so read on\u2026<\/p>\n

Application of\u00a0skills<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve defined 6 areas to compare the way that product and project managers apply the core skills that they have.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Product and project managers are neither complements nor direct substitutes. They align with different ways of working. For example, when following a traditional waterfall method, the project <\/em>manager determines the plan and resolves issues. In Agile, the product<\/em> manager does the former, but the Scrum Master fulfils the latter.<\/p>\n

Batman and Robin, or Marvel and\u00a0DC?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If you were hoping for a happy ending, I apologise. They are not Batman and Robin: they are Marvel and DC\u200a\u2014\u200aoperating in two entirely different universes\u200a\u2014\u200aor at least they should be.<\/p>\n

JE vs DU. Only a pair of letters out of 17 separate these two professions linguistically, but don\u2019t be fooled by their linguistic match\u200a\u2014\u200athese two professions are ideological opposites.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
I\u2019ll leave it to you to decide which universe represents project and which represents product, although Tony Stark certainly embraces the build, measure, learn mentality of product management.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

Why do so many companies have\u00a0both?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There is a reluctance to do away with the project manager role and instead companies and experts alike strive to justify the existence of both, preaching that they work in harmony.<\/p>\n

I disagree with this\u200a\u2014\u200ayou should pick your ideology and embrace it.<\/p>\n

People, and organisations, feel more comfortable with what they\u2019re used to. RAG reports, GANT charts, CRs, RACIs and RAID documents (if you don\u2019t know what these acronyms mean, lucky you!) are what many in leadership positions have \u2018grown up\u2019 with in a career sense and are reluctant to let it go for something new and seemingly more vague.<\/p>\n

I have never worked on a project that has delivered to time and budget, and yet people still feel more comfortable with bad news when it\u2019s against a rigid and usually completely inaccurate plan.<\/p>\n

For organisations to be truly product-led, they must do away with old processes but most importantly, old mindsets. To be a product-led organisation, you have to embrace product thinking.<\/p>\n

I highly recommend reading Kyle Evan\u2019s piece on Product Thinking vs. Project Thinking<\/a> as a starting point for this journey.<\/p>\n

Thanks for reading\u200a\u2014\u200aI\u2019d love to hear your thoughts, feedback, and questions so feel free to get in touch by posting a comment or contacting me directly.<\/p>\n

I also spoke about this topic at Product London<\/a> on May 11th, check it out below (skip to 14:16).<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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