Navin Ganeshan
Head of Driver Products, Amazon Relay, Amazon
Content
(Reposting this from a related question)
A technical product manager at Amazon is generally referred to as a
Product-Manager-Technical (PM-T). A PMT can have ownership over a product, a
functional area or even a program, but their primary focus is on formulating the
vision, the strategy and r...more
This is definitely a popular topic of discussion amongst PMs, and probably a
heated one at times. This is a good post that covers the most common including
RICE, KANO and story-maps.
https://roadmunk.com/guides/product-prioritization-techniques-product-managers/
Personally, I'm less dogmatic a...more
The process of starting with a vision for any product/feature is conceptually
simple, but also eludes many product managers who may be more accustomed to
being able to chart a path to "somewhere" rather than have to contemplate where
that somewhere is. It helps to demysify and de-romanticize the ...more
A technical product manager at Amazon is generally referred to as a
Product-Manager-Technical (PM-T). A PMT can have ownership over a product, a
functional area or even a program, but their primary focus is on formulating the
vision, the strategy and roadmap for that area. They are also ultimatel...more
First of all, we need to address Amazon's terminology for these roles. A
technical product manager at Amazon is generally referred to as a
Product-Manager-Technical (PM-T). Whereas a Technical Program Manager (TPM) is a
distinct role that sits at the intersection of product, engineering and progr...more
In a word, abstraction. A technical PM is usually NOT the most advanced
technical person on a team. However, they are able to break through sufficient
tech layers to be able to contextualize the tech in the overall product
development. They are able to draw the bigger picture of how components fi...more
To be clear, I don't believe a technical-PM is always a better PM. It comes down
to what attributes, passion and curiosity you posess and the direction you want
to go. A good technical PM is strongly curious about technology and how it's
used to solve the problem. They think of the problem, as we...more
To be blunt, I think they are critical. Data is the currency for any
decision-making, and analytical competencies are exactly what empower product
managers, technical or otherwise. For technical PMs, there is also an
expectation of data self-sufficiency where they are not as dependent on BI or
ot...more
This is a universal challenge for all product owners - how to ensure your
roadmaps don't get derailed. I take the perspective that you should expect and
accept a certain combination of planned vs opportunistic initiatives. Being
overly dogmatic in your roadmap against evolving circumstances is ju...more
A technical product manager has a more substantial role working with engineering
teams on core architecture and component design related to a feature. If all
product managers have allegiance to different dimensions - business/revenue,
customer experience, product/tech strategy, marketing etc - th...more
Credentials & Highlights
Head of Driver Products, Amazon Relay at Amazon
Product Management AMA Contributor
Top 10 Product Management Contributor