The role and job of a Product Manager in software product development is challenging and multi-dimensional. PM’s are constantly faced with numerous forces both external and internal while crafting and delivering software products. The definitions around expectations from a PM role and outcomes are often nebulous. The role is critical to the success of a product from its inception to when the product is retired. Sound product management practices and skills are learned mostly on the job. Product Managers also play the role of providing purpose to a team in addition to motivating and inspiring the team to successfully deliver a software product.

A Product Manager's job thereby can be both rewarding and challenging at all time. Through this workshop, we share a few tips with PM's around to help them navigate and evolve in their roles. They are focused around two aspects -

• The first : A PM is constantly working with several personas like marketing, sales, customers, vendors, partners, engineering, business sponsors and support teams. Each PM also brings their own distinct persona characterized through specific traits to the working environment. Can PM’s play with their strengths and compliment a product team to be effective influencers and efficient orchestrators, to help deliver the best products?
• The second : A PM is constantly having to make decisions often with short runways. Decision making is compounded with several parameters such as customer needs, business goals, price, positioning, priorities etc. What can PM's do?

Gayathri & Chitra have worked with several PM’s and bring to the audience experiences and experiments around the 2 areas described above. This workshop is a combination of short narratives and activities around -

• Product Management Life cycle understanding.
• How PM’s can discover their persona & strengths and those of their stakeholders quickly to build influence & collaboration.
• A handy tool kit to help with decision making