I just posted an article on the Innovation Jam, Accept Software’s blog, with yet another shot at a good metaphor for product management:

Product management is a complicated and multi-faceted activity, and each of these concepts offer useful guidelines as we strive to create successful and useful products that kick ass. But there are several other characterizations I’ve found helpful over the years both to understand what I do, and to explain it to others. Since they’re not common, I would like to share them (over several posts):

One aspect of the product manager role is to do impedance matching.

From Wikipedia: The term ‘impedance’ means the resistance of a system to an energy source. For constant signals, this resistance can also be constant. For varying signals, it usually changes with frequency.

Impedance is an unfamiliar concept if you’re not an electrical engineer or a ham radio operator (I was KA6HAJ). But it basically means the resistance of a medium to information transmission, usually between components of different types. I think we can all agree that customers and developers are “different types” – and there’s naturally a communication barrier.

The product manager’s job is to bridge that barrier. In the language of electronics, the product manager is a type of transformer.

Wikipedia again: … [transformers are] used extensively in modern communications, particularly in frequency conversion mixers to make cellular phone and data transmission networks possible.

The product manager takes the signal from the market – needs, desires, complaints, misunderstandings – and transforms it into a signal that the engineering organization understands – requirements, specifications, defects, enhancement requests, and so on. Likewise, the product manager takes the signal from the engineering organization – a product with features – and transforms it into a signal for the market such as a value proposition, a set of benefits, and talking points.

Link: How To Talk To Your Mom About Product Management

I’d love to hear your thoughts – either here or on the Innovation Jam!

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