Getting lost in the everyday hustle happens gradually. Once victims of the fast-paced life sink into the corporate abyss and begin taking on more and more responsibilities, it's nearly impossible to come out on the other side. While no one wants to work beyond their capabilities and requirements, unclear borders between seemingly similar roles obstruct flourishing management and employee satisfaction, ultimately steering businesses away from success. Self-confidence and education are crucial in setting boundaries—the first enables workers to stand their ground; the second equips them with the necessary skills to ensure their tasks don't transcend their responsibilities. In today's world, few aspects are black and white, and workplace dynamics are prominent between the shades of gray.
Product development and patenting ideas play a significant part in creating solutions to many unnerving issues that have daunted humans for decades or centuries. Adequate product development management determines success, and assigning clear roles and instructions to employees ensures the process progresses smoothly. Often, there are multiple leadership roles to fill, all relating to different aspects of the operation. For instance, product managers and project managers fulfill distinct responsibilities and goals aligning with the organization's mission. However, they are often mistaken for the same role.
While it is possible for one person to occupy both positions, splitting duties based on areas of expertise not only propels the success of products and projects but also ensures employees manage facets and angles in which they are most qualified. The distinction between products and projects is clear—products refer to physical or digital objects, such as furniture, clothing, apps, or websites, that serve a specific customer need, while projects encompass a set of tasks that need to be completed to achieve a desired result. According to these differences, product managers primarily focus on strategizing the product vision, and project managers fulfill it through logistics.
For Balajee Asish Brahmandam, an experienced software engineer, the striking contrasts between these roles became more pronounced while working at different-sized companies, ranging from startups and family businesses to large corporations. During his eight years in the field, crowned by academic accolades, such as a Master's in Information Technology Management, Balajee had to fill multiple roles, adjusting to the current needs of companies.
From a front-end developer and tester at startups to a DevOps and software engineer and senior manager at some of the most influential US companies, Balajee led multiple teams from both the product and project management side, successfully driving organizations to success, financial gains, and renown. He quickly understood the polarization of project and product management, realizing the global necessity for widespread awareness about this distinction.
Product managers take on a broad but high-level role in product development. Their duties include developing a vision that meets customers' needs, creating product roadmaps, determining feature priorities, monitoring progress, conducting research, and implementing strategies. Additionally, product managers frequently work with other teams and professionals, for instance, in engineering, design, and sales.
"I had to master the problem-solution process," adds Balajee. "If there was a problem, I had to find it. To do that, I needed to understand what the client was looking for or what he was grappling with. Through innovative thinking and critical skills, I would envision new features or applications that made life easier, strategize, and eventually launch that product."
While product managers focus on specific physical concepts and bring the vision to life through tech and expertise, project managers have all-rounded responsibilities across all stages. Some of their tasks revolve around establishing parameters and monitoring logistics and resources, and others are centered around maintaining efficient team communication, anticipating potential challenges, and ensuring the project comes to fruition within set timelines.
Balajee himself has a long and extensive career as an engineering manager, this role unlike the project and product roles demands full and comprehensive technical knowledge. Although the team dynamic differs from organization to organization, the parameters of this role do not. While project managers focus on project execution, product managers focus on product strategy, engineering managers focus on technical leadership & management.
"When two professions are associated so closely, they bleed into one another, and misconceptions are inevitable. While many-faceted positions are still common, understanding the differences and mastering those skills needed to thrive in either project or product management should be the priority," adds Balajee. "One can't exist without another, and we need both experts to ensure organic progress and success."
