Re: Anyone know of tech writers that became program/product manag ers?
From what you guys are saying, it sounds like a perfect fit though...
I am totally digging the aspects of Program Management:
- Driven, must get the result.
- Work with a ton of people in the middle of things and pestering them... Not off in the corner writing the documentation
- Confrontational
- Lots of details
- Lots of scheduling
- Stay on top of bottlenecks
- Word is law
- Conveys beliefs, gets everyone on board and working to realize them
I am also digging the required intangible qualities:
- Extremely likable, social, gets energy from working on the team
- Enjoys the risk and drama of the project possibly not working out
- Is therefore dedicated to making it work out
- Consistently delivers the goods
- Thrives in high stress environments
- Fine with being highly visible
- Voted "Most likely to be a CEO" in high school
- No procrastination allowed
- Chatty, constantly checks in to make sure that the TPS reports are done
And as I understand it, utillizes basic project management skills and adds:
- Works to fulfill customer needs and adapt business practices/product appropriately
- Writes up specs for changes to be made to product, like a system analyst would
- Bridges the gap between marketing requests and positioning and technical teams and required development
Finally the value that a technical writer adds is:
- Can explain technical and marketing people to each other.
- It can be a suitable role for a former technical writer because a writer often has a similar position, especially in a small company.
Here's Microsoft's definition of a Program Manager:
Technical/Program Management - Driven to Succeed
Program managers are customer focused, working to ensure that the products Microsoft produces will delight users and enable them to do their best. Program management is also an opportunity to flex technical muscles: your technical decisions and direction are what drive products and features through to completion.
Working across multiple groups with marketing and sales personnel on the customer end, program managers translate customer requirements into product features and create functional specifications. On the implementation end, they prioritize and deliver on those features, working closely with key technical resources, such as software development, testing, documentation, localization, tech support, and more.
Program managers typically have a software development background. This technical expertise is blended with evangelism, empathy, conflict negotiation skills, and a passion for driving projects through to completion.
I've copied and digested all of the comments and points I've collected on the list to summarize points...
Joe Malin-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't know of any, but I went in the *opposite* direction, was a program
manager and then product manager.
I think that good program/product managers are more "born" than "made".
You need to have a strong, driven, results-oriented outlook. You have to
be a "people person" who gains energy as you work with people, but you
also have to have the courage and tenacity to confront people from time
to time. You have to be detail and schedule-oriented. You have to sweat
the details, and it's all details. You will be ahead if you thoroughly
understand each part of the product/program delivery process, but you
can learn that. Not all of this sounds like the typical tech writer, so be warned! Lots
of people do program or product management, but the best ones are
likeable, extroverted, highly visible, and "successful." The last one is
hard to define. The program/product managers that "make it" are the ones
that consistently deliver "the goods".
This is, by the way, a very high-stress position. You have to be the
ultimate owner/problem-solver/sh*t-disturber/woman on a white horse. The
upside is that you have tremendous visibility in an organization. Most
Silicon Valley CEOs I know have some product management background.
Kevin--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've worked with some good product/program managers, and
they made my life as a techwriter ever-so-much easier.
Two things:
- As a techwriter, it is possible to be a kind of procrastinator.
That is, when you normally have several projects on the go, you
can start looking at one, then just put it on the back burner,
to percolate in your own mind (and to develop a bit in engineering)
before you come back to it. Then, as the overall project nears its
end, you can make a moderately heroic effort and churn out the docs
and come in under the wire. You can do that, because you start
priming the pump and then let certain processes take place in the
background, both inside your head and in other departments.
As a product/program manager, you can't do that. You must really,
REALLY keep on top of all the project details and push them
forward each and every day. You don't get to just check in,
once in a while, to see that things are on-track. OTHER people
check in with you, and your little feet must be paddling
furiously beneath the water as you calmly dispense answers,
instructions, and plan updates on the surface... often for
several projects that are competing among themselves for the
same resources... including those pesky techwriters.
You also need to be on top of the people who don't feel the
need to check in. They need more attention some times, so
that their critical contributions don't become bottlenecks.
- As a program/product manager, you need to be able to make a
decision and crack the whip. You have to regard your word
as "law" and you have to convey that belief to everybody
else (in the nicest steamroller way, of course :-), or you
will never get everything done on time. Pareto and the
80/20 rule apply, with a vengeance.
David------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As it happens, I am now being considered for a project management position.
In some companies, a "product manager" is in more of a marketing
role--seeking to help establish pricing, distribution, and collecting
feedback for future versions. This may also include construction of
use cases or other requirements statements that may otherwise reside
in the project management function.
In the project management universe, a "program" is a collection of
projects that are similarly managed. In a very large program, each
subproject may have a separate project manager who reports to the
program manager.
Strictly speaking, therefore, a project or program management role is
usually more of an organizational management function, although
certainly a product may also be managed using project management
methods.
However, these definitions may be more fluid than we might wish--so
the definition of the role may vary quite a bit from organization to
organization.
Bruce Byfield-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've been there and done that a couple of times. The exact definition of
a product manager varies with the company, but the position is often a
pivotal one. Good product managers need to have both detailed technical
knowledge of the product or product line and an understanding of the
market. This dual role often means that a product manager is in the
position of explaining technical and marketing people to each other. It
can be a suitable role for a former technical writer because a writer
often has a similar position, especially in a small company.
Did you have any specific questions?
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