The Death of Product Management

The Product Manager (PM) role has gained prominence in recent years as companies have embraced Agile methodologies to drive innovation and keep up with rising customer expectations. The accelerating pace of technological advancements has made Product Management more complex while simultaneously increasing its importance in delivering successful products.

But is Product Management truly dying? Or is it evolving in ways that many organizations struggle to support?

Before diving into the challenges facing the role, let’s examine why Product Management is so critical.

The Product Manager’s Role

The responsibilities of a Product Manager vary across organizations, but at its core, Product Management is about strategically guiding a product’s development, launch, and growth.

PMs work at the intersection of business, techology, and UX/design, continuously addressing key questions:

• Do our customers want this feature or product?
• Can we build this feature or product effectively?
• Should we build this feature or product given our business objectives?

A well-functioning Product Management team ensures that innovation aligns with business strategy and user needs, driving long-term success. However, several systemic issues are eroding the effectiveness of the role.

Six Major Challenges Undermining Product Management

Despite its strategic importance, Product Management often faces significant hurdles that prevent PMs from operating at their full potential. Here are six key problems I’ve seen that threaten the role’s effectiveness and how they can be addressed.

Problem #1: Undefined or Poorly Defined Roles

Many organizations, especially those new to Agile, lack a clear understanding of what Product Managers do. This often leads to PMs being utilized as Project Managers (PJMs) who simply manage timelines, rather than strategic leaders shaping product direction.

Without a well-defined role, PMs can lose ownership over key decisions, leading to fragmented strategies and misaligned teams.

Solution: Companies must establish clear expectations for PMs, differentiating them from Project Managers and Business Analysts. Leadership should ensure PMs have the authority to drive product decisions while fostering collaboration across teams.

Problem #2: Forcing PMs to Wear Too Many Hats

The other common issue facing PMs is that many organizations — especially large organizations who are dealing with resource constraints — often stretch the PMs thin by forcing them to handle the Scrum Master and/or Product Owner roles.

PMs might be able to handle extra roles for a few sprints while hiring for these other roles, but forcing them to wear multiple hats for the long term can have devastating consequences.