What technical skills should product managers have?

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You should know how to conduct market research, data analysis, A/B testing, and you definitely need at least basic knowledge of SQL language.

Data is going to be your best friend. You should have extensive knowledge in data extraction/analysis, database management, knowing how to organize everything in Microsoft or Google Excel.

Expect to do some sort of coding. You won't have to know it in-depth but you should be able to communicate back and forth with engineers. So you will need to know coding technology and processes. Also some software development.

You have got to be able to work well under pressure. Meeting deadlines is extremely crucial. Also, you must be organized.

Definitely be solid with Data...being good with data will serve you right.

Plenty of skills go into the work of a Product Manager. Computer programming, technical writing, and agile software development are some of the lesser-mentioned skills that go into it. The other, more obvious skills would be communication, analytical skills, time management, and A/B testing.

A good product manager must have communication skills. Product managers spend much of their days communicating in one form or another. From product meetings to presentations. They should also possess technical expertise.

Not sure I agree with some people’s comments here. I guess it depends on your Product org. But in my personal experience, I’ve never had to code as a PM. And I certainly don’t think it’s a required skill to have for some companies. In fact, I’ve used more SQL as a business analyst working under PMs than I do now.

However, all that said, you should still have a basic understanding of software development and the processes/methodology to deliver quality software (SDLC, agile vs waterfall, etc.). Biggest technical skill you should have is being able to analyze data. Knowing what to look for and how to interpret a bunch of data has been super crucial to me in all my PM jobs.

Also just wanted to throw out there, I would argue that PMs should be stronger with their soft skills (which is what many folks are mentioning here, like communication and organizational skills). Not to say that you shouldn’t work on your technical skills…but I’ve noticed PMs that have strong technical skills who tend to tell their teams exactly how they should build something and getting way too buried in the weeds.

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