This paper examines the discipline of product management, arguing that it is among the most demanding and strategically vital functions in any organization. Drawing on literature in new product development, cross-functional leadership, and market planning, the paper outlines the diverse skills required of effective product managers — from financial forecasting and pricing to strategic positioning and team coordination. It then evaluates the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) as a professional body and analyzes the New Product Development Professional (NPDP) certification as a foundational credential for practitioners seeking to formalize and advance their expertise in the field.
The discipline of product management is critical for the successful functioning of any business, and applies equally to manufacturing and services-based companies as a core function. A product manager must in many respects have skills comparable to those of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), as both must concentrate on each phase of a product's development, product launch, ongoing sales, and eventual discontinuance or harvesting (Swan & Pitta, 2010). Product management is also considered analogous to senior management in that both concentrate on profitably producing, selling, and servicing products while attempting to earn and keep customer loyalty (Schmidt, Sarangee, & Montoya, 2009). The intent of this analysis is to describe the discipline of product management and explain why it is so critical for any business or organization. The value of the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) and the New Product Development Professional (NPDP) certification are also analyzed in the context of the role of the product manager.
One of the most demanding positions in any business or organization, product management requires a unique skill set that includes knowledge of accounting, finance, pricing, and forecasting techniques and processes, in addition to exceptional technical insight into how the products and services they oversee can best be used by customers. Beyond these skills, excellent product managers excel at strategic market planning and know how best to position their products to gain the greatest market share against competitors (Swan & Pitta, 2010). Product managers must also frequently orchestrate the new product development process throughout their organizations, requiring strong cross-functional leadership (Pickton, 2003). The best product managers often adopt a transformational leadership style, communicating the vision of their products in the context of the entire organization and, in doing so, earning the cooperation and trust of the departments and divisions whose support they need to succeed (Swan & Pitta, 2010).
Product management also requires the ability to interpret market conditions for both the company and the broader industry, and to make the best possible decisions for the product lines they are responsible for. This often involves determining the optimal product launch date, deciding when to make pricing moves, adding new features, announcing alliances and partnerships, and defining repositioning strategies based on new benefits or capabilities. Product managers also set and achieve demanding objectives pertaining to the entire new product development and launch process, which for many businesses represents the majority of their revenue (Guide & Li, 2010). In the PC industry, for example, new product introductions generate 60% of a product line's revenue within the first nine months of the product's life (Swan & Pitta, 2010).
This statistic, and comparable ones like it, underscores just how critical it is for a product manager to be an exceptional leader. A product manager must be capable of creating a very high level of cooperation and shared task ownership throughout an entire company whose financial future very often rests on the success of a new product introduction (Schmidt, Sarangee, & Montoya, 2009). There is always the risk that a product manager will fail to secure adequate cooperation across the organization, causing product shipment dates to slip, products to ship late or not at all, or projects to be abandoned entirely — all scenarios that lead to what the software industry calls vaporware (Choi, Kristiansen, & Nahm, 2010). When this occurs, a company must typically scramble to explain why all its commitments regarding a new product were only partially delivered, if at all.
Precise market positioning of a new product — particularly to ensure that existing products are not cannibalized — further requires product managers to possess a unique and expert-level skill set (Guide & Li, 2010). The combination of financial acumen, cross-functional leadership, strategic thinking, and market intelligence makes product management one of the most multifaceted roles in modern business.
"PDMA's mission and the value of professional certification"
The New Product Development Professional (NPDP) certification is highly valuable for any product management professional because it provides a solid foundation of tools and techniques in the areas of strategy, portfolio management, the new product development and launch process, and the use of tools and metrics. The NPDP certification also offers practical knowledge on which market research techniques are best suited to a given information need, in addition to guidance on succeeding as a cross-functional leader. These are all indispensable skills for any product management professional, and the NPDP certification methodology integrates them into a cohesive foundation of knowledge. The testing and scoring are rigorous and provide an element of personal achievement that serves as an additional motivator for continued learning. Anyone pursuing a career in product management should seriously consider the NPDP certification as a cornerstone of lifelong professional development.
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