Product Management

Product management is an organizational lifecycle function within a company dealing with the planning or marketing of a product or products at all stages of the product lifecycle.
Product management (inbound focused) and product marketing (outbound focused) are different yet complementary efforts with the objective of maximizing sales revenues, market share, and profit margins. The role of product management spans many activities from strategic to tactical and varies based on the organizational structure of the company. Product management can be a function separate on its own or a member of marketing or engineering.

While involved with the entire product lifecycle, product management's main focus is on driving new product development. According to the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA), superior and differentiated new products - ones that deliver unique benefits and superior value to the customer - is the number one driver of success and product profitability.
Contents
1 Aspects of product management
1.1 Product planning
1.2 Product marketing

Aspects of product management
Depending on the company size and history, product management has a variety of functions and roles. Sometimes there is a product manager, and sometimes the role of product manager is held by others. Frequently there is Profit and Loss (P&L) responsibility as a key metric for evaluating product manager performance. In some companies, the product management function is the hub of many other activities around the product. In others, it is one of many things that need to happen to bring a product to market.

Product planning
Defining new products
Gathering market requirements
Building product roadmaps, particularly Technology roadmaps
Product Life Cycle considerations
Product differentiation
more detail on Product planning

Product marketing
Product positioning and outbound messaging
Promoting the product externally with press, customers, and partners
Bringing new products to market
Monitoring the competition