Product management

There’s a timeless debate in software development about the difference between project management and product management - and don't even get us started on “program management”!

These terms are often used interchangeably and typically encompass all the work outside of design and development required to bring projects to the finish line.

Though there are many similarities between these disciplines, there are some important differences that help us to shape our unique identity that stands out in a sea of generic software houses.

We have already described Project management in detail, but to summarise, we see it primarily as the timeline management and client communications necessary to build and release a project. It focuses more on the coordination required to build a roadmap, manage tickets in Linear, and communicate updates and potential pitfalls to our clients.

Although we believe our project management skills are a step above the competition, our work in this field is similar to the work, our clients will get in engagements with most typical outsourced development agencies. Though this type of project management work helps ship products, our clients should feel confident they are spending their time and money on building the right product for their target users.

We should separate ourselves from other agencies through our intense focus on product management. Instead of just sitting back and coding exactly what our clients tell us to build, we partner with them throughout the product development process. We strive to make all our client's products and businesses successful - their success is our success!

We do this by bringing our decades of product insights accumulated across the team to the table in deep conversations with clients at every step of the product development process. Our Product Discovery process begins before constructing a single wireframe or writing a line of code. After designing wireframes or launching products, we also assist our clients with User Research and User Testing to ensure they are on the right path toward building the perfect products for their target users.

Our approach to product development includes healthy doses of data analysis and intuition. It’s always a balance — there are times when we must dig deep into the data before discovering the path forward, and there are others when our assumptions are enough to guide us to the next product iteration. We strive to take the approach that makes the most sense for each unique situation.

With all that said, it’s important for us to work with clients who value our product insights and are open to implementing them. You can read more about what kinds of clients are a good fit for us in the Culture section of this Handbook.

Read more about our product management processes and best practices in this section to see how we guide our clients in developing the best possible products!