Have you ever wondered why your relatives are so obsessed with the type of work? No, right. Nobody has so much time to think about the unnecessary poking about professions. Agreed! How about you telling them and still receiving a foggy expression? It may seem unclear, but product managers often get similar reactions. Because, like many other professions, product management seems like a new yet unfamiliar profession to many. Well, as a fact, product management is not a new concept. Since the first man thought of building a solution to humankind’s problems and executing the devised plan has existed.
As someone who belongs to this profession, it may seem useless to ponder over evolution and history rather than focusing on topgrading interview guide. However, the importance of every matter comes from the very idea of its existence. The torn-out pages of scriptures and history books tell the tales of present times with different names and forms. Hopefully, now you’re getting the right amount of curiosity to go back to the saga of product management.
The Tale Never Told- Product Management.
The most commonly found history of product management starts with Hewlett Packard and Toyota. But, that’s a very baseless interpretation of the exact meaning of product management. The idea of product management has never been the same; it has evolved to shape what we perceive as product management today. Philosophically, the whole history of humankind is about product management, from the architects of spiral ramps in Egypt to Stonehenge. They provided solutions to those problems which hindered the work of enslaved people, laborers, or their nation. Now, Let’s finally understand each phase to get to our current definition of product managers.
When Product Management Became A Job Title
We saw how ancient architects solved existing problems and influenced the decision-making bodies to work out those plans until now—similar to the present day’s relationship between a product team and the company’s CEO.
The success of brand men at Procter and gamble influenced Hewlett Packard to create a separate role for a product manager in their company. That’s how the 1940s saw the beginning of product managers in its proper form. Hewlett’s first batch of product managers was tasked with decision-making powers for the product teams, customer relations, and advocating user voices internally. This new job entity became an interface between the product engineering teams and the CEO, marking Hewlett Packard’s 50 years of glorious monopoly over the tech market.
When Product Management Met With Tech
Hewlett Packard introduced many firsts to the role of product management, making product teams a self-sustaining organizational group responsible for the development, manufacture, and marketing of its products. Toyota soon picked up this idea in the times of post-war Japan to adopt just-in-time manufacturing. Here two important principles were introduced most product managers are familiar with- kaizen and Genchi Genbutsu. To put it simply, Hewlett Packard brought- a consumer-centric approach, brand vertical, and lean manufacturing to the limelight of the tech industry. It wasn’t late before it spread to every software and hardware company. Sooner the classic idea of marketing- the right product, in the right place, at the right time with proper promotion, became the narrative of the tech industry.
Suddenly, PM Went All Agile
At first, product development worked at a slow pace where research, project proposals, manufacturing, and final product used to take several months before the right product was brought to the market. However, the whole product development process became much more accessible and efficient with agile’s iterative approach. It allowed engineers to work on technical specs and relieved product managers from the unnecessary burden of customer collaboration.
Final Chapter
After a long and tiring course through history and evolution, we are back in 2022. The era we live in is the golden period of product management. As many product manager recruiting agencies and experts claim, product management is one of the hottest jobs in the management industry. Now comes the time for future prediction- where is PM’s course heading? It may sound funny, but the tarot card has two predictions for PM. First, more people are expected to join as PMs; second, product managers will significantly impact the user-based industry. It will bring product managers very close to the debates centering around diversity, sustainability, and inclusivity. Also, you may no longer receive puzzled expressions on family holidays anymore.
Conclusion
After a brief history class, you must have thought about future developments. You are on the right track. The present market is fueled by dynamism, and as the customer’s interests and choices change, so do the product requirements. Nevertheless, product managers are going big in the coming years, and your profession may no longer need introductions. A highly interactive and collaborative job profile will make you and others more attracted to it. And, yes, do not ignore the handsome salary packages. If you have any more doubts regarding product management, palarino is there to answer all of them.
