How the Future will Shape Product Management?

Product Managers have to be forward-thinking by nature. They need to foresee what customers will want, where trends will take the market, and what new opportunities may appear. For my team and me, it seemed only natural to apply this thinking to product management itself.

We surveyed our community of over 500,000 global Product Managers to help us answer key questions about the future of our industry. This is what we found.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a hot topic, and Product Managers must prepare for it

It may come as no surprise, but Artificial Intelligence (AI) was at the forefront of our community’s mind at the end of 2019 and will continue to be in 2020 and beyond. It came up in our report as the main buzzword of 2020, the most important skill for the next decade, and the biggest disruptor.

While it’s certainly not a requirement to have a technical background to break into product management, it is becoming more and more of an advantage to be able to speak an engineer’s language. To be able to spot opportunities to innovate and disrupt with Artificial Intelligence, it’s absolutely necessary to understand it. For many, this may mean leaving a non-tech comfort zone and upskilling in new areas. Those who invest their time here will stay ahead of the curve.

Remote may not be the future for Product Managers

« Digital Nomad » became one of the hottest business phrases of the 2010s, thanks to technological developments that made working online easier and more accessible.

However, our survey found that 70.2% of product managers prefer to work at the office, going against the status quo.

There are several role-related reasons for this. It’s a stereotype that a Product Manager’s day is always full of meetings, but it’s not wrong; a Product Manager’s job is based largely on collaboration. Although you can do many things remotely thanks to tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and G Suite, there are Product Manager-specific tasks that are better done in person. Leading without authority is not as easy to do as other roles that function more in isolation. This is especially true when we consider stakeholder management.

That being said, we can still expect to see a rise in remote product management positions. Despite preferring to work in the office, 7 out of 10 of our surveyed Product Managers foresee an increase in available remote roles in product management.

Not everyone takes a remote position simply because they want to work from a Balinese beach. Remote work allows people to be employed by companies outside of their cities without having to relocate. It also offers more flexibility around location and work hours, something 67.5% of Product Managers truly value. Some smaller start-ups prefer to offer remote positions because having fewer in-house employees means spending less on office space.

So, while we won’t see a shift to a completely remote industry anytime soon, there should still be a steady stream of remote work for Product Managers who prefer it.

Human-Machine collaboration is key

We asked our community if they believe the future of human-machine collaboration will have a positive impact on the product management industry, specifically, and 95.5% said yes.

The collaboration of artificial and human intelligence has a power that we are not currently able to predict. But if there’s one thing that humans love, it’s potential, and there’s plenty to be found in the future of machine learning.

When surveyed by Harvard Business Review, companies from 12 different industries reported an increase in performance directly linked to how many human-machine collaboration principles were adopted.

The future will surely see us further optimizing our relationship with machines, and letting our opposing capabilities complement each other.

What does this mean for product management? Machines are still dependent on people to decide their use and to train them. A program might be the most intelligent of its kind on earth, but without a person to give it questions to ask, what good is it? Product Managers will be the ones deciding which questions to ask.

All of that isn’t to say that we should take advantage of every opportunity technology presents. There have already been lengthy talks about how to regulate the use of new technologies and to make sure that human rights and privacy are not infringed upon. Product Managers will have to ask themselves: We could do this, but should we?

Growth is most valued

So far we’ve discussed what people can do for their businesses, but what can businesses do for their employees?

We found that Product Managers value growth above things like compensation and flexible hours. If they don’t offer a path forward in terms of personal and professional development within a company, bosses risk seeing their talent walk out the door toward better opportunities. There’s no quick fix for improving growth opportunities within a business. It’s a long-term investment, but it leads to long-term gains. Creating a culture of growth within a company is a big step and one that must be made for businesses to adapt in 2020.

In product management, cross-departmental training and mentorship schemes are a great tool for helping Product Managers build up their skill set. As previously mentioned, Artificial Intelligence will be an in-demand skill, so it will be beneficial for Product Managers to spend as much time with engineers and data scientists as possible.

And, of course, we can’t forget the most obvious answer: Investing in certifications and training.

At the end of this, businesses will benefit from a more educated, informed, and experienced workforce and enjoy higher employee retention rates.

The future, both for products and professionals, is bright. But that doesn’t mean that the industry can rest on its laurels. Product Managers have to stay hungry for knowledge and always reach for the next innovation.