Bi-Directional Product Management

What if product managers did something else?

For a while now, I’ve had this suspicion that something is wrong with product management more broadly — especially as it relates to the roles responsibilities. I believe there might be alternative way to do this job that is fun, and more effective for the customer and organisation. It also may fix a wide-spread problem for product managers that prevent them from doing the things that are essential.

Bi-Directional Product Management is an idea I’ve talked to a few friends about as a bit of a thought experiment, but not so much in public. I’m posting this, in many ways, to start the conversation and see what people think. Perhaps this will allow others to consider this (or other methods) as a viable alternative organisational structure.

Potentially for the brave, it may even stimulate the idea how software teams could be arranged in ways that are outside the norms but vastly more effective. Maybe it’s time to adapt the product management role for new environments and contexts that look very different than they did ten years ago.

Emerging motivations

Recently, more motivation came my way to lean into this because of some research the partners did at the management consulting company I work for, ByMany…