My company has been putting a lot of energy into developing our Product Manager group. I recently attended a conference in Silicon Valley given by Marty Cagan of the Silicon Valley Process Group. Marty has recently publish a book named “Inspired: How To Create Products Customers Love”. The conference was primarily for Product Managers. I went with members of the Management team to get an idea where we might be able to improve our Product Management activities and team. The conference consisted of 25 or so members. I was probably the only person representing development. What struck me as odd was just how many Product Managers were 'non-technical'.
I've always thought that some some of the best Product Managers I've ever known have an extensive technical background. Does that mean that every Engineer would make a good Product Manager? I think we can all agree that the answer to that is no. I believe that a good Product Manager is a rare find. It takes a lot of resources and time to develop one. They should be coveted.
That's when I ran across this post from Scott Bellware. He describes a 'Chief Engineer'. This concept was originally formulated by Toyota and is documented in the book 'The Toyota Product Development System'. Scott takes it further and argues that we should be doing this for Software Engineering. I couldn't agree more.
I also agree that any company serious about their Product Management function needs to take a serious look at this strategy. It's a long-term investment, but it will make you more nimble down the road.