Product Development vs Product Management

Product Development vs Product Management

Product development vs product management. What are the differences and similarities between the two? How can your company implement them?

Product Development vs Product Management

Firstly, product development refers to the process of turning an idea into a product. It is essentially the act of creating the product. In some cases, the idea may be provided by your company or by a customer.

Product Management, on the other hand, is the practice of managing a product from its inception to its launch out in the market. It includes various steps such as:

1) Planning. A plan needs to be created that outlines when and how a product will be developed and what are the activities that need to be performed.

2) Research. Research is needed to understand your market and customers. What are their needs? What do they value most? Or what do they like or not like? How can you improve on an existing product or create something entirely new?

3) Strategy. This involves deciding on what course of action will be most effective for your company and its products.

4) Execution. All plans need to be put into action. So, this includes developing a product, bringing it to the market, making it available for sale, etc.

5) Maintenance: You can’t just stop there! Product management also involves ensuring that you keep up with changes in consumer demand and competition. You also need to monitor how your product is faring in the marketplace. Are there changes in consumer behavior? Can you make improvements to your product or even tweak it completely? Should you add new features? Can you remove unnecessary ones? Is it time for you to create a new product?

Product Development and Product Management

So, in summary, product development is more about creating a product while product management is about managing that product once it has been created. The former provides an output while the latter focuses on creating an outcome (such as profits). There are times though when these two concepts overlap. How?

Firstly, both are concerned with bringing a product to market. Product development focuses on the technical aspect of creating a product, while product management focuses on the business aspect. Both are needed for a product to be successful.

Secondly, product management is more concerned with the result. While product development deals more with the process of creating the product. So, both are important and both are needed.

Finally, your company may have both functions rolled into one. For instance, if you work for Apple, then you will be both in charge of developing and managing products. However, most companies have separate people in charge of each function. Thus, product development will be handled by one team while product management is handled by another.

Conclusion

 As you can see, it is important to know the difference between product development and product management. What you need to do now is translate that knowledge into action. Think of a product your company is working on. If you are in charge of it, what would be the best way of handling it? Which role would you take on? What steps will you take to bring your product to market?

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