TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
If I were to structure the PM role in an ideal situation:
Customer < Product Manager < Marketing and Sales and Program Manager
(engineering) and Project Manager (scheduling) and QA and Tech Writing, all
equally. A PM is the hub of a wheel, with responsible for the various
stakeholders.
A PM can be technical or non-technical and still do a great job. More
technical PMs can sometimes be too closely aligned with engineering goals:
sometimes building the most interesting and challenging solution vs the
"right" solution. Non-technical PMs can sometimes not understand the
intricate details of their products or the advantages/disadvantages of
certain technology choices. However, IMO, a good PM is concerned with the
"What" of the product, rather than the "How"...
Sales, Support, QA and Tech Writing are excellent backgrounds to enter PM
from. Engineering is another.
Sales and Marketing have different agendas. IMO, it's a conflict of interest
to be a salesperson and a PM at the same time. PMs are by definition
marketers. At small companies there is no distinction between a PM and
marketing or a PM and project management.
- Pete
-----Original Message-----
Product managers (at least as I've filled the role) is like a technical
writer in one important respect: they mediate between the technical and
non-technical parts of a company. Product managers need to understand
development's viewpoint, but they also need to understand marketing's and
sale's viewpoint, and be able to explain the two to each other. Then they
have to combine the two into a coherrent strategy, and carry that strategy
out.
The reason that product managers often get drawn into sales is that many
sales depend on having someone who understands the technical aspects of a
product. Depending on the company, people in sales may just not have that
expertise. Often, the only ones who do are the product managers.
