Product Management

Product management is a demanding but exciting career. The product manager's challenges are unending, his responsibilities are rigorous, and what he does, has direct impact on a company's financial performance. Building and launching new products and turning an idea from a piece of paper into a functional product is almost a miracle. In addition, the product manager manages the product throughout its life. In doing so, the product manager deals with pretty much every function in the company. Speaking of the product life, anything done well during the planning phase will pay off during the other phases of the product life cycle. The execution phase is the phase when a product really takes shape. Once the product is complete and ready to be launched, it is an exciting time for the product manager. The product is ready to put under real-world test. Just building and launching a product is not enough. Target customers should be told about how great a product is, which takes good marketing and evangelism. Market routes must be established to sell and promote the product and make business out of it. Additionally, different types of services can be defined to be attached with the product as an overall offering. Defining and implementing a go-to-market plan for the product is complicated but interesting set of activities. If the go-to-market ecosystem is set up well, the product manager can watch his product's and associated services' revenues multiply. Once the product is out there, it needs to be taken care of. Sustaining a product takes effort. This is the time to turn a good product into a great product to take the product toward completeness and maturity. Eventually, any product will get old and obsolete. Even the greatest of products must be given a farewell, and the end of life must happen to keep the innovation wheel rotating. New products and services enter the picture, and the product management action starts all over again.