What is the difference between Product Managers and Program Managers?
TL:DR Product Managers are specialists and Program Managers are generalists.
Let’s start with high level definitions. A program is a collection of initiatives, products, projects created to achieve goal or set of goals in the near and/or distant future. A product is a tool, service, software application, or platform that provides value to it’s users on an ongoing basis.
There is some overlap in roles and duties of Project and Program Managers so it’s helpful to understand the difference between the roles conceptually before we get into the details. A good mental model to understand the difference between the two roles is to look at the difference between a general practitioner and a brain surgeon.
Both are doctors and both learn about the human body and it’s systems. The general practitioner is a generalist. They can treat a child who stuck an M&M up their nose, the flu, a weird rash, and a concerning lump. They know who to refer you to when further expertise is required. A general practitioner looks at the body as a whole and knows just enough about every part and system to be effective.
A brain surgeon knows a little about the body and a lot about the brain. They can address sickness related to the brain and it’s activity with a level of specificity that surpasses the generalist, as long as it’s related to the brain. They treat brain tumors, and brain anomalies, and brain injuries. A brain surgeon looks at the brain specifically and knows less about the rest of the body.
Think of Program and Project managers as Dr. House and Product Managers as Dr. Derek Shepherd (aka McDreamy).
A Program Manager utilizes techniques and methodologies to create an environment where people and teams can be successful in achieving stated goals. Program and Project Managers look at the organization as a whole and pull levers that impact the ability of an organization to create the change they want to see. This may mean spinning up a new team to address a new market segment, figuring out how to ship swag to thousands of employees around the globe during a global pandemic, or managing an acquisition of a company or two.
Product managers focus on the product life cycle. Their objective is to create and continuously develop an amazing product or set of products. They are focused on a more narrow set of processes that have been proven to be conducive of the type of work that creates great products. As such, their focus is on understanding their customer’s needs and creating an environment where company resources can meet customer demand in a timely and efficient way.
Program Managers make use of wider set of tools at the level of specificity required by the project. We chose whether Agile or Waterfall or a hybrid of the two is the way to go. We create plans that are tailor made to the needs of the project and project members. Project/Program Managers can work with anyone in the org, again depending on the project. One project may require a close partnership with HR and Finance and another with IT and software developers. Some Program Managers, especially in the services space focus on a client or a set of clients in a role that is a hybrid of an Account Manager and a Customer Service rep.
Product Managers focus more specifically on techniques within the realm of Agile software development such as Scrum and Kanban. They dig into the pros and cons of quantifying dev work using the Fibonacci sequence or t-shirt sizes. The dig into velocity metrics, and work more closely with designers and developers. They groom backlogs, update roadmaps, and prioritize product features.
Both Project and Product managers manage stakeholders and communicate on the status of the teams work. Both create buy in and lead teams that in most cases they have very little authority over.
Depending on the org structure, a Program Manager can be part of the dev team or in a more high level, enterprise role, working independently or with a team of other Program Managers.
Product Managers usually work within a product team on the specific product that they own.
Lastly, and maybe most importantly, projects are temporary and products are not. Mark Zuckerberg didn’t start Facebook to achieve a goal and move onto the next thing. He created it to solve a problem that he had that he thought other people may have too. The idea is to provide value and to iterate to continuously provide value as the needs of the customer and the market change (read: Facebook Marketplace, Facebook groups, etc.).
A project on the other hand is created as a temporary endeavor to achieve a stated goal. Once the goal of the project is achieved the team is disbanded and the Project Manager moves onto to solve a different problem. There is no such thing as an evergreen project. If a project is created to solve a problem that needs to be solved on a continuous basis a program or product structure are the better way to go.
Depending on what you like, what you are good at, and what opportunities are available to you, chose what feeds you. Pick an environment where you, Project, Program, or Product manager, can learn and in your way make the world a little bit better. People often shift from one role to the other and how it works in your company may not be how it works in mine.
