For starters, though not mutually exclusive, product operations differ from product management (even though the terms are similar.) While product managers are concerned with a product’s strategic vision, planning, and overall lifecycle of a product, the product ops folks focus more on the “how” of product development and delivery.

Product operations are a guiding force to streamline processes, enhance cross-functional collaboration, and propel a product to new heights. It’s a function necessary to maximize the potential of any product-driven organization.

This article will cover:

1. What is product operations?
2. Product operations manager responsibilities
3. Product operations best practices
4. Product operations FAQ

1. What are product operations?

Product operations refer to a collection of practices that facilitate the development of a product goal, such as its development or feature upgrades. Also known as product ops, product operations synthesize customer success with product features and engineering. 

The discipline lies at the intersection of technology, development, communication, research and development, and various other processes related to the product. It’s most often practiced as part of agile methodologies such as Scrum.

To recap: The Scrum system places importance on regular meetings:

• daily stand-ups, which take place every day
• sprint planning, which takes place at the beginning of a sprint or a manageable chunk of a project
• a sprint review, which takes place at the end of a sprint that lasts a few weeks

In Scrum terminology, a product owner is the one who takes responsibility for building the final product. On the other hand, the product operations manager oversees the actual operations that result in product development. These diverse professionals incorporate product operations to arrive at stated product development goals. 

Typically, two factors underlie the role and responsibilities of product ops managers, which are:

Data-driven decision-making

Product operations rely on data derived from sources without human errors and biases. According to a Gartner report, 75% of software providers may depend on insights generated from embedded software analytics as they tend to be automated and perceived as the “cleanest” data.

Product ops rely on such insights to make critical decisions, so that data-driven decision-making is implemented across the organization. 

Collaboration and communication

Product ops teams focus on liaising between different departments and ensuring a constant communication loop to enhance efficiency and productivity.

As a result, they add a layer of collaboration and communication across departments and reduce knowledge gaps and miscommunication.

Now that you know what product ops are, let’s cover some of the critical responsibilities of those working in this department. 

2. Product operations manager responsibilities

Product ops managers have several key tasks to ensure that the final product or product improvements align with objectives.

However, the final list of responsibilities also depends on the size of the company where one works at. For instance, in smaller companies, multiple roles may be held by the same person who operates as:

1. the product owner (the one who conceives the project)
2. the project manager (the one who is responsible for ensuring the conception is realized)
3. the product operations manager (the one who liaises with different departments, and ensures the product comes to fruition)

In larger organizations, on the other hand, these are distinct roles. Now, let’s exclusively focus on the key responsibilities of a product operations manager, which are:

Ensuring that essential tools are used

The development and design team may use several tools derived from the product tech stack. (This includes the various tools a company uses to reach the end goal. For example, a “dev tech stack” includes all the software and hardware the development and design teams need to complete the project successfully.)

The product ops manager manages the product tech stack and implements internal best practices to navigate effective outcomes. In addition, product ops managers also ensure that the tools are being used by everyone involved. 

Collating, managing, and synthesizing data

Product ops managers collect data from automated tools. These may include software programs, embedded tools, and other sources such as product usage metrics. 

After collecting data from several sources, they organize and analyze qualitative and quantitative data to derive insights. This qualitative data may include consumer feedback, support tickets, and feature requests.

Engaging in research and development

Product ops managers constantly test and try different methods to ensure successful product outcomes. 

As a result, they may often try new features based on requests, conduct A/B tests, interpret the results, and channel them into something concrete that the development team can use. 

Building policies and strategies

Product ops managers are often required to act as intermediaries between different departments. 

Due to this, they usually access various requirements, deficiencies, and insights. This allows them to build policies that reflect the needs and requirements of different entities.

Assuming an advisory and leadership role

Product ops managers are responsible for getting various tasks done across departments ranging from sales and marketing, customer service, R&D, product design, and product development. 

Hence, they are keenly aware of the ground reality and can easily communicate with decision-makers who assume C-level roles. Therefore, they automatically take leadership and advisory roles for seniors and other employees. 

Now, let’s go through some strategies and best practices that help supercharge product operations.

3. Product operations best practices

The most important tenet of product operations is to ensure that disparate parts within an organization are brought together so that the product is successfully produced. 

Depending on the organization’s size and the project, this may involve several departments. As a result, the best practices can vary depending on the project you may be tasked with. 

Nevertheless, here are some of the best practices to keep in mind if you’re a product operations professional or aspiring to be one:

Focus on constant people skills development

Once you get into product ops, you must take care to hone your people skills. This includes a broad range of starting from presentation skills, conducting meetings, and building relationships with key decision-makers to customer nurturing.

The best practice isn’t just to implement these skills, but to hone them and further build upon them. 

Work on building knowledge of data analysis 

Analysis of qualitative and quantitative data requires:

• using different software tools such as Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) by IBM
• knowledge of Python or R (programming languages)
• knowing how to extract, manage and analyze data from different software programs 

Be open to changing goals and strategies

Sometimes despite the work that goes into making solid PRDs, Product requirements often change abruptly and without any notice. Hence, you need to be able to adapt to changing circumstances with ease. 

A helpful practice is to be aware of every minute of your product development goals and strategies so that cascading effects when changes occur are limited and manageable. 

Seek feedback from everywhere

You should not limit feedback collection from customers and end-users. So, it always helps if you actively seek feedback additionally through surveys, forms, and interviews with product development engineers, designers, and decision-makers. 

Invest in understanding customers, developers, and designers

Navigating product ops effectively requires at least a basic knowledge of psychology. You must understand how different customer personas play out regarding product feature requests.

On a similar note, you’ll also need to work with developers and designers to ensure they are on board with each other and that there are no interpersonal conflicts. Developing psychological sophistication can go a long way in helping ensure that your contribution as product ops manager is efficient. 

Take responsibility for the product dev tech stack

As someone looking into product operations, you must ensure that the different elements of your tech stack are always in working condition. It’s also important that you ensure the members of the teams know how to use these tools and replace them with new ones when necessary.

4. Product operations FAQ

What skills and qualifications are required for a career in product operations?

The most essential skills necessary for a product operations management role are people skills, knowledge of the dev tech stack, the ability to visualize and implement strategies and policies, and the ability to work with different teams. You also need robust data analysis and R&D skills. 

As for qualification, a lot of companies require an MBA from a good business school to be a product ops manager. However, if you don’t have an MBA, you can start with a BA or another undergraduate-level degree or product management certification.

Nevertheless, you’ll need at least two or more years of people management experience in an agile (preferably Scrum) project management environment. In addition, you will also need five or more years of experience in working with information technology, consulting, or in an operational team in other departments. 

What are the main components of product operations?

The main components of product operations management are working with different kinds of data, liaising with various departments, ensuring that product goals are realized, and taking responsibility for the dev tech stack. 

What tools or software are commonly used in product operations?

Some standard tools that product operations teams use include agile development, product portfolio management (PPM), heat mapping and user testing, usage analytics, feedback generation, knowledge management, etc. It will help you get a job if you know how to use the tools:

Bottom Line: Product ops is a fulfilling career choice

If you plan to get into product management and like to juggle multiple tasks, product ops may be a fulfilling career choice for you. According to PayScale, product ops managers earn around $96,845, which can shoot up to $127,000.

Product ops managers often need more experience than product managers. Hence, you might want to work as a project manager for a few years and then get into product operations, depending on how micro-level you can get. It’s an exciting and challenging career option, but I’d advise you to get a tidy amount of experience before diving into it!

If you like the resources we discussed here, or are interested in product roles in general, CareerFoundry’s free product management short course should help you get started on your awareness about building and launching products. So sign up for this course and start your learning journey today. 

If you’d like to read more on the subject of product management and Scrum instead, check out these articles:

• What Is the Product Management Process? The 7 Stages Explained
• What is a Scrum Team and How Do They Work?
• How Much Does a Product Manager Earn? The Ultimate Salary Guide

For career-changers eyeing the tech arena, a swirl of questions and uncertainties emerge. “Can I transition smoothly into a remote product management role? What skills and qualifications do I need? And most importantly: “Can product management truly thrive in a remote environment?”

In this guide, we’ll explore the world of remote product management. From the variety of benefits to the challenges you’ll face, we’ll give you the edge when venturing into this exciting career field.

Read on to learn about these topics—you can use the clickable menu to jump to the section you need:

1. Can product managers work remotely?
   • Benefits of remote product management
   • Difficulties of remote product management
2. How to become a remote product manager
   • Remote product manager skills
   • Remote product management tools
3. Remote product management courses
4. Key takeaways

1. Can product managers work remotely?

The statistics gathered over the past few years prove that yes, product managers thrive remotely. According to a report on the state of product management published by ProductPlan, 67% of product people would choose remote work over daily office visits, revealing a dominant preference, especially among older demographics.

In terms of compensation benefits besides salary, the report further indicates that one in four product managers finds flexible work hours to be the most appealing perk of this work mode.

Although, more recently, there has been some general pushback from big companies like Amazon, Meta, Zoom, and Goldman Sachs for employees to return to the office, the broader trend toward remote work remains robust:

• 12.7% of full-time employees exclusively work from home in 2023, while 28.2% favor a hybrid model.
• By 2025, a predicted 22% of the U.S. workforce will operate remotely.
• 93% of employers continue with remote hiring processes.

But what does this seismic shift towards remote work mean for aspiring product managers who want to work from home (WFH), on the go, or any other non-traditional location? 

How will the benefits and challenges practically impact your day-to-day workflow and long-term career growth?

Benefits of remote product management

The first thing you’ll notice when you begin to work remotely is the significant changes in your daily routine. So, let’s explore the most notable advantages of being a remote product manager:

• Flexibility: Freedom to work from any corner of the world.
• Cost savings: No overheads. No travel. Pure profit.
• Productivity: Work without interruptions from office chit-chat or unnecessary meetings.
• Work-life balance: Greater autonomy to balance professional and personal commitments.
• Global talent pool: The world’s best, at your fingertips.
• Custom workspace: Design your perfect productivity haven.
• Results driven: It’s about what you achieve, not the clock.

Difficulties of remote product management

Yet, remote project coordination also has its hurdles:

• Communication: Digital exchanges lack face-to-face nuances.
• Collaboration: Aligning diverse teams is challenging.
• Digital distractions: Daily notifications and alerts can derail focus.
• Relationship building: Virtual rapport often lacks the depth of real-life relationships.
• Digital tools: The constant development of new tools brings steep learning curves.
• Tech dependency: Glitches and outages may disrupt the workflow.

If you’re new to the field or transitioning, understanding these dynamics might make remote product management seem a bit daunting at first. That’s why it’s even more important to equip yourself with the right skills and tools to succeed in this increasingly digital field.

2. How to become a remote product manager

Now that we’ve traversed the landscape of remote product management, it’s time to chart your course. First on the list is acquiring the necessary skills for success. But remember, professional development isn’t just about ticking boxes. In the context of remote work, it’s also about adaptability and honing your craft to resonate in a digital environment.

So, while traditional product management skills provide the bedrock, embracing and refining remote-specific capabilities sets you apart. Let’s explore the mix of skills you’ll need to land a PM role.

Remote product manager skills

There’s a vast array of skills in a product manager’s toolkit, but these five are most relevant for remote work:

1. Technical expertise. All PMs need to interface efficiently with development teams. In remote contexts, this interaction often relies heavily on digital tools. While coding isn’t essential, understanding the technical nuances ensures you can communicate ideas effectively and play a pivotal role in the product’s technical realization.
2. Understanding of UX design. Irrespective of the work environment, a keen grasp of user experience is fundamental. For remote product managers, this involves ensuring that digital products cater to an increasingly online user base, aligning with their preferences and behaviors in the digital sphere.
3. Data interpretation. In today’s digital-first world, data drives decisions. A PM must adeptly sift through a barrage of metrics—from user behavior analytics to task completions. For those in remote roles, the ability to parse and interpret this data becomes paramount, offering insights that guide product direction and ensure alignment with user needs and business objectives.
4. Critical thinking. Product managers always navigate complex decisions. With geographical disparities and varied time zones, remote PMs must also evaluate how these factors intertwine with product decisions, ensuring strategies are effective and applicable on a global scale.
5. Communication skills. While all product managers must be excellent communicators, remote environments amplify the need for clarity and precision. Whether through emails, instant messaging, or virtual meetings, maintaining the product vision requires impeccable articulation in the digital workspace.

Remote product management tools

As a remote product manager, you’ll also need to become familiar with a set of specialized tools.

Again, let’s focus on the five most important ones:

1. ProductPlan: A roadmapping and collaboration tool that allows you to create, customize, and share unlimited roadmaps while tagging teammates, posting updates, and asking questions within the platform.
2. ProdPad: A comprehensive product management platform that facilitates Lean roadmapping, idea discovery and management, and customer feedback management.
3. Trello: An effective project management tool that enables you to manage multiple projects and organize tasks using boards, lists, and cards with built-in automation for optimal workflows.
4. Slack: A communication tool designed to facilitate private instant messaging, channels and group chats, audio notes, video calls, file sharing, and workflow automation, integrating with thousands of other apps and tools.
5. FullStory: A Digital Experience Intelligence (DXI) platform utilized to capture and analyze quantitative and qualitative data, allowing product teams to improve the product experience for users.

Looking for a more comprehensive list of product management tools? Take a look at our detailed guide to the top tools to get all the information you need.

3. Remote product management courses

Another great way to extend your product management knowledge base and launch or advance your remote product management career is to enroll in the right course.

Here are three of the best courses available, which are all delivered online:

Product Management Program by CareerFoundry

Recognized as one of the best tech schools, CareerFoundry’s online product management program blends expertise with flexibility.

Ideal for beginners and career changers, this course can be completed in an intensive 3.5-month period or over a flexible 6-month period. Both study modes ensure that participants become job-ready product managers. Key focus areas include Agile techniques, user and market research, backlog prioritization, design intricacies, and team alignment strategies. 

Delivered online via their bespoke platform, students will intuitively be set up for remote product manager roles, as they’ll be using remote tools and how to launch products online.

CareerFoundry’s dedication to transformative education is evident: having reshaped over 7,000 careers spanning diverse backgrounds and with a notable 90% graduate placement rate. This commitment is further solidified with a job guarantee.

You can find out more about the program as well as whether remote product management is for you by getting in touch with a program advisor.

Product Management Course by BrainStation

BrainStation’s course immerses students in product strategy, Agile techniques, and Lean development practices.

Delivered online, the curriculum is complemented by live sessions with professionals, fostering real-world understanding. Students collaborate on group projects, enhancing practical skills.

In addition, the BrainStation Slack community provides valuable networking opportunities. Flexibility is key, with program durations ranging from 5 to 10 weeks based on individual pace.

Product Manager Certification Course by Product School

Another noteworthy option is the Product School’s Certificate Program. This comprehensive online course, extending across 32.5 hours of live, instructor-led lessons, delves into contemporary PM essentials—from product strategy and Agile methodologies to wireframing and prototyping.

Beyond the core curriculum, students get a unique chance to work on a tangible product, moving from ideation to launch, cementing their understanding, and offering a compelling portfolio piece.

4. Key takeaways

Remote work presents both opportunities and challenges for product managers today. This article emphasized the importance of acquiring key remote product manager skills such as strategic thinking, market research, and UX design.

In addition, mastering remote-specific skills like virtual collaboration tools and time management software is crucial. Lastly, seeking specialized training, such as online courses, can significantly contribute to success in the digital realm.

If you’re interested in online learning but unsure if product management is the right fit for you, check out our free 5-day product management short course.

Or, if you’d prefer to read a bit more about the world of product management instead, check out these articles:

• Should I Be a Product Manager? Try the PM Careers Quiz
• The Complete Product Roadmap Guide
• Sprint Reviews: A Beginner’s Guide

Enter ChatGPT, OpenAI’s predictive text tool reshaping how we approach product management. 

AI adoption in the product development space, having just surged to 43% in 2022, is now expected to increase to 67% by 2025. So, if you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet, now might be the time to do so.

But how can you utilize AI tools, like ChatGPT and Bard, to your advantage? Welcome to your essential product management cheat sheet!

Whether you’re an aspiring PM eager to enter the field or an experienced leader staying ahead of the game, this guide promises valuable insights on integrating ChatGPT for product management. Dive in and discover the potential of AI to transform your work.

We’ll cover:

1. How to use ChatGPT for product management
   • Maximizing productivity, innovation, and creativity with ChatGPT
   • Things to bear in mind while using ChatGPT for product management
2. 22 ChatGPT prompts for product managers
   • Market research and user insights prompts
   • User experience and design prompts for PMs
   • Pricing and monetization product management prompts
   • Product roadmap and strategy prompts
   • Customer support and engagement prompts
   • Competitive analysis and market insights prompts
   • AI and machine learning integration prompts
   • Partnerships and expansion product management prompts
   • Product testing and optimization prompts

1. How to use ChatGPT for product management

It’s not just about having AI tools at your disposal; it’s also about knowing how to wield them effectively. This is particularly true for product management and ChatGPT. However, like all tools, ChatGPT has its limitations and requires responsible, savvy usage to shine. 

So, let’s explore how to make the most out of the tool while keeping its constraints in mind.

Maximizing productivity, innovation, and creativity with ChatGPT

ChatGPT, in essence, is an interactive, smart assistant available 24/7 to support your product management needs.

Streamlining repetitive tasks becomes a breeze with ChatGPT. The tool can help draft documents, plot product roadmaps, and even accelerate market research. Moreover, if you’re craving fresh ideas, a quick brainstorming session with ChatGPT can ignite your creativity.

Here is a closer look at how this intelligent tool powered by sophisticated Natural Language Processing (NLP) models could improve your product management process:

• Maximizing productivity by automating repetitive tasks, freeing up your time to focus on strategic work.
• Accelerating market research with its ability to quickly analyze data and provide valuable insights.
• Plotting product roadmaps and generating user stories, thereby streamlining your planning processes.
• Enhancing creativity by lending a hand in brainstorming and ideation sessions when you need that extra spark.
• Providing consistent 24-hour support, ensuring you’re never left in the lurch.
• Saving time and shifting your focus to critical tasks that require your unique expertise.

But remember, it’s not a magic bullet—while ChatGPT is a potent ally, it doesn’t replace the nuanced understanding of your customers that you, as a product manager, bring to the table.

Things to bear in mind while using ChatGPT for product management

Even with its many benefits, ChatGPT has limitations. Understanding the context of complex conversations is not something ChatGPT is currently designed for, so providing clear prompts is crucial. If the data used to train the model contains biases, remember that the outputs may mirror those biases.

Given that the free version (ChatGPT 3.5) cannot access the internet and its training data only goes up to 2021, the depth of information it can provide has boundaries. Strategic decisions, especially those needing emotional intelligence, still require a human touch. 

So, when employing ChatGPT, these considerations should guide product managers to ensure the tool is used both effectively and responsibly.

2. 22 ChatGPT prompts for product managers

Moving forward, we will outline 22 practical ChatGPT prompts with follow-up instructions to help product managers integrate the tool into their workflow. Covering a range of applications, such as market research, strategic planning, and customer engagement, these AI prompts could be your secret weapon for unrivaled efficiency, transforming raw data into actionable insights and fine-tuning your strategic endeavors.

And even if you’re a skeptic of AI’s role in product management, we encourage you to explore these prompts with an open mind; you might find them more useful than expected.

Market research and user insights prompts

In an ever-changing market landscape, you, as a product manager, know how vital it is to stay updated. Here are some prompts you might find helpful in analyzing emerging trends, addressing user pain points, or even when brainstorming for new product features. Remember, you’re not just tracking trends; you’re discovering opportunities!

• “Can you provide insights on user pain points and how we can address them effectively?” Probe further with, “What solutions can we offer?”
• “Help me brainstorm innovative features for our upcoming product release.” Clarify, “What makes these features stand out?”

User experience and design prompts for PMs

Crafting a seamless user experience is a challenging task. These prompts could be the missing pieces, guiding you to enhance onboarding flows, improve user interface navigation, and understand your competitors better. User experience is all about walking a mile in your customers’ shoes.

• “Assist in creating a user onboarding flow that ensures a seamless and delightful experience.” Explore, “How can we reduce user drop-off during onboarding?”
• “Provide recommendations for improving our product’s user interface and navigation.” Dig deeper, “Can you give examples of good UI?”
• “Help us understand our competitors’ strengths and weaknesses in the market.” Follow up, “What can we learn from these insights?”

Pricing and monetization product management prompts

Pricing can induce a severe case of analysis paralysis, right? Consider these prompts as your survival kit. They come in handy when establishing pricing strategies, conducting pricing analyses, or understanding customer segments. Remember, price is what they pay, but value is what they get.

• “What pricing strategies should we consider for our new product?” Proceed with, “What’s the potential impact on our profit margins?”
• “Assist in conducting a pricing analysis to determine optimal price points for different customer segments.” Ask, “How does this compare to industry standards?”

Product roadmap and strategy prompts

If you’ve ever thought navigating a product strategy is like solving a jigsaw puzzle, you’re not alone. Again, here are some prompts to make that journey easier. They can help you identify potential partnerships, prioritize features, personalize user experiences, or forecast product demand. Strategy is about making choices and deliberately choosing to be different.

• “Help us identify potential partnership opportunities to expand our product’s reach.” Follow with, “What are potential risks?”
• “Assist in prioritizing product features based on user needs and business objectives.” Dig in, “How will this affect our roadmap?”
• “Provide recommendations for personalizing user experiences based on individual preferences.” Query, “What’s the impact on user engagement?”
• “Help us forecast product demand and plan inventory management accordingly.” Probe, “How accurate are these predictions?”

Customer support and engagement prompts

Amid the high-stakes game of improving customer support and engagement, these prompts are your hidden gems.

They can spark ideas for chatbot-enhanced customer support, facilitate user testing, and turbocharge your SEO strategy. After all, in this digital era, attention is the new currency.

• “Generate ideas for enhancing customer support through automated chatbots.” Explore, “Can you detail chatbot responses?”
• “What are the best practices for implementing user testing and gathering actionable insights?” Dig deeper, “How does this affect our UX design?”
• “Help us optimize our product’s SEO strategy for improved visibility and organic traffic.” Inquire, “What metrics should we track?”

Competitive analysis and market insights prompts

You know as well as anyone that knowing your enemy (read: competition) is half the battle. These prompts could help you to create a detailed product launch plan, track your product metrics for success, or gain an edge over your competitors. 

“Assist in creating a comprehensive product launch plan, including key milestones and tasks.” Follow up, “What could hinder our launch?”

• “What are the key metrics and analytics we should track to measure product success?” Continue with, “How do we interpret these metrics?”
• “Help us understand our competitors’ strengths and weaknesses in the market.” Query, “What opportunities does this present for us?”

AI and machine learning integration prompts

Planning to invite AI and machine learning to your product party? These prompts are the perfect ice-breakers, helping you smoothly integrate AI into your roadmap and optimize your product’s performance. With AI, it’s not about man versus machine; it’s man with machine versus man without.

• “Help us leverage AI and machine learning in our product roadmap.” Proceed with, “What challenges might we face?”
• “Assist in optimizing our product’s performance and efficiency.” Ask, “What’s the estimated improvement?”

Partnerships and expansion product management prompts

Another area where ChatGPT prompts for product managers can be valuable is when you’re considering expansion or partnerships.

The following prompts help you spot potential partnership opportunities. They can assist in weighing the benefits and drawbacks of each possible alliance. As they say, if you want to go far, go together.

• “Assist in identifying potential partnership opportunities to expand our product’s reach.” Expand with, “What are the benefits and drawbacks of these partnerships?”
• “Help us analyze potential markets for expansion based on our product’s features and target audience.” Delve deeper by asking, “What are the key factors that make these markets suitable for our product’s expansion?”

Product testing and optimization prompts

Product optimization is a voyage, not a destination. These prompts can be your trail markers, guiding you in conducting A/B testing and analyzing results to boost product performance. Because the essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.

• “Help us conduct A/B testing and analyze results to improve product performance.” Probe further, “What specific changes can enhance user engagement?”
• “Provide guidance on utilizing user feedback to improve our product’s features and functionality.” Follow up with, “What are the key areas we should focus on based on the feedback?”

3. Wrap-up

ChatGPT, as we have seen, holds remarkable potential for product managers—offering a range of prompts to support various aspects of the product life cycle. With this extensive list of product manager prompts, we have painted a clear picture of how AI can streamline tasks and enhance creativity. 

However, remember that AI should complement your own skills and judgment, not replace them. AI tools like ChatGPT, Bard, and Llamas augment your capabilities, providing data-driven insights and process automation, but the strategic decision-making and empathetic understanding of your customers remain fundamentally human.

For all that AI tools and prompts will make the job smoother, effective product management is about communication, and soft skills as much as hard ones. If you’re wondering if this career is for you, then try out this free product management short course. You’ll learn about the concepts that make a good PM, and what working as one is like.

Keen to dive deeper into the world of product management and AI? Feel free to explore our related guides for more insights.

• 13 of the Best Product Management Tools for Your Stack
• What is an AI Product Manager? A Beginner’s Guide
• The Product Management Careers Quiz

But what about the salary? Are product managers well-paid? In a word, yes—and you’ll find all the data to back it up in this guide. Just use the clickable menu to find the product manager salary data you’re most interested in:

1. What is product management, and what does a product manager do?
2. What is the average product manager salary in the United States?
3. How much do product managers earn around the world?
4. Product manager salaries based on seniority
5. Which companies pay the highest product management salaries?
6. How to get started in product management

Ready to find out how much you could earn as a product manager? Let’s go. 

1. What is product management, and what does a product manager do?

Before we explore product manager salaries, let’s briefly recap on what product management is and what a product manager actually does. 

Product management can be defined as the department or function within an organization which is responsible for ensuring the overall success of a product or service. It entails everything that falls under the product life cycle—from discovering the product to developing, launching, growing it, and beyond. 

Product management is a strategic function, so it’s all about managing the product (or service) in a way that drives business growth. Product managers are responsible for defining a product vision and developing a roadmap for how that vision will be implemented.

They work with a variety of different stakeholders to ensure that everyone is aligned and working towards a common goal. Much of a product manager’s day-to-day work revolves around:

• gathering and prioritizing ideas
• defining technical requirements
• presenting to leadership
• conducting research
• running experiments to identify opportunities for improvement

As you can see, the role of the product manager is extremely varied, requiring a broad and diverse skillset. We’ve outlined the 11 most important product manager skills in this guide.

For now, though, let’s get to the matter at hand: How much can product managers really earn? 

2. What is the average product manager salary in the United States?

The average salary for a product manager in the United States is $113,975, according to data from Indeed. They also report an average yearly cash bonus on top of that of $5,000 for product managers. 

This is double the average salary in the U.S., which stands at $53,490 in 2023.

The product manager salary varies depending on where you are in the U.S. Let’s take a look at what product managers typically earn in different locations (ordered from highest to lowest). We’ve taken all salary data from Indeed:

• San Francisco, CA: $113,975 
• New York, NY: $115,119
  
• Seattle, WA: $100,433
• Los Angeles, CA: $98,212 
• Chicago, IL: $97,142
• Denver, CO: $95,163 
• Minneapolis, MN: $94,513
• Atlanta, GA: $94,040
• Boston, NY: $93,578
• Dallas, TX: $93,280

As you can see, product managers earn consistently well across the United States. If you’d like to get salary data for a different location, check the Indeed salary portal. 

3. How much do product managers earn around the world?

Now let’s consider how much product managers can earn outside of the U.S..

The average product manager salary in the UK & Ireland

The average salary for a product manager in the UK is £54,813 per year (Indeed). This is around £20,000 higher than the national average salary of £29,600 per year. 

The average salary for a product manager in Ireland is €69,034 per year (Indeed). This is over €30,000 higher than the national average salary of €44,202. 

Here’s what the average product manager salary looks like broken down by city, all based on data from Indeed:

• Dublin: €79,466
• London: £58,472
• Cardiff: £56,299
• Edinburgh: £52,448
• Belfast: £50,705

Product manager salaries in other European countries

Here we’ll look at the average product manager salary in different countries across Europe:

• Switzerland: 177,000 CHF (around €169,400). The national average salary in Switzerland is about 124,000 CHF. 
• France: €66,900. The national average salary in France is €49,500. 
• Austria: €63,900. The national average salary in Austria is around €45,500.
• Germany: €70,394. The national average salary in Germany is €45,700.
• Spain: €45,700. The national average salary in Spain is around €32,600.
• Italy: €42,392. The national average salary in Italy is around €43,800.

The average product manager salary in Australia

The average base salary for a product manager in Australia is $120,922 per year (Indeed). That’s over $50,000 higher than the national average salary which stands at around $67,000 per year. 

Now let’s take a look at how much product managers typically earn in different Australian cities:

• Canberra, ACT: $263,309
• Brisbane, QLD: $127,840
• Perth, WA: $127,313
• Sydney, NSW: $126,780
• Melbourne, VIC: $113,558

The average product manager salary in Canada

The average product manager salary in Canada is $91,336 per year. This is a good $30,000 more than the national average salary of $54,630.

How do product managers fare in different Canadian cities? Let’s find out:

• Vancouver, BC: $97,421
• Toronto, ON: $92,229
• Calgary, AB: $90,942
• Montréal, QC: $83,570
• Québec, QC: $71,129

The average product manager salary in India

In India, the average product manager salary is ₹10,57,270 per year (around US$13,000). This is considerably higher than the national average salary of ₹3,87,500 per year (around US$5,000). 

Here’s how the product manager salary varies across different Indian cities:

• Bengaluru: ₹11,84,102 (around $15,300)
• Mumbai: ₹10,40,468 (around $13,400)
• Hyderabad: ₹9,50,408 (around $12,300)
• Jaipur: ₹8,81,011 (around $11,300)
• Delhi: ₹8,69,617 (around $11,200)

The average product manager salary in New Zealand

The average salary for a product manager in New Zealand is NZ $135,875 per year, based on data from talent.com. This is considerably higher than the national average salary of NZ $58,836 per year.

Now let’s explore the product manager salary for different cities in New Zealand, based on data from Glassdoor:

• Wellington: $110,000
• Christchurch: $105,000 
• Hamilton: $101,000 
• Auckland: $100,000 

The average product manager salary in Nigeria

According to salaryexplorer.com, the average salary for a product manager in Nigeria is 5,850,000 NGN per year (around $14,100). This is considerably higher than the national average salary of 4,060,000 NGN per year (around $9,800). 

The average product manager salary in South Africa

Based on data from Indeed, the average base salary for a product manager in South Africa is ZAR 568 707 per year (around $35,800). The national average salary stands at ZAR 374,000, putting product managers comfortably in the above-average category. 

The average product manager salary in Brazil

In Brazil, product managers earn an average salary of 145,000 BRL per year (around $28,300). This is significantly higher than the national average salary of 103,000 BRL.

We’ve only explored a handful of countries and cities, but you’ve probably noticed that product managers typically earn well above the national average in most places.

If you’re curious about the average product manager salary in a location we haven’t covered, we can recommend using tools like Glassdoor, Indeed, and salaryexplorer.com to find the exact data you’re interested in.

Location is just one factor that impacts your earning potential as a product manager. Now let’s consider another important aspect: years of experience. 

4. How does a product manager’s salary vary based on seniority level?

As with any profession, the product manager salary varies based on seniority. Let’s take a look at the average salary for different product manager job titles in the United States:

• Junior product manager salary: $69,691
• Associate product manager salary: $79,547
• Senior product manager salary: $132,889
• Director of product salary: $156,464
• Principal product manager salary: $151,964
• VP of product management salary: $191,021
• Chief product officer salary:$227,922

Again, we’ve taken all of our salary data from Indeed. You can see how, as you gain more experience in the field, your earning potential as a product manager jumps significantly.

If you’re curious as to what distinguishes a junior product manager from a senior, or a senior from a director, we recommend searching these job titles and seeing how the job descriptions differ. We’d also recommend looking at our complete product manager job description guide to learn more.

Pay attention to the skills required, as well as the responsibilities that fall under each title. You’ll soon have an idea of what it takes to progress through the product management ranks!

5. What companies pay the highest product manager salaries?

When weighing up your earning potential as a product manager, it’s also important to consider how salaries can vary across different companies.

We’ve explored the average product manager salary—which sits at just under $90,000 in the U.S.—but actually, there are some companies that pay their product managers well above the average. 

So: What companies pay the best product manager salaries? Here are the top five:

• VMware, a cloud computing and virtualization technology company with headquarters in California. The average salary for a product manager at VMware is $177,444 per year.
• Meta (formerly known as Facebook), another major tech company based in California. The average salary for a product manager working at Meta is $172,974 per year.
• Boeing, a leading aerospace company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. On average, product managers at Boeing earn $172,409 per year.
• Oracle, one of the largest software companies in the world, with headquarters in Austin, Texas. The average product manager salary at Oracle is $162,234 per year.
• Accenture, a global professional services company specializing in information technology services and consulting. The average salary for a product manager working at Accenture is $158,812 per year. 

Also on the list of top-paying companies for product managers are Block, Google, Workday, Walmart, and Amazon, with salaries ranging from $151,000 to $156,000. 

6. How to get started in product management

If you like what you’ve seen with regards to salary, you might be wondering how you can break into this fascinating, fast-growing, and financially rewarding field.

The first step is to learn as much as you can about product management through independent reading and research. Immerse yourself in the topic through blogs, podcasts, and books in order to build up your foundational knowledge.

Next, you’ll want to focus on learning the practical skills that will equip you to actually work as a product manager. The most effective way to do this is through a product management course.

This will also help you to build your product management portfolio, network in the field, and effectively apply for jobs—all critical steps in your journey towards a career in product management.

You’ll find a complete step-by-step guide on how to become a product manager in this guide, where we also outline some of the most credible product management courses that are worth considering.

If you’re still figuring out if product management is right for you, try a free product management for beginners course before you invest in the real thing.

Want to read more about the world of product management first? Then check out these articles for starters:

• 13 of the best product management tools for your stack
• What’s the difference between a product manager and a product owner?
• Our in-depth guide to product owner salaries

Whether you’re already residing in the Big Apple or considering a move, the city’s thriving tech ecosystem offers a wealth of growth opportunities for skilled product managers.

New York City’s tech industry has been booming over the past decade, with Manhattan and Brooklyn leading the charge as tech job hubs. This tech expansion has significantly impacted the city’s economy, accounting for one-quarter of all new jobs created in the past ten years. 

In addition, while NYC has faced some challenges in terms of diversity and geographic job distribution in the tech space, there are ongoing efforts to address these issues and create a more equitable local tech economy. So, there’s hope that opportunities for talented product managers from all backgrounds and boroughs will only increase in the future.

But what about salary expectations? Are product managers in NYC well-compensated? The short answer is yes—but let’s dive deeper and back up this claim with real-world salary data. Just use the clickable menu to find the information most relevant to you:

1. What’s the average product manager salary in NYC?
2. What’s it like to be a product manager in New York?
3. How to become a product manager in NYC
4. How to get product manager jobs in New York
5. Final thoughts

1. What’s the average product manager salary in NYC?

According to data from Glassdoor, product manager salaries in New York City range from $111K to $186K per year, with the average total compensation being roughly $150,000. For perspective: this is three times the average salary in the US, which currently stands at $53,490.

But let’s break this further down by looking at different roles and seniority levels. Here are the average salary figures for the most important product manager positions and related job titles in NYC:

• Associate Product Manager, NYC: $103,866
  
• Product Manager, NYC: $150,862
  
• Senior Product Manager, NYC: $168,495
• Group Product Manager, NYC: $237,712
  
• Director of Product Management, NYC: $256,002
  
• Chief Product Officer, NYC: $362,777
• Product Owner, NYC: $128,006
  
• Senior Product Owner, NYC: $171,418

Product manager salary: New York boroughs

Another factor that can influence salaries is location. To ensure New York-based PMs get the most accurate data, we’ve also researched average salary details for product management roles in each borough.

However, as you can see in the following Glassdoor figures, only Manhattan has specific salary data available—the rest is based on the overall city salary range.

• Product Manager Salary, Manhattan: $152,143
  
• Product Manager Salary, Brooklyn: $150,862
• Product Manager Salary, Queens: $150,862
• Product Manager Salary, Staten Island: $150,862
• Product Manager Salary, The Bronx: $150,862

2. What’s it like to be a product manager in New York?

Working as a product manager in New York City has many facets, some exciting and others a little more challenging.

Cost of living vs Remote work opportunities

The biggest concern is probably the high cost of living, but there are ways to balance affordability and location, thus making the career move worthwhile.

For example, many PMs in the city have found success by working remotely, which can open up access to higher salaries without having to move and deal with expensive rent in areas like Manhattan.

Vibrant tech scene and communities

It also helps to know that New York offers higher than national average salaries and ample networking opportunities thanks to the presence of many big firms, startups, and venture capital investors in the area.

Add to that the vibrant social and cultural scene, and it’s easy to see why NYC can be a great place to start or advance your career as a product manager.

And, if you’re worried about transportation, the city’s extensive public transportation system can get you anywhere within and beyond the metropolis.

Non-tech powerhouses and global corporations

Aside from traditional tech and start-up companies in New York, there are also numerous non-traditional tech-focused companies that product managers can work for.

From financial services and healthcare corporations to media and EdTech companies, various industries require talented individuals to manage their products. Moreover, many global corporations have their headquarters or regional offices in NYC, providing more opportunities for PMs to grow their careers internationally.

So, as a product manager in the Big Apple, you can look forward to exploring versatile working environments—something that can play a considerable role in shaping your career trajectory.

3. How to become a product manager in NYC

Before looking for product manager jobs in New York, you’ll need to develop the necessary skills for success in this role.

It’s worth noting that product manager job descriptions typically include experience in business development, customer segmentation, market analysis, project management, and product design. But how can you gain these skills?

Here are three tips—for more detailed advice, consider reading our full-length guide: How to become a product manager?

Hone your tech skills

To succeed as a product manager in New York City, you must continuously refine your tech and product management skills.

This includes staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends and developing skills such as market research, strategy development, and project management.

Attending networking events, reading relevant blogs, and engaging in online forums can help you keep up with the latest developments.

Consider training or bootcamps

If you’re interested in becoming a product manager in New York but lack experience in the field, professional training can help you develop the skills you need.

You can choose between in-person or flexible online training, but keep in mind that online courses usually offer greater flexibility and convenience.

CareerFoundry’s Product Management Program, for example, provides a comprehensive curriculum designed to help you master the essential skills, tools, and processes needed to become a successful PM. With personal mentorship from industry experts, personalized feedback, and practical projects to build your portfolio, their remote program is suitable for aspiring product managers anywhere in the world.

Develop a strong portfolio

Creating a portfolio full of compelling case studies can significantly improve your chances of securing a product manager position in New York’s competitive job market.

A strong portfolio showcases your diverse product development experience, design capabilities, and strategy development and implementation skills.

Check out these 9 great product manager portfolio examples for inspiration, and our guide will walk you through the essentials of building an impressive portfolio.

4. How to get product manager jobs in New York

Once you’ve developed your product development skills and built a portfolio, you’re one step closer to landing a job in NYC.

But still, it pays to know how to prepare and present yourself most effectively throughout the job-search process. Again, here are three quick but essential tips:

Build your local network

In a city like New York, having a robust professional network is invaluable.

Attend industry events, conferences, and workshops to connect with other professionals in your field. In addition, you should also engage with people on LinkedIn and other social media platforms to build authentic relationships in the tech community.

You never know who you might meet or what doors could open up.

Join NYC-based product meetups

Participating actively in product management meetups and local tech communities is a great way to stay updated with industry trends, learn from experienced professionals, and expand your network.

Look for events and groups specific to product management in NYC, and be prepared to contribute to discussions and share your insights.

Get ready to impress future employers

As mentioned, having a strong portfolio that showcases your skills and experience in product management is crucial for making a good impression on potential employers.

But in addition to that, invest time in crafting a compelling narrative around your career journey, and be prepared to speak confidently about how your accomplishments align with specific company objectives.

By being well-prepared, you’ll be more likely to impress future employers and secure a product manager role in New York.

5. Final thoughts

New York product manager salaries are among the highest in the country, making the city an attractive destination for those seeking to pursue a career in the field.

In this article, we’ve discussed the general pay trajectory for product managers in NYC, outlined average salaries for different product manager roles, explored the working environment for tech professionals in the Big Apple, and provided advice on securing a PM job in this vibrant metropolis.

We hope this article has provided you with enough guidance to start your product management journey in New York City.

Ready to give your product management career a solid foundation?  Our free 5-day introductory course provides an interactive experience with the fundamentals of this profession. From strategy and design all the way to Agile methodology, you’ll gain access to the resources and knowledge necessary to kickstart your tech career.

Alternatively, if you just want to learn more about product management, you can read these related articles:

• Product Manager Salaries in San Francisco: All You Need To Know
• How Much Does a Product Manager Earn?
• How to Become a Product Manager: Your Complete Step-by-Step Guide

If you think so and you’re now wondering what next, then you’ve come to the right place!

This quiz will help you focus in on your place in product management, by taking six different product roles and helping match you with the one you’re most attuned to.

Without any further ado, let’s get into it.

Which product management role is right for you? The quiz

Product management is one the most wide-ranging disciplines in the tech field. This isn’t just due to the wide range of companies you can work in, though.

The varied skillset a good product manager has can be applied in industries of every shape and size.

Wondering if this could be the career for you? If yes, then this questionnaire will be able to help you learn more about which product role is right for you. You’ll get asked some questions about your current skills, as well your personal and professional interests.

Once you’ve answered all of the questions, this quiz will guide you towards more information about the product management role in question, as well as how to get started in product management.

You should be able to complete the product management quiz in less than three minutes. Good luck!

If you feel like product might not be the journey for you, then we’ve made a tech careers quiz that might point you in the right direction.

How to get started in product management

So, now that you’ve gotten more of an idea about not only should you be a product manager, but also hopefully what could be your ideal product role, what next?

Well, a quick way to confirm is by taking this free product management short course, which will also refresh the basics.

Get an education

After that, you’ll need to plot the next stage of your journey.

If you don’t have a background in product, then a professional program or series of courses are what you should look for. A well-designed course will give you a thorough grounding in the role, as well as the product manager skills necessary to thrive.

When comparing options, make sure to find one that suits your own particular learning style and daily routine, and not just your budget.

The CareerFoundry Product Management Program offers a structured learning path, taking you through everything you need to know about working in product in 2023, with the assistance and support of a dedicated mentor and tutor. And, most importantly, you’ll graduate with a product management certification and the hands-on skills you’ll need to actually work in the field.

Learn the relevant skills and tools

If the quiz suggested that a more technical position is more suited to you, then you’ll need to isolate the technical skills and popular tools required to flourish in that role.

You can find these through examining career guides on product management blogs, as well as by checking out job advertisements for the roles on sites such as Indeed.

Create and build your portfolio

Once you’ve found these skills and started building your proficiency in the relevant tools, work on projects to build out your product manager portfolio for potential employers.

This is a vital option for those looking to get into the field with little or no prior product experience. A solid portfolio of work will help get your foot in the door and show companies that you know how to get the job done.

You can learn in more detail about how to embark on this exciting path in our step-by-step guide to becoming a product manager.

If you’d prefer to read a bit more about the world of product management instead, check out these articles:

• The Complete Entry-Level Product Manager Guide
• The Product Development Life Cycle Demystified
• What is AARRR? A Guide to the Pirate Metrics Framework

Contrary to what it sounds like, a product backlog isn’t a list of delays. Instead, in agile methodologies, a product backlog is a prioritized list of tasks that eventually help complete the project successfully. 

Product backlogs are dynamic, and evolve continuously based on changing feedback and requirements. They’re put together to understand the changing requirements of end-users and the product owner. Hence, they need to be refined and managed by key individuals to ensure that all the tasks align with evolving goals. 

In this article, we’ll look closely at backlog refinement and how scrum masters and product managers can implement it for additional productivity and efficiency. Read on to learn more about:

1. What is backlog refinement?
2. Why is backlog refinement significant to product management?
3. How to implement backlog refinement?
4. Common backlog refinement FAQs

1. What is backlog refinement?

Product backlog refinement is the process of organizing various product development tasks to prioritize the most critical ones. During each sprint, product owners and scrum masters identify items to add to the backlog. As a result, the list of tasks on the backlog increases or decreases based on the outcome of the iterations. 

Please bear in mind that any product backlog item (PBI) is a single task that is small enough to be completed during a particular sprint (which lasts for a month or less). PBIs can be further broken down into user stories, which are simple descriptions of what the end users might want to do with a product when it’s ready. 

Although 70% of PBIs take 20 days or less to be completed, some items may take as many as 267 days. Moreover, some tasks may no longer be relevant or need to be broken down into smaller tasks. Irrespective, the idea behind them is to manage sprint cycles and deliver products on time without hurdles. 

Backlog refinement vs. backlog grooming: What’s the difference?

Initially, backlog refinement was known as backlog grooming. It was a metaphor for how a gardener trims plants to make them look tidy and manageable. 

However, as “grooming” carries negative connotations, it’s no longer preferred terminology. Hence, we now commonly use “backlog refinement.” The terms mean the same, and there are no differences in either structure or process. 

Now let’s move over to understanding why backlog refinement is an essential step.

2. Why is backlog refinement significant to product management?

Backlog refinement is critical to successful product completion. Here are some of the key reasons why you must create product backlogs:

Identify any issues with the product

Backlog refinement helps you identify loopholes within the existing system to make the necessary changes to future sprint cycles. 

This eliminates possible issues with the product and ensures efficient use of time and resources. 

Plan sprints in a manageable manner

As product development is a lengthy process, tickets can accumulate or become irrelevant. Backlog refinement helps to ensure that more prominent tickets are divided into smaller, more manageable tasks while irrelevant ones are removed. This speeds up the process and aids in completion. 

Enhance productivity

When unnecessary tickets are removed, and difficult tickets are broken down into manageable ones, your development team is better equipped to deliver results efficiently at the end of each sprint cycle.

Ensure clear communication

When each issue is identified and added to the backlog, there are fewer chances of disagreements between various stakeholders. These can include the development team, product owner and product manager, the client, and the end-users. This also ensures smoother and speedier product completion.

Now, let’s move over to understanding how you can implement it.

3. How to implement backlog refinement

To begin with, there first needs to be clarity on who will refine the backlog. Usually, the product owner (a Scrum-based term for the one responsible for product development) manages and refines the backlog. 

However, sometimes, the scrum master may also need to bear the responsibility. The answer to this depends on the situation and who understands the nitty-gritty of refining complex backlog items. 

The next step is to get down to business and map out prioritized items or user stories hierarchy. You can generate this list after multiple item iterations and daily scrum meetings during the sprint. 

With that, let’s go over some of the tasks that are central to implementing backlog refinement:

• Identifying sprint goals and aligning them with existing tickets and user stories
• Prioritizing tickets in a way that there is clarity about the project
• Adding details to user stories to ensure more transparency regarding vague tickets
• Eliminating or merging repetitive tickets or user stories
• Liaising with stakeholders to understand each ticket comprehensively
• Classifying similar tickets under a single task
• Dividing larger tasks into smaller ones, especially if they contain complex tickets
• Defining the readiness of each task and setting its acceptance criteria
• Planning the approach to work on each task during succeeding sprints

Although the process may sound clear-cut, you must remember to follow the correct set of techniques and best practices. Let’s look at what they are:

Backlog refinement techniques

1. Create a comprehensive product backlog

According to product training expert Roman Pichler, you first create a D.E.E.P. product catalog. This is an acronym for a product backlog that is: 

• Detailed
• Emergent (that which constantly evolves)
• Estimated (time, cost, and effort-related estimations)
• Prioritized (in terms of importance)

A DEEP product catalog is essential because it eliminates the ambiguity of items and helps you gain clarity. 

2. Identify task dependencies 

Most product development tasks are complex. They require multiple people to put in their efforts for the ideal result. 

Moreover, task dependencies also exist, where the completion of one impacts the other. So, if you don’t identify the different individuals for the various aspects at the right time, you may face problems during each sprint. 

For example, an application’s updated version can be released only when the design team works on UX/UI issues. 

3. Synchronize your backlog refinement meetings

This should be easy as long as you’re following an agile methodology such as Scrum. 

As scrum-based product management divides product development into sprint cycles consisting of daily scrum meetings, there’ll be a smooth problem identification and issue resolution process. 

Now, let’s explore best practices.

What are the backlog refinement best practices?

According to the Official Scrum Guide, here are a few best practices to keep in mind:

1. Gain insights from various sources 

Several unknown variables can affect your development goals in product development. Hence, make it a point to gain insights from various sources.

Don’t limit yourself to either the client or the end user. Instead, use various data sources such as competitor analysis, market trends, feedback from the development team, and even insights from the sales and marketing teams. 

2. Regularly refine the product backlog 

Know when to order the product backlog. Ideally, this should be an ongoing strategy and not reserved for fixed, one-off dates. 

3. Estimating product backlog items 

Estimate the time your teams may require to complete each task. Having a rough estimate regarding long-term items is OK, but you should at least have a precise time estimation for short-term items. 

This works well as backlog refinement aims to break down long-term items into smaller ones that can be completed in realistic time frames.

4. Breaking down these items 

Always break down more significant user stories and tickets into smaller, more manageable ones. 

5. Aim to minimize dependencies 

You cannot predict task dependencies if you outsource or rely on external vendors for task completion. So, make sure that you have enough leeway or eliminate these.

Finally, let’s go over some tools you can use to put these suggested techniques and best practices into action more easily

Handy tools for smoother backlog refinement:

• Trello – Useful for tracking projects and maintaining user stories
• PlanItPoker – Helps to quickly break down user stories and other items into smaller chunks. It also offers powerful visualization tools to understand which items you should prioritize. 
• Jira – One of the best-known project management tools, Jira is helpful for planning, developing, and reporting user stories. 
• Yodiz – This is another affordable project management software tool you can use to develop user stories and refine them further. 
• Pivotal Tracker – This is great for viewing all the pending tasks on a single interface and understanding who is working on what to break down tasks into manageable chunks. 
• Asana – Another industry heavyweight, this tool is excellent for assigning tasks to individuals and teams while keeping track of different tasks’ statuses. 
• Monday.com – You can use this to automate task assignments and help teams to track the assignments they are responsible for. 

4. Backlog refinement FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions regarding backlog refinement.

What is one key benefit of a backlog refinement session?

Backlog refinement helps your team to identify problems in your product management workflow and enables you to fix them by identifying the what, where, when, and who. In addition, it creates a robust roadmap for future sprint cycles.

How long does backlog refinement take?

One of the principles of backlog refinement is that it’s an ongoing process. While you can allocate anywhere between 60 to 90 minutes for individual meetings, remember that you must continuously refine your backlog. It makes sense to use a tool to assist you better. 

What is backlog refinement vs. sprint planning?

Backlog refinement identifies user stories and tickets that can be broken down into manageable chunks or eliminated. Sprint planning sets the agenda for each sprint cycle, which can last for many weeks. Each sprint cycle consists of actionable tasks identified during previous backlog refinement sessions. 

Who facilitates backlog refinement?

Usually, the product owner facilitates backlog refinement. However, sometimes, the scrum master may do it autonomously or work with the product owner to refine backlogs. 

Bottom line: Backlog refinement is essential for successful project completion

Backlog refinement is an essential component of agile product management methodologies like Scrum. It helps fill the gap between user expectations, challenges faced by the development team, and business goals.

For implementing product backlog, it always helps to start with identifying the responsible individual, and then diving into the list of backlog item tasks. While implementing, using technology tools makes it easier to create and break user stories into manageable chunks and liaise with different stakeholders. 

If you like the resources we discussed here, or are interested in product roles in general, CareerFoundry’s free product management short course should help you get started on your awareness about building and launching products. So sign up for this course and start your learning journey today. 

If you’d like to read more on the subject of product management and scrum instead, check out these articles:

• What Is the Product Management Process? The 7 Stages Explained
• What is Scrum? A 2023 Product Manager’s Guide 
• What is a Scrum Team and How Do They Work? A 2023 Guide

As more and more companies rely on these coveted professionals to drive innovation and success, there’s never been a better time to break into the field. 

If you’re thinking about a career in product management, you’ve come to the right place. This guide will cover absolutely everything you need to know to get started—even if you don’t have any prior experience. 

By the end, you’ll know exactly what steps to take to get your product management career off the ground.

Here’s how we’ve structured our guide. If you’d like to skip ahead to a specific section, just use the clickable menu:

1. What is product management?
2. What does a product manager do?
3. Where do product managers come from?
4. What skills and qualifications do you need to become a product manager?
5. How to become a product manager: 6 actionable steps
6. An introduction to the best product management courses and certifications
7. Breaking into product management: Key takeaways and next steps

Ready to learn how to become a product manager? Let’s go!

1. What is product management?

Before we consider how to become a product manager, let’s begin with a brief definition.

Product management is the function in an organization that’s responsible for the overall success of the product. It’s the art and science of guiding a product through the entire product life cycle—from conception and planning to delivery, launch, and beyond.

Product management is all about defining a vision and strategy for the product, with the goal of meeting business objectives while making the end user happy. It’s a multidisciplinary field which draws on business acumen, technology, data, and user experience (UX).

That’s product management in a nutshell. You’ll find a more in-depth explanation of product management and the product life cycle in this introductory guide. 

2. What does a product manager do? 

Product managers are versatile, multi-skilled individuals who guide and oversee the entire product life cycle. 

They gather, manage, and prioritize ideas for new products or features, considering both the user needs and the wider business goals. They define success metrics for the product, and build a roadmap to outline the product vision—together with a plan for how that vision will be. 

With the roadmap in place, product managers coordinate all the moving parts of the product development process, keeping everybody aligned and working towards a common goal. They work closely with key stakeholders across the business, liaising with designers, engineers, marketers, and leadership to guide the product to success. 

Ultimately, you can think of product managers as the CEO of the product. They are the in-house product expert—the number one go-to person for anything and everything relating to the product. 

You can learn more about what a product manager actually does in this guide.

3. Where do product managers come from?

If you’re looking to start a career in product management, you may have asked yourself: Where do product managers typically come from? Are there any professional backgrounds and careers that pave the way for a job in product management?

The reality is, good product managers come from everywhere. It’s a multidisciplinary field, relying on a broad variety of skills and expertise. There’s no universal professional pathway into product management—it’s about transferring the skills you already have and learning the ones you don’t. 

And the good news? Almost any role will equip you with skills that are valuable and applicable to product management. 

One major aspect of the product manager role is understanding and advocating for the end user’s needs. If you’ve worked in sales, customer service, retail, UX (or another design-related discipline)—any kind of customer-facing role you can think of—you’ll already have the user-centric mindset of a product manager. 

Product management also requires business acumen, a knack for strategic thinking, and the ability to manage complex projects and processes. If you’ve worked in marketing, engineering, or business analytics (to name just a few), or gained experience in a project and/or people management role, you’ll already have honed some of these skills. 

We could go on forever. The point is, successful product managers don’t come from any one specific background. They bring a variety of transferable soft skills, and perhaps some of the core hard skills, too, if they’ve already worked in a technical or design-focused role.

Every product manager is unique in what they bring to the table—you don’t need to come from a particular field or discipline to be successful in the role. 

With that in mind, let’s consider the most important product management skills and qualifications. 

4. What skills and qualifications do you need to become a product manager?

To work in product management, you’ll need a broad and diverse skillset.

It doesn’t matter what jobs you’ve done before or what you may have studied previously. As long as you focus on learning the right skills—and transferring the skills you already have—you can make it as a product manager.

The top skills you’ll need to get into product management

Product management sits at the intersection of business, user experience (UX), and technology. It therefore relies on a diverse mix of hard and soft skills—many of which can be transferred from other fields. 

The most important skills needed for product management include:

• A general understanding of the product design and development process: This includes some technical expertise in terms of understanding how web developers work and the technology they’ll use to build your product, as well as an understanding of UX design principles and processes.
  
• Business acumen and strategic thinking: Product managers are responsible for leading the development of products which drive business growth. You’ll need to be well-versed in business metrics and KPIs, have a good understanding of the company’s wider goals, and be able to think strategically.
  
• A knack for problem-solving: Problem-solving is an essential part of the product manager’s role. In addition to solving user problems, product managers also problem-solve internally, finding ways to overcome constraints and optimize processes.
  
• The ability to analyze and interpret data: Research, data, and analytics all play a crucial role in the product management process. Product managers must be skilled at collecting and analyzing data to understand their users and make decisions about the product.
• Excellent interpersonal skills: The best product managers are excellent communicators, collaborators, and storytellers. They liaise with multiple stakeholders on a daily basis, effectively facilitate cross-team collaboration, present their ideas confidently, and communicate with empathy. Every inch of the role relies on great communication; product managers cannot get by without this skill. 

You can learn more in our round-up of the 11 most important product manager skills. 

Do you need a degree to work in product management?

You don’t need a degree to become a product manager, and there’s no gold-standard qualification that employers look for. 

But, if you’re starting from scratch, it’s worth considering a product management certification. This will not only help you learn the necessary skills in a structured, guided way; it’ll also prepare you for the hiring process and enable you to enter the job market with confidence and credibility.

We’ll explore the best options for product management bootcamps and certifications later on in this article. 

Now we know what product management is and what it takes to become a successful product manager, let’s lay out the concrete steps you can follow to break into this exciting field. 

5. How to become a product manager: 6 actionable steps

So, now that you know what you’re getting into, here’s how to start your journey. You can read the steps below, or follow this video guide from Zöe Canaras, Senior Product Owner at CareerFoundry:

1. Build up your background knowledge

If you want to break into product management, start by building up your background knowledge.

Use blogs, books, and podcasts to explore key terminology and concepts, such as:

• the product life cycle
• the product development process
• fundamental product management principles
• product roadmaps

By immersing yourself in the topic, you’ll begin to build a deeper understanding of what product management is all about—laying the foundation for more structured, formal learning.

At the same time, you’ll really start to ascertain if product management is a path you definitely want to follow. 

Another way is to listen to product experts themselves. In this video recording, our very own chief product officer Megan walks you through exactly what product management is from start to finish:

For your initial exploration of great reading materials on how to become a product manager, we can recommend:

• What is Product Management? A Complete Introductory Guide
• Product Management for Dummies, a book by Brian Lawley and Pamela Schure
• Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, a book by Nir Eyal
• This is Product Management, a podcast hosted by Mike Fishbein

2. Start developing your product management skillset

You’ve immersed yourself in the topic of product management, and you’re even more excited to start a career in the field. Excellent! Now it’s time to take it up a notch by developing your skillset.

First, take stock of your existing competencies in relation to the most important skills of a product manager (outlined earlier on in this guide, and in our product management skills round-up). Mark down the skills you’ve already got, and make a note of your gaps—the skills you’ll need to focus on learning. 

With your skills gaps identified, take proactive steps to fill them. If you’re working, look for opportunities to develop these skills in your current job. This is especially useful for soft skills like communication and problem-solving, which you can apply and practice in almost any context. 

Depending on where you work, you may also find opportunities to gain product-specific knowledge. If you can, ask to shadow a UX designer, web developer, or even a product manager within your organization—or to at least pick their brains for half an hour over coffee or on a Zoom call. 

In addition to honing essential soft skills and picking up some product-specific knowledge, start to formalize your learning with a course. There are plenty of free courses available online, allowing you to dip your toe in and brush up on the basics before committing to a more comprehensive program.

Here are some free courses to get you started:

• Product Management Fundamentals offered by the University of Maryland via edX (takes about 4 weeks to complete, at a pace of 2-3 hours per week)
• Brand and Product Management offered by ie Business School via Coursera (takes approx. 14 hours to complete)
• An Introduction to Product Management offered by CareerFoundry (takes about 1 week to complete)

If you’d like even more options, we’ve picked out 9 of the best free and paid product management courses in this guide.

3. Get certified as a product manager

So far, you’ve done lots of independent reading and research, and perhaps dipped your toe in with a free course.

You’ve built up a solid foundation of background knowledge, which is an excellent start. Now, if you’re serious about becoming a product manager, you’ll need to move from theory to practice. 

Employers don’t just want to see that you know about the field. They need to feel confident that you’ve got the hands-on skills for the job. So how do you acquire those?

The most effective route into the field for new product managers is through a formal certification. There are many benefits of learning product management this way, namely: 

• A structured learning path, ensuring you come away with all the most essential concepts and skills
• A focus on project-based learning and acquiring hands-on skills (not just theory)
• The opportunity to build a professional product management portfolio
• Support and guidance from experts in the field
• Career coaching and a focus on successfully applying for product management jobs 
• A professional certification from a credible, recognized institution

Of course, not all product management courses are created equal—there are many options on the market that won’t provide all those benefits we just listed.

So, when choosing a certification program, make sure it offers everything you’ll need to actually get hired in the field. Here’s a tip—one of the best ways to learn how to become a product manager is to start acting like one.

Put your product manager hat on: identify the end user’s (i.e. your) main needs, conduct extensive research, and prioritize the best options for your schedule and budget. 

Choosing the right product management course is absolutely critical to your success, so we’ve included a round-up of some of the best courses available towards the end of this guide. 

4. Build your product management portfolio

In addition to learning the necessary product management skills, you also need to demonstrate these skills to potential employers.

You can do this with your very own product management portfolio—a website which showcases projects where you’ve taken on the role of product manager (or at least applied and demonstrated the product manager mindset).

To build your product management portfolio, you’ll need to turn your projects into case studies and host them on your own website. A portfolio is also an excellent opportunity to share a little bit about who you are, your previous experience, and why you’re a great product manager. 

As already mentioned, the best product management courses will include practical projects which you can put straight into your portfolio. And the best of the best courses will show you how to build your portfolio, too. 

To get an idea of what your product management portfolio could look like, here are some examples:

• Mark Progano’s product management portfolio (Mark is a former web engineer turned product manager)
• Rian van der Merwe’s portfolio (Rian is a product manager with a background in UX)
• Taylor McCaslin’s product management portfolio (Taylor is a product manager specializing in SaaS products)

5. Network in the field

Step five in learning how to become a product manager, is going out and meeting some of them in the wild.

Networking is especially important for new and aspiring product managers. It can open the door to new opportunities, and be a great source of mentorship, advice, and industry insight. 

The prospect of networking can feel intimidating—especially if you’re brand new to the field and don’t have a natural “in”. But there are many ways to get started, and not all of them involve crowded rooms and awkward conversations.

Network in a way that feels comfortable and authentic for you. If you have product management colleagues you can connect with at work, reach out to them and ask for a quick coffee or video chat. Join online communities, attend local or virtual meet-ups and events, and connect with fellow aspiring product managers on your course. 

Start early and small, and you’ll organically build a solid product management network. Here are some ways to get started:

• Join Slack communities such as Mind The Product, The Product Folks, and Product Buds
• Search meetup.com for product management events and socials 

6. Apply for your first product management job (or go for an internal transfer)

You’ve learned the most important skills, you’ve got your professional certification and your portfolio, and you’ve started to build a network in the field. The next step is to land your first job in product management.

Ideally, your chosen product management course will include career coaching and guidance on how to apply and interview for relevant product manager jobs.

Either way, you’ll need to tailor your resume to product management roles—highlighting the most relevant skills and drawing a connection between your previous experience and the jobs you’re applying for.

This is especially important if you’re coming from an unrelated field; your product manager resume and cover letter must make it clear that, although you’re new to the field, you’re able to bring relevant transferable skills. 

With your application package honed and ready, you can apply for product management jobs. Check out the following job boards for suitable roles:

• Indeed.com
• Mind The Product
• Product Hunt
• Product Manager HQ
• ProductHired

Alternatively, you might go for a transfer in your current organization.

If there’s an existing product management department, speak to your manager (and others from the product team) to discuss potential opportunities for an internal role change. This is a great way to get started in product management as you’ve already proven yourself in the company and are familiar with the product. 

Whether you’re applying for a brand new role or trying to secure a transfer, remember to highlight and demonstrate those core product management skills.

It’s essential to market yourself as a product manager and show that, despite not having any experience in the field, you have what it takes to be successful in the role. Good luck!

6. What are the best product management courses and certifications?

If you’re brand new to the field and looking to become a product manager, a course or certification program is an excellent route into the field. With so many options to choose from (and lots of variation in terms of quality), it’s important to do your research before investing. 

To help you narrow it down, we’ve rounded up some of the best product management courses on the market for newcomers and career-changers learning how to become a product manager.

1. The Product School Product Manager Certification

The Product Manager Certification taught by The Product School is geared towards those looking to kick-start a career in the field without any prior experience. 

• Duration: 8 weeks part-time or 5 days full-time
• Cost: $4,499
• Format: Online with live, instructor-led lessons

Learn more about the curriculum

2. CareerFoundry Product Management Program

On the back on their successful fully mentored career-change programs in UX design, data analytics, digital marketing and so on, in 2022 CareerFoundry launched their product management offering. Designed by product management experts and backed by a job guarantee, this is a great option for those looking to become product managers.

Due to the flexible nature of the study schedule, as well as the dedicated support, mentorship, and career guidance provided, the CareerFoundry program is ideal for beginners, career-changers, upskillers, and those with family commitments.

• Duration: Part time: 5–6 months part-time or 2.5–3 months full-time
• Cost: $6,900
• Format: Online

3. General Assembly’s Product Management Course

If you’re wondering how to become a product manager from scratch, then popular tech bootcamp provider General Assembly can help.

They offer an online Product Management Course which focuses on real-world relevance and project-based learning. 

• Duration: 10 weeks part-time or 1 week intensive
• Cost: $3,950
• Format: Online

Learn more about the General Assembly product management course

4. The Product Management Certification Course by BrainStation

The BrainStation Product Management Certification Course promises to accelerate your product management career by teaching cutting-edge skills in product strategy, iterative product development, and agile and lean practices. 

• Duration: The course takes place over 5 Saturdays from 10.30am-5.30pm EDT
• Cost: $2,900
• Format: Online

Learn more about BrainStation’s product management certification

7. Breaking into product management: Key takeaways and next steps

There’s no doubt about it: Product management is a varied, fast-paced, and highly rewarding career path.

If you love problem-solving, strategizing, and working collaboratively across different teams, you’ll find yourself right at home in the field.

And, as we’ve seen, learning how to become a product manager that’s successful relies on a broad and diverse skillset (as well as lots of tools you have maybe used already), so there’s lots you can transfer from your previous experience. 

So, are you ready to start your career in product management? Excellent! Get a hands-on introduction to the profession with CareerFoundry’s free product management short course. Covering everything from strategy and design to Agile methodology, the course will give you the tools and understanding you need to start your career in this field.

If you’re looking to discover more about the world of product management, check out these articles:

• What’s the difference between a product manager and a product owner?
• How much does a product manager earn? Our complete salary guide
• 9 of the Best Product Management Schools: Your 2023 Guide

Using the WSJF model, product managers can rank features, capabilities, and other development tasks in order of importance. Doing so not only helps create a higher quality product; it ensures teams stay focused on the right tasks for the successful completion of a project. Task prioritization also allows product managers to identify and address potential risks early on so they can eliminate or reduce costly delays.

But what exactly does the WSJF model involve, and when might you use it? 

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about WSJF, including why it’s unique, how it works and when to implement it. We’ll cover:

1. What is WSJF?
2. How product managers use WSJF
   • How does WSJF work in Agile?
3. How is WSJF calculated? A step-by-step guide
4. Wrap-up

Ready to get the basics of WSJF down? Then let’s dive in.

1. What is WSJF?

First up, let’s first cover the basics.

What is a prioritization model?

A prioritization model is a method of ranking tasks, objectives, or ideas in order of importance. Managers will use these models in various contexts to determine in which order to complete tasks. While they apply in areas from business to public policy, prioritization models are also essential for efficient product development and are commonly used to inform product roadmaps.

The basic assumption of prioritization models is that not all tasks have equal value or urgency. By assigning relative importance to different jobs, the right prioritization model will help decision-makers identify what needs doing most urgently, what can wait, and even which tasks to eliminate. This ensures proper allocation of time, money, and personnel.

Prioritization models can be simple or complex. They can also weight tasks based on different criteria. The right model usually depends on the specific needs of an organization, its teams, and its customers.

What is Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF)?

Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) is a well-known and relatively complex prioritization model used in Agile software development. It’s based on the fundamental idea that work with the highest return on investment (ROI) should be prioritized and completed first.

Of course, this first means effectively measuring and benchmarking the ROI of different tasks. To achieve this, WSJF considers factors such as the predicted cost of delaying a task’s completion and a task’s relative size compared to other jobs on a project. There are specific ways of calculating all of these measures, which we’ll explore in depth in section 3.

How is Weighted Shortest Job First different from other prioritization models?

The main difference between WSJF and other prioritization models is its focus on ROI. Other models may only account for a job’s size or relative importance when determining its priority. To calculate ROI, WSJF requires more measures, which means it’s also more complex to implement—calculations need regular updating throughout a project or sprint, making WSJF quite labor-intensive.

Because WSJF is applied in Agile environments, the fact that it takes into account the cost of delay is also significant. Agile relies heavily on feedback, collaboration, and short turnarounds. Since the development process is shorter and more responsive to change, delays can easily disrupt progress. Additionally, Agile focuses on rapid experimentation and learning, so each delay carries a cost in terms of lost learning opportunities.

2. How product managers use WSJF

Now we’ve got a basic understanding of WSJF, how do product managers actually use it?

To understand this properly, it helps to contextualize the context in which we might apply it. Namely, in an Agile environment. 

Let’s take a look.

How does WSJF work in Agile?

While we can apply WSJF in any Agile development methodology, it’s best suited to the Scaled Agile Framework, also known as SAFe.

SAFe was initially developed in the early 2010s to meet the needs of large-scale organizations managing multi-team Agile software projects. These projects are typically more complex than single-team Agile initiatives, which justifies the additional labor required to implement the model. WSJF is ideally suited to prioritizing SAFe’s product backlog items, basing decisions on each task’s relative business value, risk reduction, and time criticality.

It’s important to emphasize that the WSJF model is best for prioritizing product development tasks involving complex, high-risk projects or initiatives that require a significant investment of time and resources. This is why it’s so well-suited to SAFe, which usually involves many stakeholders and extensive collaboration, and therefore benefits from a structured decision-making process (rather than flying by the seat of one’s pants!)

Examples of the kinds of things we might prioritize using the WSJF model include:

• Product development roadmap planning
• Feature prioritization
• Establishing development timelines
• Long-term resource allocation

Because WSJF is relatively resource-intensive, it’s not suited to every job. It’s not worth the time and effort when dealing with smaller things like:

• Bug fixes
• Minor feature enhancements
• Quick fixes and small improvements
• Short-term resource allocation

How do product managers use WSJF?

OK, now we have some context, how do product managers actually use the WSJF model to prioritize tasks? Put simply, for each task, they’ll use the model to calculate the following key metrics:

• Cost of delay: This is the estimated cost-benefit of completing or not completing a task at a particular time. It considers any financial or strategic impacts, such as the cost of lost revenue, the competitive advantage of undertaking a task, customer satisfaction, and more.
• Task duration: This is the estimated amount of time and resources it will take to complete a task, from the moment the project kicks off to its final delivery to the client. It will take into account all development days.
• WSJF score: This is typically a numeric value calculated using the cost of delay and job duration metric for each task. The higher the value, the higher the task’s priority, and vice-versa.

By inputting WSJF scores into a spreadsheet or prioritization matrix with the scores of other tasks, product managers can quickly see what needs to be done first. Simple! 

3. How is WSJF calculated? A step-by-step guide

Okay, so the principles of WSJF are fairly straightforward. But getting to the point of calculating each task’s WSJF score requires a bit of work.

In this step-by-step guide, we’ll use examples and formulas to help you. While navigating these calculations, remember your overall aim: to identify the tasks that will deliver the most value in the shortest time.

As such, the tasks the model prioritizes might not seem intuitively correct, especially if you’re used to focusing on the more time-consuming or customer-demanded tasks first.

The WSJF score is ultimately decided using the following formula:

WSJF score = cost of delay/job duration

To get to the point where you’re ready to use this formula, you’ll first need to carry out a few other calculations.

For argument’s sake, let’s say you’re a product manager who wants to calculate the WSJF scores of several product development tasks, including:

1. Developing a new autosave feature
2. Refactoring an existing codebase
3. Increasing overall system performance

For each item, you’ll need to do the following.

Step 1: Create a task matrix and value scale

The WSJF equation is straightforward but you need to calculate several other values first. To keep track of these, create a blank table similar to the following: 

Don’t worry about the headings just yet—we’ll get to those in a minute!

First, you’ll need to decide on a numeric scale to assign values to each metric. Why? Because it’s common to measure things like the cost of delay using fiscal values and job duration using time, it’s much easier to assign a consistent metric to each from a predefined scale.

Typically, in WSJF, values are represented using a modified Fibonacci scale. Using a single scale keeps things consistent and makes it easier to calculate and compare final WSJF scores for different tasks.

For this example, we’ll adopt a 7-point modified Fibonacci scale (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20) with higher values representing higher priority tasks and lower values representing lower priority ones.

Step 2: Estimate the cost of delay

Next, you need to estimate each task’s cost of delay. This factors in things like the money, time, and other resources that will be lost if the task isn’t completed on time, or if you delay starting it.

The standard formula for estimating the cost of delay is:

Cost of delay = user-business value + time criticality + risk reduction and/or opportunity enablement

Hang on, though! What is each of these terms? And how do you measure them? 

Here’s a summary:

• User-business value considers both the relative value of the task to the user (in terms of improved experience or increased profits, etc.) and the business (in terms of increased revenue, market share, etc).
• Time criticality considers the importance of the task being completed on time. For example, if a task needs to be completed by a certain date to avoid the customer canceling the project, or to meet a legal requirement, time criticality will be high. Meanwhile, if a task can be completed anytime without causing any issues, its time criticality will be low.
• Risk Reduction and/or opportunity enablement considers how completing the task on time will either reduce risk or enable new opportunities. For example, if completing the task on time will reduce the chances of a lawsuit being filed against the company, risk reduction will be high. On the other hand, if completing the task on time will enable the company to access a new market, opportunity enablement will be high.

Measuring all of these will involve bringing together relevant team members, executives, or other stakeholders to determine appropriate scoring. To measure the cost of delay for a new feature, for example, you might need input from your development team and/or financial director.

While the cost of delay is ultimately a fiscal estimate (and you should keep track of these monetary values) don’t forget to assign each value a number on your Fibonacci scale to make calculating your WSJF score easier.

Start by looking at your table. Taking one column at a time, assign the lowest priority task with a 1 (there should always be a 1 in each column), and then go up from there. Once you’ve completed each column, add the values in each row, and, hey presto, you have your relative cost of delay value.

Here’s how these might look on your table:

Step 3: Estimate the relative job size/duration

The next step—and you’ll be glad to hear this one is a bit easier—is to calculate the relative job size or duration of each task. 

Relative job size estimates the amount of work required to complete a task. While the measurement doesn’t have a specific formula, it still requires careful consideration and input from team members who will be working on the task at hand.

For example, to develop the autosave feature, you might speak to your development team and determine that the relative job size is 10 development days. Similarly, if you’re refactoring the existing codebase, you might estimate that the relative job size is five development days (and so on).

Note that your estimated job duration should never be longer than the period you’re prioritizing tasks for. That is to say, if a feature’s development is estimated at 14 days, your sprint should be at least this long. If your sprint is shorter than the estimate, you’ll need to break the task into smaller chunks.

Once you’ve estimated the duration of each task use your numeric scale to assign a value to each so that you can place final estimates into the WSJF equation. 

Here’s how your table should look:

Step 4: Calculate the Weighted Shortest Job First score

Finally, you’re ready to calculate your WSJF scores. Satisfyingly, this is the easy part!

Input each relative cost of delay and duration estimate into the WSJF formula, and repeat for each task. In our example, this provides the following values: 

Using this method, we can see that the task with the greatest priority—according to the model—is to increase system performance. This is followed by developing the new autosave feature and, finally, by refactoring the codebase.

While this is a simplified walkthrough of the model, it clearly illustrates how it works. If you want to understand it better, the best thing to do is put it into practice with your own software development tasks.

Remember: the WSJF model is not an exact science. This is because it’s impossible to accurately predict the cost of certain tasks before they’ve taken place, especially if you’re developing novel features nobody has created before.

For this reason, you should constantly make adjustments to your calculations as you go. And remember that the final decision always lies with you as the product manager. A model is an excellent tool for helping with decision-making, but it’s not a crystal ball.

4. Wrap-up

So there we have it, the Weighted Shortest Job First prioritization model in a nutshell!

In this post, we’ve explored how prioritizing tasks is essential for efficient product management. Specifically, we’ve looked at the WSJF model, which is used in Agile software development, particularly the SAFe methodology.

We’ve learned that the WSJF model is based on the principle that the task with the highest return on investment should be prioritized and completed first. To measure ROI, WSJF takes into account things like the predicted cost of delay, a job’s relative size, and other risk factors.

Using this guide and a bit of practice, you should now be able to use the WSJF model to prioritize tasks within your own Agile development environment.

In the meantime, if you want to learn more about product development, sign up for this free, 5-day product development short course, or check out the following guides:

• How to Become a Product Manager: Your Complete Step-by-Step Guide
• 13 of the Best Product Management Tools for Your Stack
• How to Write a Winning Product Manager Resume

But is it possible for every organization to work that way? When thinking of Agile product management, you might think of a small team huddled together, working on an idea, creating output fast.

However, when thinking of large organizations or enterprises, you might rather think of processes being slow and bureaucratic. 

The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) provides a way for large organizations to implement Lean-Agile practices. Thus making it possible to work more time and cost efficiently, as well as customer centric and to put a focus on team collaboration.

In this guide, you’ll learn what SAFe is, the core principles it’s based on and what benefits it has.

We’ll cover the following:

1. What is SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework)?
   • Scaled Agile Framework principles
   • What are the four levels of SAFe
2. Benefits of using SAFe
3. How product managers use SAFe
4. Scaled Agile Framework FAQs

1. What is the Scaled Agile Framework?

The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is widely used within large organizations to manage complex projects over multiple teams and departments.

As the name already indicates, SAFe is a framework that implements Agile practices on a large scale, where Scrum or Kanban alone are not enough anymore. SAFe provides an efficient way of aligning teams, improving collaboration, managing dependencies, and delivering value to the customers.

Scaled Agile Framework principles

In order to achieve its aims, SAFe offers a comprehensive set of principles. These are set out in great detail on the official SAFe website, but I’ll summarize them for you here:

 Take an economic view 

Maximize value while trying to keep development time as short as possible.

Apply systems thinking 

A person or a team is not operating within a vacuum, but is part of a larger system. Therefore, one should always consider how their work affects the rest of the system.

Assume variability; preserve options 

Instead of committing to one design option and a set of requirements early on in the development process, it’s encouraged to work with several design options and requirements for a while and let empirical data help with the final decision.

Build incrementally with fast, integrated learning cycles 

Working in short intervals (such as sprints) guarantees fast output and therefore fast customer feedback. This feedback can then quickly be integrated, using prioritization models such as Weighted Shorted Job First (WSJF).

Base milestones on objective evaluation of working systems 

There should be set points of evaluation throughout the development cycle, to assess the solution that is being worked on. This is to minimize risk and maximize value.

Make value flow without interruptions 

The processes within the development cycle should be as smooth as possible, in order to create a continuous flow of value to customers.

This includes for instance, limiting work in process, reducing bottlenecks, minimizing dependencies and getting faster feedback. Employing an Agile Release Train will really help with this.

Apply cadence, synchronize with cross-domain planning 

Cadence means that the development cycle runs by a certain rhythmic pattern, which creates predictability within the process.

Predictability for everyone involved—the developers, management, stakeholders, and the customers. And synchronization across teams and departments is needed for alignment and risk reduction.

Unlock the intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers 

An organization should create an environment for its employees where they can autonomously make decisions, since they know best about matters of their own work. This autonomy can then create space for innovation.

Decentralize decision-making 

In order to deliver value increments fast, decision-making should be decentralized, meaning that decisions should be made on the spot, by the teams and individuals involved without escalating it to the level(s) above, so that delays can be avoided. However, when it comes to strategic decisions, the decision-making should be centralized.

Organize around value 

Focus on the value that can be created for the customer, instead of focusing on functional expertise.

What are the four levels of SAFe?

SAFe 6.0 (the latest version of the framework) offers four different levels of configuration. This way organizations can decide which configuration fits best to their needs. The levels are as follows:

Essential

The Essential SAFe configuration is a common starting point for implementing SAFe within an organization. It focuses on managing multiple agile teams and projects. 

Large Solution 

The Large Solution SAFe configuration offers a scaled-up version of the Essential configuration, meaning that even more teams and more complex projects/solutions can be managed. This configuration is meant for large enterprises.

Portfolio 

The Portfolio SAFe configuration offers portfolio management, high level strategic planning, and Lean budgeting.

Full

As the name suggests, the Full SAFe configuration offers all of the aforementioned configurations together and is thus the most comprehensive configuration.

2. Benefits of using SAFe

The most obvious benefit of the Scaled Agile Framework is its scalability, meaning that even big enterprises can use agile and lean practices and thus coordinate many teams and projects in a time and cost effective way.

Through SAFe, organizations are also able to quickly react to customer needs and market changes, which is important for customer satisfaction. Another benefit is the high level of transparency and collaboration between teams.

3. How product managers use SAFe

The Scaled Agile Framework differentiates between product management (as a more strategic department) and the role of Product Owner, who is part of an agile team and supports the implementation of the product strategy.

Let’s go through some of their respective responsibilities in more detail:

Product management:

1. Exploring markets and users
2. Connecting with customers
3. Defining product strategy, vision and roadmaps
4. Managing and prioritizing the backlog
5. Delivering value

Product owner:

1. Connecting with the customer
2. Contributing to the vision and roadmap
3. Managing and prioritizing the team backlog
4. Supporting the team in delivering value
5. Getting and applying feedback

This shows that product managers do have a place within SAFe, they just have to decide how they want to work. Would they prefer to work more strategically within the product management department, or more operationally, as a product owner.

4. Scaled Agile Framework FAQs

Let’s go through some of the most common questions relating to SAFe:

What is SAFe vs Agile?

Agile is an idea (or a set of principles) to work faster, more flexible, more efficiently, and at the same time customer-focused. SAFe is an agile framework, which implements these agile principles on a large scale within organizations.

It should also be mentioned that not everyone considers SAFe to be truly agile, since it takes quite some planning ahead in order to align a large number of teams efficiently. This means that flexibility and speed have to be compromised.

What is SAFe vs Scrum?

SAFe and Scrum are both agile frameworks. Scrum is used to manage a single team. The framework defines a team’s processes, responsibilities, roles and ways of collaboration. All of this is provided to work in a fast, flexible and customer-centric way.

SAFe on the other hand is a scaled framework, meaning it’s used if several agile teams need to work together. The bigger an organization gets, the harder it will be to continue working in a fast, flexible and at the same time customer-centred way, since there will have to be much more aligning between teams. SAFe offers a complex framework that allows big organizations to continue working in an agile way.

5. Final thoughts

The Scaled Agile Framework offers a viable solution for big organizations or enterprises to implement Lean-Agile practices and methodologies. It’s fair to say, though, that SAFe is a complex framework, which will take some time to learn and to implement.

As a beginner product manager it’s certainly worthwhile being aware of what is SAFe, its benefits and limitations, as well as where you can slot into it.

Do you want to learn more about product management? Then sign up for CareerFoundry’s free product management short course or check out some of the other guides:

• What Is the Product Management Process? The 7 Stages Explained
• The 11 Top Product Manager Interview Questions, Answered
• Product Manager Salaries in San Francisco: All You Need To Know