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- Lead a team that creates and develops digital products and services
- Combine strong organising skills with creativity and innovation
- Progress into senior management roles or start your own business
Digital product owners or managers take on overall responsibility for one or more digital products or services (like an app or online platform) in terms of their design and development.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Managing the development and planning process with your team
- Representing users by gathering and analysing feedback to help improve the product
- Working with UX design specialists to make sure the product is something that people like and is easy to use
- Developing business cases and user stories for new features
- Working with the design team to draft first versions of your product or service
- Keeping people informed about your product
- Managing less experienced product managers and supporting their development
- Producing reports on the performance of the product
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
You might work for one company, managing its products, or you might work for an agency and manage products for the agency's clients.
You'll need
There are a wide range of routes into this kind of work. You could start out with an organisation in a junior role and work your way up, building skills and knowledge as you go, or you could start by studying for relevant qualifications before applying for roles.
If you decide to go to university, relevant degree subjects include business management, project management, computing or marketing.
Alternatively, you could start by doing a project manager degree apprenticeship, then get experience of working in digital delivery teams before taking on a role as a product owner.
You could also start out in an associate product owner role. You'll usually need to have some relevant work experience in a job like product marketing, software development, customer experience, or user experience (UX) design.
When you're looking for work, most employers will expect you to have an understanding of online user behaviours; knowledge of search engine optimisation (SEO), analytics, UX, design and marketing; experience in helping a business make major changes in digital; and knowledge of agile project management methodologies like Scrum, Kanban and Lean.
You can build your skills and knowledge in these areas by completing online courses, many of which are free to access, and by joining online communities for product managers, which may also provide you with networking opportunities.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience, you could apply for a more senior role like head of product or senior product manager. You could also move into general senior management positions. Some product managers become self-employed.