I hate articles like this more than anything. If you really want to help product managers, do you have to spend the first half of the article telling them that you're so much more important than them? It takes two hands to clap.
The worst ones: I wrote the specs. Instead of talking about technical stuff, I have to explain why something like "getting cache coherency right" is going to cost three or four days, and that no, I can't go to another scheduling meeting right now, didn't we have one yesterday?
The best: Shields.
The worst: "Why isn't that bug fixed? I'm going to call a meeting about that bug at 4:00, and I want it fixed by 5:00" [seriously. this happened]
> However, the reality is that you need engineering more than they need you.
And it's basically true. But I thought the line
> You are overhead.
Was too harsh and a slam.
If the author really feels that's a notable point to make, it deserves a lot more explanation.
There are no "one PM shops".
Case closed.
Product managers are an extension of people's normal employee workflows but expanded for coordination and communication, however there's nothing preventing the PM from exercising minimal responsibility on things like product design and whatnot.
Whatever. I like the article, it makes some good points.
It's hard to write an article explaining one side of a situation like this without 'taking sides'.
I think the the PM role/title has become such a generic position that articles like this one are really taking a stab at anyone non-engineering, not that I am upset by it.
As a startup founder, meshing technical teams and non-technical teams is extremely difficult to do. The work environments, thought processes, personalities, etc. are so different.