Essential Tools Every Digital Product Manager Needs
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Published:
October 2, 2023
Reading Time:
7 minutes
As more organizations lean towards digitalization strategies, the demand for personnel with digital product management expertise has invigorated in the last few years.
As of 2022, more than 1,100 US-based B2B tech companies were hiring for Product roles, the Product School cited data by Peer Signal. Product managers also came in fifth on the list of top jobs in America on Glassdoor in 2019.
With the capability to drive revenue growth along with excellent strategy, design, and leadership skills, Digital Product Managers help firms grow, innovate, and accomplish their goals.
With this blog post, Consultport is excited to share insights into the factors that have been driving up the need for Digital Product Managers and essential tools for managers to bring better efficiency to their organizations.
As of 2022, more than 1,100 US-based B2B tech companies were hiring for Product roles, the Product School cited data by Peer Signal. Product managers also came in fifth on the list of top jobs in America on Glassdoor in 2019.
With the capability to drive revenue growth along with excellent strategy, design, and leadership skills, Digital Product Managers help firms grow, innovate, and accomplish their goals.
With this blog post, Consultport is excited to share insights into the factors that have been driving up the need for Digital Product Managers and essential tools for managers to bring better efficiency to their organizations.
Why Demand for Digital Product Managers Go Up and Up
1. Increasing interconnectedness
Writing about the increasing need for digital product management roles, Carlos Gonzalez De Villaumbrosia, Founder and CEO of Product School, said the demand is driven by the product economy.The time when distinct products were typically designed for one single purpose has long gone. The so-called Internet of Things has driven up the interconnectedness in almost every product we use today.
A simple example of this is when the Apple smartwatch one wears on their wrist nowadays functions not just as an item to tell time but can also track users’ steps. At work, one can see that their software receives data from across many departments, allowing teams to work with each other more efficiently.
This interconnectedness is followed by a great deal of complexity, which needs to be managed by competent digital product managers, Carlos said.
Demand for Product Managers has “never been higher” as almost every device in our home and work life today functions as a digital product, he added.
2. Changing business landscape
According to industry insiders, the need for more product managers is also attributed to multiple factors including an increasingly fierce marketplace and the evolution of data and advanced technologies. An article by McKinsey said the role of the product manager is expanding due to the increasing significance of data in decision-making processes, a greater focus on customer and design, and the expansion of software development methodologies. Krishna Saroj, Co-Founder and CMO of FirmAds, in his article on Linkedin, argued that the “skyrocketing” demand is driven mainly by:- Market competition: The businesses’ need to differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive marketplace pushes the need for skilled managers who can create innovative and customer-centric products.
- Technological advancements: The development of such advanced technologies as AI as well as machine learning along with the Internet of Things, requires firms to recruit product managers who can master these tools to push product innovation and perfect user experiences.
- Agile and Lean Methodologies: With these methodologies, businesses can respond to market feedback, and deliver value more quickly. Managers skilled in these methodologies are well sought-after.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Product roles have been in great demand in recent years when more organizations shift to digitalization strategies.
Essential Tools for Digital Product Manager Consultants
As dynamic as it is, product management involves many different tasks. This requires Digital Product Managers and Digital Product Manager Consultants to keep themselves updated with a set of tools to support their team to ensure efficiency. These tools range from collaboration, and management to road mapping, and analytics.
Jira’s key features include task management, role assignment, bug tracking, roadmaps, reporting, and software integrations. With this management tool, Digital Product Manager Consultants can plan, track, and review projects in real time.
Jira offers two boards for managing projects, both of which are very visually attractive:
Kate Bennet, Director of Product at Lab Zero, wrote in her article on Medium that this is an “invaluable” tool for product management. It can be used for high-level road mapping, agile development, team retrospectives, brainstorming, task tracking, project tracking, and branding mood boards.
The data is useful in increasing conversions and reducing bounce rate as well as enhancing customers’s engagement with digital products.
Here are two areas where Google Analytics can be of crucial help for a Digital Product Manager Consultant:
- Engagement tracking: not just page views and bounce rate metrics, Google Analytics 4 allows managers to access data on engagement metrics for more accurate tracking results: engaged sessions, engagement rate, engaged sessions per user, and average engagement time.
- Predictive analytics: with algorithms that measure conversion progress, Digital Product Manager Consultants can identify their users and their activity on their website and app, from which they can make a prediction about future action through metrics like purchase probability, churn probability, and revenue prediction.
Mixpanel offers managers insight and retention reports, which are two crucial metrics to optimize the effectiveness of user data analysis.
For example, managers can analyze and compare the number of searches for specific items on their website to better understand the users’ demand.
Other reports such as retention and impact also help a Digital Product Manager Consultant have a clear picture of their product’s performance from launch, and pilot run to marketing.
The flagship features of Heap include:
- Journey analysis: Digital Product Manager Consultants can visualize and analyze customer paths inside the product. From this, their team can test the new feature and product changes and evaluate their impacts on conversion rate.
- Better understanding of user behaviors through segmentation:
Heap’s strengths lie in its comprehensive range of analytics and reporting features. With this functionality, Digital Product Manager Consultants can have insights into various aspects of user behaviors. Its application in both web and mobile-based products and use of real-time data tracking are also strengths that are worth managers' consideration.
Not limited to roadmapping, Monday also features other tasks like resource management, calendar management, file sharing, time management, and email integration. It can integrate with other project management apps like Jira, Trello as well as Slack, and Google Drive, among many others.
1. Project management and collaboration tools
1.1 Jira
Jira can be an excellent tool for managers of a diverse range of projects: software, HR, sales, marketing, finance, legal, operations, design, service management, and design.Jira’s key features include task management, role assignment, bug tracking, roadmaps, reporting, and software integrations. With this management tool, Digital Product Manager Consultants can plan, track, and review projects in real time.
Jira offers two boards for managing projects, both of which are very visually attractive:
- Kanban is typical for agile and DevOps software development, helping teams visualize their workflow.
- Scrum is an excellent option for managers who wish to track their project’s progress according to the deadlines that have been set. It allows managers to break large projects into manageable tasks.
1.2 Trello
Trello features a range of boards, lists, and cards for managers to organize and set priorities for their projects in a flexible way. It offers templates for so many types of projects: product management, project management as well as marketing and productivity, engineering, design along with operations.Kate Bennet, Director of Product at Lab Zero, wrote in her article on Medium that this is an “invaluable” tool for product management. It can be used for high-level road mapping, agile development, team retrospectives, brainstorming, task tracking, project tracking, and branding mood boards.
2. Analytics tools
Making an informed decision based on real-world information is important and there are a number of tools for data-driven product managers to achieve that end.2.1 Google Analytics
This is a free tool for a Digital Product Manager Consultant to explore and analyze customer data. Google Analytics provides managers detailed reports on user behaviors, their locations, and per click quota, as well as their location, what device they use, and how they interact.The data is useful in increasing conversions and reducing bounce rate as well as enhancing customers’s engagement with digital products.
Here are two areas where Google Analytics can be of crucial help for a Digital Product Manager Consultant:
- Engagement tracking: not just page views and bounce rate metrics, Google Analytics 4 allows managers to access data on engagement metrics for more accurate tracking results: engaged sessions, engagement rate, engaged sessions per user, and average engagement time.
- Predictive analytics: with algorithms that measure conversion progress, Digital Product Manager Consultants can identify their users and their activity on their website and app, from which they can make a prediction about future action through metrics like purchase probability, churn probability, and revenue prediction.
2.2 Mixpanel
This product analytics tool also provides managers with insights into customer behavior in real time to drive better product decisions.Mixpanel offers managers insight and retention reports, which are two crucial metrics to optimize the effectiveness of user data analysis.
For example, managers can analyze and compare the number of searches for specific items on their website to better understand the users’ demand.
Other reports such as retention and impact also help a Digital Product Manager Consultant have a clear picture of their product’s performance from launch, and pilot run to marketing.
2.3 Heap
With a range of features that Heap offers, the product team can track user interactions and have an improved understanding of customers’ needs.The flagship features of Heap include:
- Journey analysis: Digital Product Manager Consultants can visualize and analyze customer paths inside the product. From this, their team can test the new feature and product changes and evaluate their impacts on conversion rate.
- Better understanding of user behaviors through segmentation:
Heap’s strengths lie in its comprehensive range of analytics and reporting features. With this functionality, Digital Product Manager Consultants can have insights into various aspects of user behaviors. Its application in both web and mobile-based products and use of real-time data tracking are also strengths that are worth managers' consideration.
3. Product roadmapping tools
These tools are crucial for product managers and their teams to plan, set priorities, and align a product strategy with the firm’s goals.3.1 Aha
This product suite helps Digital Product Manager Consultants set strategies and create interactive product roadmaps. With Aha software, managers can create visually attractive roadmaps to illustrate product development plans, tailor the roadmap, and share it via an auto-updated presentation or secure webpage. The tool also allows for communicating changes in real time. All managers need to do is choose a template that fits their needs, then customize the details and share it with the team.3.2 Monday
This is a roadmapping solution for teams of all sizes. Monday helps teams make plans, track, and manage their work. With Monday, managers can easily make customs roadmaps and Gantt charts (known as a task scheduling tool) and have a clear picture of everything, from print planning to bug tracking.Not limited to roadmapping, Monday also features other tasks like resource management, calendar management, file sharing, time management, and email integration. It can integrate with other project management apps like Jira, Trello as well as Slack, and Google Drive, among many others.
Conclusion
In today's world, Product is at the “intersection of everything”, from design, and marketing to sales, and revenue optimization, said the Future of Product Management report 2023.
More than 33 percent of Fortune 100 Companies now have a Chief Product Officer. This is equivalent to a 41 percent growth rate over the past three years, according to the report.
This is consistent with an article about the future of product management by the Economic Times that said there has been a growing demand for product management positions in the past decade.
With high demand, product managers, who are referred to as the “CEO of the Product’’, have fulfilling careers and a wide variety of choices for their career path.
Depending on their interests and career goals, one’s career path may start from Associate Product Manager to Senior Product Manager, Director of Product, VP of Product, and Chief Product Officer.
Many also choose to become a Digital Product Manager Consultant. Here at Consultport, we offer consultants an exclusive network of pre-selected clients.
If you are interested in utilizing your strategy, design, and leadership skills for exciting, high-value projects while still fitting your preference, why not join our excellent pool of best management consultants and digital experts?
More than 33 percent of Fortune 100 Companies now have a Chief Product Officer. This is equivalent to a 41 percent growth rate over the past three years, according to the report.
This is consistent with an article about the future of product management by the Economic Times that said there has been a growing demand for product management positions in the past decade.
With high demand, product managers, who are referred to as the “CEO of the Product’’, have fulfilling careers and a wide variety of choices for their career path.
Depending on their interests and career goals, one’s career path may start from Associate Product Manager to Senior Product Manager, Director of Product, VP of Product, and Chief Product Officer.
Many also choose to become a Digital Product Manager Consultant. Here at Consultport, we offer consultants an exclusive network of pre-selected clients.
If you are interested in utilizing your strategy, design, and leadership skills for exciting, high-value projects while still fitting your preference, why not join our excellent pool of best management consultants and digital experts?
