Project Manager vs Product Manager

The relationship between a Project Manager and Product Manager is similar to the relationship between a feature and a product. In the course of delivering a new product to market, multiple fixed “projects” can be executed to incrementally release individual features, eventually leading up to the fully packaged product launch. Each of these projects have a defined outcome and a start and end date. The project is completed when the outcome is reached.

A product, on the other hand, does not have a start and end date. A product can be “sunset,” meaning it has been decidedly removed from the market once it fails to meet certain agreed upon Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), but it does not have a defined end date. Project Managers typically require little or no domain knowledge as their role is less strategic and more about tactical governance over the resources, risks, scheduling, monitoring, and reporting on progress towards delivering features.

A Product Manager, on the other hand, is focused on defining and prioritizing the features that will go into the product. Execution of those features can be managed as a project. In a media organization where both roles are not present, the Product Manager allocates a portion of his time to project management activities. In such cases, a good ratio is to focus 20% of a Product Manager’s time doing project management activities.