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Différence entre un Chef de Produit et un Chef de Projet: Avis des professionnels

«Bon nombre de personnes et bien souvent des professionnels du marketing ont tendance à confondre chef de projet et chef de produit. Ils estiment que c'est la même chose. Certaines personnes ne savent pas la différence. Certaines personnes avec qui j’ai de relation de travail disent que le travail d’un chef de projet est le même que celui  d’un chef de produit ».

Afin de pouvoir aider à faire une distinction s’il y al lieu d’en faire une, sur ces deux postes, j’ai recueilli des avis des professionnels du domaine aux quatre (4) coins du globe sur un forum de discussion LinkedIn. Ces avis au nombre de 10 vous sont retransmis en anglais de sorte à ne pas sortir les mots de leur contexte lors d’une quelconque tentative de traduction. L’anglais étant la langue des affaires, j’ose espérer qu’il n’y aura pas d’entrave à la compréhension des contributions ci-dessous mentionnées. J

Le Sujet :

« Many people do get confused between a project manager and product manager. They feel that it is the same. Some people don’t know the difference. Some people when I work with them they say your work is the same as the product manager.

I would kindly appreciate if you could give me your experience from your professional life regarding this scenario.”

Les avis:

1. I don't have as much experience as the other guys here, but I can provide an information of what I am currently trying to achieve in a company I started in recently, and that never had a product management department before.
   
   Basically I would say that the product manager (PDM) is responsible that the right things are created, and project manager (PM) is responsible that they are created the right (most effective) way.
   
   PDM solves the question: WHAT should be developed. The job requires that the PDM is facing outside the company - toward customers, target markets, competitors, etc.
   
   PM manages HOW the WHAT is developed. The job is inward facing, mostly concerned with available resources in the development department that will build the WHAT the most effective way.
   
   I hope it makes sense.
2. Having worked as a product manager and project consultant both, I would like to express my views on this. The main difference between product and project managers is the fact that they have different objectives. The project manager has to deliver in time and as planned, a Project Manager is like a midwife – he delivers a project and then moves onto the next one. The Project Manager cares for the product up until the product is delivered and then hands the responsibility over to the mother. Where as the Product Manager is akin to the mother. He conceives the idea, runs with it for months, through gathering information about product requirements, development, testing etc. He goes through the exercise of bringing that product to market and then supports it until it goes obsolete. The Product Manager's job is never done !
   
   I hope that suffices !!
3. Great answers so far. Product managers must indeed focus on the "what" more than the "how". The role takes a long-term view and will be a driver of many projects, but requires the ability to abstract product vision, features and roadmap from numerous tactical projects. In a smaller or growing company, however, a product manager will likely find themselves managing some projects. OTOH, project managers aren't as likely to take on the role or tasks of a product manager.
4. The roles and reponsibilities of product manager and project manager are different. Product manager focuses on product itself such as product planning, product design, product manufacuting, product configuration, part suppliers, product documentation as well as product marketing. Main attributes are product concept, design models, manufacturing process, documentation, change and release management.
   Project manager focuses on project goal which should be on scope, on time, on control. Main attributes are project members, schedule, activities, roles, resources, risks, costs.
5. The product manager is ultimately responsible for the realization of the business case. The project manager is responsible that the project meets the timeline, resources, and budget commitments.
6. I cannot remember where I read, but the definition was great, so I would like to share.
   Product represents the essence of business; how it thrives, grows and brings revenues to the firm. Projects are vehicles which derive, deliver and support products or any other elements related to them.
   
   That's why the responsibilities are different and the above great people already mentioned them.
7. In a nutshell Product Management encompasses a lot more planning, market analysis, strategies, and direction of the product (product roadmap). The Product Manager receives inputs from many different sources and blends them together into a plan.
   Project Management is a set of methodologies for delivering projects (which can be a product by the way). The Project Manager ensures that what is being delivered is on time, within the proper budgets and specifications while also managing changes. He/she also makes sure that the proper resources are in place and the scope is kept under control.
8. As a product manager, one actually OWN the product and concentrate on its business value and contribution, like what a entrepreneur would do inside a company and manage the life cycle of the product.
   
   Well, as a project manager, the target is to get the ASSIGNED project done with limited budget and within time constraint.
   
   Hopefully this helps.
9. The Product Manager (PM) decides who gets on which train and who doesn't, and where the trains should go; the Project Manager (PjM) makes sure the trains run on time. PM is often the more visible role, but a good PjM turns a "good" product launch into an "enviable" one.
10. In my experience, the two roles are confused/closely aligned during the new product development phase where product managers would often define and deliver the product. In these instances; a product manager can act as a project manager especially where project scope is small. I've consistently seen the role of project management diminish in the later life cycle stages of projects. The exception being "large or complex" products where product enhancements need complex change management or significant re-engineering of the enabling platform.

Un responsable marketing que j’apprécie énormément a fait la contribution suivante: « Le chef de projet disparaît avec son projet. Le chef de produit gère N projets sur son produit »

J’aime bien les deux (2) premières propositions. Et vous ?

Il me plaira d’avoir votre avis et d’échanger avec vous sur ce sujet.

Bien à vous,

Arnold GNAMA

Comment les chefs de produit définissent leur métier en une phrase?

Qu'est-ce qu'un chef de produit? &Que fait exactement un chef de produit?& - Comment se définissent les chefs de produit en une seule phrase ? J'ai recueilli sur un forum LinkedIn les contributions

http://maitredeepblue.over-blog.com/2014/03/comment-les-chefs-de-produit-definissent-leur-metier-en-une-phrase.html

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