Project Management

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Project Manager’s Role in Market Research

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Caitlin Sullivan
PMI Team Member
Community Content Manager| PMI Pa, United States

Hey everyone! 



In the recent PMI webinar, Product Management vs. Project Management: Collaboration, Similarities, and Differences Across Roles, we had the pleasure of hearing from Jack Hsieh, President of Maestro Project Management Consultants, and Otis Yi, Consultant, Lecturer, and VP of Oversea Business at Waninbank International Inc. They broke down the unique and overlapping aspects of product management and project management—an insightful conversation! 



One of the standout moments was an intriguing question: What role do project managers play in market research for product development, and how does their involvement contribute to a deeper understanding of product development goals?  


Project managers often have a unique perspective—they bridge the gap between strategy and execution, ensuring all the moving parts align with the product's objectives. But how deeply should they dive into market research? And what kind of impact can their insights have on shaping a product's trajectory? 

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Do you have examples or experiences where a project manager's involvement in market research directly influenced the outcomes or direction of a project? Share your stories—let’s get the conversation going! 
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Md. Golam Rob Talukdar
Community Champion
Project Manager| AWR Development (BD) Ltd. Cox's Bazer , Bangladesh
Great discussion, Caitlin!

As a civil engineer and PMP-certified project manager,

I’ve seen how market research plays a crucial role in infrastructure and real estate projects. Understanding market demand, feasibility, and stakeholder expectations helps align project goals with real-world needs.

While product managers typically lead market research, project managers ensure that insights translate into actionable plans.

In my experience, early involvement in market research has led to better risk management and project success.

Golam
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Sergio Luis Conte Helping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based Organizations Buenos Aires, Argentina
To put this in the framework of the PMI the point is: business analyst and project manager. Business analyst is the key discipline to understand how to play product manager role (between others). The second key point is to understand that organizations needs solutions, where solution is equal to "the thing" to be created (business analysts are on charge) plus "the way" to create it (project managers are on charge). That´s all what it is needed to be successful. All your questions above are inside the business analysis documentation (two guides in the PMI space). With that said, because the new model of generative AI, roles like business analyst and project managers are DoD (Dead on Arrive) as originally defined. They must reinvent themselves to survive. For example, to perform things like market research using generative AI than drastically cut the time for doing that, time for understand the persona, time to create a product (vision, mision requirements, etc, etc) and so on.

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