Project Management

Debunking Myths about Product Managers

Ken Whitaker of Leading Software Maniacs (LSM) has more than 25 years of software development executive leadership and training experience in a variety of technology roles and industries. He has led commercial software teams at Software Publishing (remember Harvard Graphics?), Data General, embedded systems software companies, and enterprise software suppliers. Ken is an active PMI member, Project Management Professional (PMP) certified, and a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM). Sources for LSM's material come from case studies, personal leadership experience, the PMI Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) and Ken's leadership books: Managing Software Maniacs, Principles of Software Development Leadership and I'm Not God, I'm Just a Project Manager.

Project teams quite often assume that the product manager is a true partner--and when a project is under scrutiny or stress, the product manager can transform into a very tough adversary and oftentimes a combative stakeholder. Stop your whining, and put yourself in a product manager’s shoes for a change! Let’s explore a couple of myths about product managers that should hopefully spark a new level of collaboration and success…

Myth: Product Managers Love Meetings
You might think that the sheer number of meetings that product managers want you and your development team to attend are necessary evils and part of everyone’s job. Knowing that most software developers are introverted and love to work quietly on creative ambitions and problem solving, this punishment could be viewed as a product manager’s way to keep you busy, engaged and interacting. I witnessed one exchange that was all too typical:

Product manager: Hey, John. I’d like you to attend a special meeting today. There’s some additional feature information that I’d like your input on. I plan on inviting the whole team and it may take a couple of hours of discussion before we agree to a plan.
John (the software developer): You mean in person?
Product manager: Why, yes. I think the interaction would help filter out the best approach.
John (the software …


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"A behaviorist is someone who pulls habits out of rats."

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