By Marty Cagan · svpg.com · LinkedIn
Marty Cagan argues that many companies wrongly merge product management with project management, a habit inherited from shipped-software companies like Microsoft. That model breaks down for internet services, where many releases run in parallel on a shared codebase. Frequent releases on a common code base led many companies to adopt a release-train model, which requires dedicated project management coordination independent of any single product. Cagan concludes that for internet services the two roles must be separate or release management will thrash and slip, and that even for shipped software the roles benefit from separation given discovery versus execution differences.
01Key takeaways
- Don't assume the shipped-software model of combining product and project management transfers to web services.
- When many releases run in parallel, a release train needs dedicated project management not tied to any one product.
- Without separated roles, internet service companies will struggle with release management and suffer consistent delays.
- Keep discovery-oriented product work distinct from execution-oriented project coordination, even in shipped software.
02Key sections
- Origins of the combined role
- The product-plus-project management combination came from shipped software, where a product shipped as one self-contained unit on a matching cadence. Cagan notes Microsoft still uses the title Program Manager for this blend.
- Why the model breaks for web services
- Early internet companies copied the shipped-software model, but parallel releases with frequent small updates to a shared codebase made it unworkable. Project durations outlast release intervals, forcing parallel development.
- The release train and its conductor
- Companies adopted a release-train model in which many product managers' features ship together, requiring strong, dedicated project management often called a conductor. This coordination spans release management, engineering, site operations, and customer service.
- Separating the roles
- As release processes matured, companies like Yahoo and Netscape/AOL separated project management from product management and built strong dedicated competencies, a pattern later seen at eBay and Google. Cagan says the separation is essential for internet services and still useful for shipped software because discovery and execution differ.
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04Frameworks mentioned
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.