Why writing about Product Management? 🤔

Is it really relevant in these days?

Many times it has crossed my mind "how relevant is it that I talk to people about product management." Questioning myself repeatedly if there really is an audience that would show any interest in the topic.

However, at the last Talent Land event in Guadalajara, Jalisco I attended a workshop by a great speaker on the topic of Product Management. The title of his talk was Product Management: How to build from your Vision to the Features and he touched on very interesting points on how to generate a product that provides value.

Antonio covers in a single session, the key points and he simplifies what the Product Manager's work consists of on a daily basis.

I share Antonio Avalos' conference with you so you can take a look at it. Audio is in Spanish, make sure to activate subtitles.

After his talk, there was something that caught my attention. During the question and answer session, many participants from the audience asked how and where they could learn more about Product Management.

And the fact is that this topic is better known abroad, material in English abounds and there are many organizations positioned as product schools. Unfortunately, the scenario in LATAM is different. There are not many sites in Spanish where one can learn about the subject, most of the resources are almost always paid as a master's degree and not very accessible for someone who is just learning the role.

Also, language is not always the only obstacle. There is a lot of information everywhere and some sources even contradict each other. The role of product manager is not yet 100% defined, so each company modifies the profile as they wish. Sometimes removing or adding features that end up looking like another Scrum role like the Product Owner.

Some companies even see the Product Manager as a more technical profile that also performs developer tasks. I have seen vacancies where they are actually looking to cover 3 profiles at the same time: developer + UX designer + project manager. Something similar to what has happened with the role of Product Designer or UX Designer.

This is very convenient for organizations, so they hire a developer who knows about project management, saving good money 😉 $$. However, it goes against the true value that the Product Manager role can offer when it comes to creating a successful product.

On the other hand, there are some companies that have seen how valuable it is to build a product team correctly and there has been a big increase in the search for this type of profiles.

It is incredible how many vacancies I see now for Product Managers compared to the beginning of the pandemic. Undoubtedly, companies have realized the importance and vitality of the role in their business.