Attributes of a great Product Manager from an engineer’s perspective

No doubt the topic of what makes for a great professional in any role invokes heated debate, based on the experiences of the individuals involved. The following key attributes of a great product manager are based on my experience, dominantly in early-to-mid stage start-ups, from the perspective of an engineer.

Vision

Whether you’re taking on building an entirely new product or taking over an existing one, vision is a must. What is the longterm purpose of the product? What’s beyond v1? What’s beyond polish? If all goes well, what does the product look like in five years? If all doesn’t go well, what are the core pillars to continue in the direction of your vision? What unique position will the product assume to make it a market leader?

A great PM is able to articulate inspiring answers to all these questions.

Conviction

Having a great vision is important, but a PM is going to have a hard time getting engineers to believe in the vision if conviction is lacking. Do you believe in your vision? Why? Why should others? What are the trends and data points you’re seeing or generating that will make your vision a success?

Excellent communication skills are needed to convey the conviction. This is not about being the loudest in the room. It’s about making the strongest case to support the validity of the vision.

Technical comprehension

For a PM to be technical means having a certain depth of knowledge in software development and data analysis.

Software

Being technical on the topic of software allows for the ability to properly prioritize roadmaps and take feedback from engineers. Understanding why a seemingly simple feature is going to take weeks to implement and work with engineers to chisel out the best bang-for-the-buck alternative will earn the respect of the engineering team.

Data

Conviction needs to be supported by evidence. Whether it is historical trends, which foreshadow direction or user behavior that drives a roadmap, being able to dig in to analyze and understand data is key. A great PM is familiar with analytics/BI tools, has the ability to query a database, and the statistical background to understand the data to unlock the insights that lead to product success.

Methodical

Putting together specs, ironing out the nuances in designs, scheduling kick-off meetings, and more are all part of keeping the ball smoothly rolling in a product development lifecycle. Engineers often get frustrated with half-baked specs or designs that solve for the “happy case”. Staying sharp, with attention to detail, will draw much respect from an engineering team.

Empathetic

The role of a PM is at the center of an organization, bridging sales, business development, customer support, finance, design, engineering, data science, research, customers and more. The only way this ecosystem works well is through great working relationships. Great working relationships are built through the ability to understand and share the feelings of another — empathy.

No doubt there are many additional granular attributes that make for a great PM. Please share in the comments.