Product, program, project, who does what?

In the world of technology development, there are many roles and titles that deal with managing products and projects. Some of the most common ones are Product Manager, Program Manager, Project Manager, and Product Owner. These roles frequently work together but the terms are not always clearly defined or understood, thus they may be used interchangeably or inconsistently by different organizations and teams.

This can lead to confusion, misalignment, and inefficiencies among teams. It is important to clarify what each of these roles entails, how they differ from each other, and how they work together to deliver value to customers and users. In this post, we will explore the main characteristics, responsibilities, and skills of each of these roles, as well as some of the challenges they may face. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive and practical overview of the different aspects of product and project management, and to help you identify which role suits your interests and abilities best.

The Product Manager is primarily responsible for defining the overall vision, strategy, and direction of a product. They act as the bridge between the customers, stakeholders, and the development team. Product Managers conduct market research, understanding the competitors, gather feedback, and prioritize features and improvements based on customer needs and business goals. They create the product roadmap, make strategic decisions, and are accountable for the product’s overall success. Product Managers are primary focus should be the “what” and “why” of the product and to ensure that it remains competitive and keeps up with changes in customer needs and technology. Product Managers are skilled in strategy and understanding the business landscape of their product.

Product Manager Skills	Product Manager Challenges
Strategic thinking	Balancing stakeholder expectations
Market understanding	Prioritization
Leadership	Market uncertainty
Customer centric	Shifting business goals
Communication	Communication

The Program Manager

The Program Manager role is responsible for overseeing a set of related projects and initiatives that are often interconnected and collectively contribute to achieving a broader strategic goal or vision. While Project Managers focus on individual projects, Program Managers take a more holistic view, ensuring that all projects align with the organization’s objectives. They coordinate resources, manage dependencies between projects, and provide strategic guidance to ensure the overall program’s success. Program Managers work closely with Product Managers to ensure that the program’s initiatives align with the product strategy and roadmap. They also collaborate with Project Managers to monitor progress, resolve issues, and allocate resources effectively. In essence, Program Managers are responsible for the “big picture” and ensuring that the collection of projects and products within a program work together harmoniously to achieve the defined business goals.

Program Manager Skills	Program Manager Challenges
Strategic thinking	Managing complexity and ambiguity
Leadership	Prioritization
Problem-solving	Resource constraints
Resource management	Change management
Communication	Communication

The Project Manager

After the Product Manager has completed the analysis on research on new features or capabilities for the product, they then hand it over to the Project Manager for implementation. The Project Manager is responsible for the execution and delivery of a specific project within a defined timeframe and budget. They break down the project into tasks, allocate resources, set timelines, and monitor progress to ensure the project is completed on time and within scope. Project Managers are skilled in managing risks, resolving issues, and coordinating cross-functional teams. A Project Manager can usually work on multiple projects in parallel but they do not have to be related projects. They focus on the “how” of the project and are concerned with meeting project objectives.

Project Manager Skills	Project Manager Challenges
Organization	Scope creep
Problem solving	Resource allocation
Resource management	Risk management
Quality assurance	Team coordination
Communication	Communication

The Product Owner

This role is usually found on teams that are following the Agile development methodologies and can also be referred to as a scrum master. They represent the voice of the customer and work closely with the development team to define and prioritize specific features or user stories. The Product Owner is responsible for maintaining the product backlog (repository where all feature requests and bugs are stored), ensuring that the team works on the most valuable items, and clarifying requirements as needed during development. While the Product Manager defines the broader product vision, the Product Owner drills down into the details and focuses on the “what” and “how” for individual features.

Product Owner Skills	Product Owner Challenges
User centered design	Backlog management
Technical knowledge	Balancing customer feedback
Decision making	Decision making
Negotiation	Conflict resolution
Communication	Communication

These skills serve as a foundation for success in each role, but it’s important to note that adaptability and the ability to learn and grow are also highly valued qualities in all these positions, given the dynamic nature of product development and project management lifecycles. These roles share a lot of similar characteristics and one skill that all these roles need to invest in is the skill of communication.

Many organizations do not have roles so clearly defined and often an individual is completing multiple roles to manage. The frequency of merging these roles can vary widely. In some industries and companies, it’s more common due to the size of the organization, agile and cross-functional teams, simplification, or sometimes it’s unique to the team. Organizations adapt their structure to align with their current needs and goals, and this flexibility can lead to changes in how roles are defined and combined over time. Ultimately, the decision to merge roles should be driven by a careful assessment of what will best support the company’s objectives and improve its overall effectiveness.

It can be overwhelming to manage any one of these roles and even harder if you need to manage multiple roles. The requirements of each role will vary by organization and team so when interviewing, ask questions that can help you get a better understanding of how the roles are split and more importantly what the expectations are. It would be difficult to take on a Project Manager role when the organization is expecting you to also act as the Product Manager. It’s important that you understand the roles itself but also how it is implemented by your organization to avoid confusion and misaligned expectations.

In these blog posts, we will defer to each role based on the topic, some of these posts can apply to multiple roles, but to avoid extended titles and capitalize on simplicity, we will defer to the role most aligned to the task.

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