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January 6, 2022

Why should hardware & IoT products focus on product management

When business owners start planning a budget, they notice that they need to spend a lot of money on marketing and a product development team, be it IoT or hardware products. Then they start thinking about whether it is worth spending so much money on advertising? Do they need such a large team of developers and various managers? Maybe there are ways of cutting development costs, or they can avoid hiring analysts, product, or project managers. In this article, we will explain the key roles in each project and why they are crucial. 


We will start with an example of a tech giant whose projects have failed because of insufficient market research and poor product management. In the 1990s and 2000s, everyone adored Nokia for the reliability, autonomy, and durability of devices. Today you can warmly remember the time when you could forget about charging your phone for the whole day, talk freely, write messages, and play snake on Nokia. Unfortunately, when the time to progress came, and mobile phone manufacturers realized that they had to focus on software and improve the operating systems of mobile phones, Nokia went the other way and lost the race. Their smartphones have failed over and over again because it was not what the audience wanted. 


This might not have happened if the company's management had made the right decision and led the company along the right path. Therefore, in every business, it is crucial to take into account market research, marketing, and project management altogether.


Let's look at which specialists are key in each project and what their role is.


Hardware and software developers

Developers are those who will directly carry out the work and implement the tasks that are described in the specification. They may not be aware of market trends, but they know how exactly a task needs to be completed to match the specification.

But what exactly they will do will be decided by the business owner, business analyst, project manager, and product owner.


Business analyst

Many people underestimate the role of a business analyst on a project. This specialist is engaged in “translating” the requirements and wishes of a business owner into the language of the developers. A business analyst’s task is to understand how the business works, what the needs of all stakeholders are, and to create a concept, and then a development specification that will take into account the wishes of all parties. A business analyst knows exactly how to write a requirement for developers. That is why such analysts are one of the key figures in the development. The clearer and more accurate they formulate requirements, the better the developers will understand what to do.


Project manager

A project manager makes sure that the development tasks that are in progress meet the deadlines and that the project does not exceed the planned budget. A project manager also provides a working mood in the team and resolves any development issues or interpersonal conflicts. Also, project managers provide reports to the business and product owners on the progress of project development.


Product manager

All decisions regarding the development and future of a project are made by product managers and, accordingly, if something goes wrong, they will be to blame for it. Product managers think globally. They follow the events in the world and how competitors behave, what trends are emerging, and what position the business and product should take on the market. They make data-driven decisions gained from business analysts. They mark all the metrics to evaluate product market success. At the same time, a product manager can perform the tasks of a project manager and supervise product development. So, nowadays product managers play a key role in any hardware and software project. The manager who will lead your product, who will be responsible for the results and supervise the dev team.


Output

Choosing a reliable product manager is like choosing a business partner - this is a crucial decision for a company owner. Almost all good product managers work in leading consulting, product, and service companies. Therefore, many business owners are looking for companies that provide such specialists for projects. Wingle is one such company. The staff has product owners and project managers who can help with the implementation of a product within the deadline and budget. Just jump to the RFP page and let us know that you are interested in product management services.

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