This blog will delve into the responsibilities of project managers and product managers, the key skills they need, and the future of project and product management.
As organisations review their strategies for serving increasingly complex global markets, the part project and product management play in the portfolio is an ever more important factor.
In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, understanding the distinctions between project and product management is crucial for organisations striving for success. Both roles play vital functions, yet their approaches and focuses differ significantly, especially when comparing agile and traditional environments.
This blog delves into the key differences between project managers and product managers, or product owners, in agile and traditional organisations. It explores the essential skills needed in agile leadership, culture, and governance. We will also look at future trends and the skills required for these roles.
Defining agile and traditional Roles
Traditional project manager
A traditional project manager typically follows a structured, waterfall approach, where projects are planned in detail from the outset and progress through defined stages. Project managers in these traditional organisational set-ups are responsible for planning, executing, and closing projects, adhering strictly to scope, time, and cost constraints. Traditional project managers focus heavily on predictive planning and risk management, using tools such as risk registers, and are often seen as the central decision-makers for the project.
Agile project manager
An agile project manager operates within the frameworks of agile methodologies, such as Scrum or Kanban. An agile project manager’s primary role is to facilitate the project’s progress by removing impediments, ensuring team collaboration, and maintaining a focus on delivering value incrementally. Agile project managers are less directive compared to their traditional counterparts, and act as servant leaders who empower their teams to self-organise and adapt to changing requirements.
Traditional product manager
In a traditional setup, a product manager's role is relatively static, involving long-term planning, market analysis, and strategic product development cycles. Product managers oversee the product lifecycle, from inception through growth, maturity, and decline, with a focus on meeting long-term market needs. Their interactions with project teams are more indirect, as they guide product development through established processes and governance structures.
Agile product manager/owner
An agile product manager tends to be called a ‘product owner’ rather than ‘manager’, and is a key stakeholder in the agile process, responsible for maximising the value of the product resulting from the work of the development team. Agile product owners most often use Scrum to manage the product backlog and define priorities. They focus on ensuring that the team is delivering the most valuable work first. They bridge the gap between the stakeholders and the development team, continuously refining and adjusting the product vision based on feedback and evolving market conditions.
Skills needed in agile leadership, culture, and governance
For agile project managers
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Agile leadership: Agile project managers must embody servant leadership, focusing on enabling and empowering their teams rather than directing them. This requires strong communication and interpersonal skills, empathy, and the ability to inspire a shared vision among team members.
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Agile culture: Cultivating an agile culture means promoting values such as collaboration, continuous improvement, and adaptive planning. Agile project managers should be adept at creating environments where teams feel safe to experiment and fail fast.
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Agile governance: Agile governance involves more flexible, iterative approaches to decision-making, budget management and overseeing projects. Agile project managers are responsible for stakeholder management. They need to facilitate stakeholder involvement and ensure that governance structures are supportive of agile practices, focusing on delivering value rather than adhering strictly to predefined plans.
For agile product owners
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Agile leadership: Product owners need to be visionary leaders who can carry out good market analysis and communicate the product's strategic goals clearly to the team and stakeholders. They must be adept at prioritising work to align with customer needs and business objectives.
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Agile culture: Emphasising customer-centricity and iterative learning, good product lifecycle management should foster a culture of frequent feedback and continuous delivery. Product owners should be comfortable with change and be able to pivot quickly as new information becomes available.
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Agile governance: In agile governance, product owners require strong decision-making skills to balance stakeholder needs and manage the product backlog effectively.
Future trends in agile project and product management
The roles of project and product managers/owners are continuously evolving to meet new challenges. The future of agile project and product management will likely be shaped by the following trends:
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Increased emphasis on data-driven decision-making: As technology advances, there will be a greater reliance on data analytics and artificial intelligence to inform decisions. Agile leaders will need to harness these tools to gain insights into customer behaviour and project performance.
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Integration of emerging technologies: Agile teams will increasingly integrate technologies such as AI, machine learning, and blockchain to enhance product capabilities and streamline project processes. Agile leaders must be at the forefront of understanding and applying these technologies.
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Greater focus on sustainability and ethics: There is growing recognition of the need for sustainable and ethical practices in product and project management. Agile leaders will be expected to champion initiatives that prioritise long-term environmental and social impacts.
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Expansion of agility beyond IT: The use of agile principles is expanding beyond software development into areas such as marketing, finance, and human resources. Agile project and product managers will need to be versatile and capable of applying agile frameworks in diverse contexts.
Skills for the future
To keep pace with these trends, agile project and product managers will need to develop a range of future-ready skills:
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Advanced communication and negotiation: As teams become more diverse and distributed, strong communication and negotiation skills will be critical for managing remote teams and ensuring alignment across different functions.
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Continuous learning and adaptability: Agile leaders must be lifelong learners, constantly adapting to new tools, methodologies, and market conditions. This includes keeping themselves up to date with industry best practices and emerging technologies.
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Emotional intelligence and resilience: The ability to navigate uncertainty, manage stress, and support team members through challenges will be increasingly important in the fast-paced world of agile project and product management.
Real-world examples
Several organisations illustrate the success of these agile roles:
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Spotify: Spotify’s product development approach is a prime example of agility at scale. The company’s use of squads, tribes, chapters, and guilds allows for decentralised decision-making, with product owners playing a pivotal role in steering product development according to user needs and market feedback.
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ING Bank: ING transformed its traditional banking operations through agile practices, reorganising into cross-functional squads and tribes. Agile project managers at ING focus on facilitating these squads, removing impediments, and ensuring alignment with the bank’s strategic goals.
Insights from industry experts
Experts emphasize the importance of an agile mindset and adaptability in project manager, product owner, and other roles.
Leadership is critical in fostering an agile culture that prioritises customer value and continuous improvement. It is therefore critical that both project managers and product owners can, and do, lead in an agile way.
According to Richard Sheridan, CEO of IT consulting firm Menlo Innovations: "The role of leaders is to set the cultural tone and create an environment of safety where teams can innovate."
In conclusion, project managers and product owners work differently in agile, compared to traditional organisations. Each role also requires a unique set of skills and approaches. As the business environment continues to evolve, so too will these roles, demanding agility, resilience, and a commitment to lifelong learning. Organisations with skilled agile leaders at the helm who can navigate these changes will be those best equipped to thrive, and not just survive, in the future.
Are you interested in furthering your skills in agile project management? Would you like to move from agile project success to agile project leadership? Find out more about our Agile PM 3 course by emailing [email protected].
Please note blogs reflect the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the recommendations or guidance of the Agile Business Consortium.