Back in the day, the process of product management was a laborious one, to say the least. You take a product manager and give them a whole list of things to do, including market research (and a whole lot of it), market requirements for a new product, generating a business case, road mapping the product, dealing with all kinds of specifications and so on.
All this information would then be given to the project manager and developmental teams, the knots would be worked out as best as possible, and then the plan would be finalized and executed. Now, this way of working wasn’t bad, per se, but it was very time-consuming and resource-intensive. Most importantly, it was very restricted.
The traditional approach to project management doesn't really allow any room for innovation. A product manager was simply identifying a problem a customer had and creating a product to fit the need…and that was pretty much it.
And again, there’s no problem with this, but when time passed and the world became a lot complicated—i.e., digital products became available—a more complex and accessible approach was needed. Enter Agile.
Agile has changed the way we product manage forever, and below, I'm going to tell you how.
Early Feedback, Critical Changes
One of my favorite things about using Agile is the fact that users and customers can provide early feedback to companies during the early stages of development. This means instead of creating a product and seeing it all the way through to the end, only for it to flop, adjustments can be made along the way.
For example, a user might sample a product and like it what it has to offer, but may start using it in a way the developers never intended, opening up a whole new range of opportunities and direction for the project.
Better Planning, Greater Development
Whereas in the past, a product manager would have been the one to set out all the requirements for a product, ensuring that all responsibility landed on their shoulders, now a developmental team will work together to come up with ideas, requirements and specifications.
This means that problems highlighted during the developmental process can be changed quickly and effectively, backlogged items can be addressed just as quickly, and any kind of quality or quality of life adjustments can be fixed with the minds of many, rather than just being decided eventually by an individual.
There are also a lot more creative solutions that can be brainstormed as a group.
Faster Process, Quicker Market
"When working in an Agile team, rather than using a traditional management method, the time-to-market is so much faster. This makes sense since you have more people working together towards a common goal, rather than just one person trying to manage everything," explains Amy Manby, a tech writer at OXEssays and Assignment Services.
This means a company can release products faster and to a higher quality, address and keep up with the latest trends, and address problems that may arise after a product come to market.
The Challenges of Agile in the Modern World
While product management has come such a long way over the years thanks to Agile, that doesn't mean there are necessarily fewer problems in the processes to deal with, but rather new problems that must be faced.
“I’ve personally found that since there’s rarely one single person in a team who’s making decisions, but rather everyone works as a collective unit, there tends to be less authority, and fewer people are standing up to make executive decisions,” shares Ben Jacketts, a product manager at Essayroo and BoomEssays.
Roles within a team and individuals’ responsibilities can also become confusing if communication is not managed and implemented properly, which can open the door to all kinds of new problems.
Finally, Agile management styles can be so data-driven that some Agile teams can cease using direct customer interaction entirely, making it incredibly difficult for teams to empathize with their customers and address their issues effectively.
As you can see, there’s no denying that Agile has revolutionized the product management world, but what I find more exciting than anything is seeing how it’s going to change the world in years to come. Will Agile continue to be developed, or will it be left behind entirely in favor of something new?
We can only wait and see.
