Product Development vs. Product Management

Product development focuses on creating the product, product management is responsible for the product’s life cycle. Product managers deal with tasks such as market research, competitive analysis, and feature prioritization. Product development teams take these inputs and turn them into a tangible product.

Product Development vs Product Management

What is Product Development?

Product development is a process of developing new product or service to market, from idea generation to launch. It constitute various activities, market research, product design, development, testing and launch. The primary objective of the is to create a product that meets customer needs and business objective.

What is Product Management?

Product Management is a role in an organisation that is looks after the overall product success. It constitute complete process from idea generation to final product launch and feedback analysis. The prime goal is to manage the complete product lifecycle ensure the product meets all the requirement and delivery is on time.

Product Development vs Product Management

Aspect	Product Development	Product Management
Focus	Creating the product.	Managing the product throughout its lifecycle.
Primary Goal	To create, manufacture, and launch a new product.	To ensure that the product aligns with market demands and continues to meet customer needs throughout its lifecycle.
Role	Involves creating the product, from idea to launch.	Involves overseeing the product’s entire lifecycle, from idea to retirement.
Responsibilities	Market research Competitive analysis Feature prioritization Strategy development Post-launch management	Conceptualization Design and development Testing Manufacturing Launch
Timeline	Focused on specific project timelines for individual product development efforts.	Considers the long-term lifecycle of the product, from its introduction to its eventual retirement.
Customer Engagement	Involves engagement during product development, especially in testing and feedback stages.	Engages with customers throughout the product’s lifecycle, gathering feedback and insights to make improvements and adaptations.
Flexibility	Often follows a structured, sequential approach.	Requires flexibility and adaptability to respond to changing market conditions and customer feedback.
Key Output	The product itself, created and ready for market launch.	Informed decisions on how to enhance and manage the product during its lifecycle.
Stakeholder Collaboration	Collaborates closely with design, engineering, and testing teams.	Collaborates with various teams, including marketing, engineering, and customer support, to ensure the product’s success.
Success Criteria	Success is often measured by the successful launch and adoption of the product in the market.	Success is evaluated based on the product’s ability to meet customer needs, generate revenue, and maintain competitiveness over time.

Explanation

• Focus: Product development focuses on creating a new product from the initial idea to its launch. Product management, on the other hand, centers on managing the product throughout its entire lifecycle.
• Primary Goal: Product development’s primary goal is to create and bring a new product to market. Product management aims to ensure the product remains relevant and meets customer needs throughout its lifecycle.
• Role: Product development is responsible for creating the product, while product management oversees the entire lifecycle, from concept to retirement.
• Responsibilities: Product development includes tasks like design, development, testing, and manufacturing. Product management encompasses market research, competitive analysis, feature prioritization, and strategy development.
• Timeline: Product development focuses on specific project timelines for creating individual products. Product management considers the long-term lifecycle of a product.
• Customer Engagement: Product development involves customer engagement during testing and feedback stages. Product management engages with customers throughout the product’s lifecycle to gather feedback and make improvements.
• Flexibility: Product development often follows a structured, sequential approach. Product management requires flexibility to adapt to changing market conditions and customer feedback.
• Key Output: The key output of product development is the product itself, ready for market launch. In contrast, product management’s output is informed decisions about how to enhance and manage the product over time.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: In product development, collaboration primarily occurs with design, engineering, and testing teams. Product management collaborates with various teams, including marketing, engineering, and customer support.
• Success Criteria: Product development’s success is typically measured by the successful launch and adoption of the product. Product management’s success is evaluated based on the product’s ability to meet customer needs, generate revenue, and remain competitive over time.

Conclusion

Now we know about the that product management and product development are two distinct but complementary profession that are essential for delivering a successful product to the market. Product development is focused on creation of product while product management is focused on planning, execution, launch and post launch tasks. Both profession require a deep understanding of the market, the customer, and the product itself.