“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

—Arthur C. Clarke

Back in the early years, smack dab in the middle of my undergraduate studies at the University of Washington, I was unmotivated, lackadaisical, and uninspired by my general course list. Physics. Chemistry. Philosophy. Dinosaurs (yes, dinosaurs). The classes came and went, and none of the subjects captured my interest, or managed to convince me to formally sign away my remaining two years of dedicated focus. One day, as I was munching on a stale cinnamon roll and frantically trying to sign up for courses after sleeping through pre-registration, my friend sat down across from me and inquired about the level of stress visibly present on my face. We chatted about my difficulty in finding a topic that I connected with on a deeper level, and I had just about given up for the day until she said softly “why not computer or information science?” Full of ignorance and a false sense of understanding, I fired back with a hint of brashness: “you mean troubleshooting technical issues and plugging in ethernet cords? No thanks.” She laughed, shrugged off the sharp response, and proceeded to educate me for the next ten minutes about the power of product development, and the potential it had to change the state of the world. An architecture major, she likened software products as the virtual equivalent of constructing real-life dreamscapes with a blueprint, tools, materials, and labor. After ten minutes of drawn-out lecture, I decided to give in and slotted myself into an introductory computer science course. Hell, why not? The other majors weren’t clicking for me, so I had nothing to lose in this temporary pivot. Little did I know, those ten weeks to come would spark the drive I was desperately searching for, and completely immerse me into the challenging world of technological innovation and product creation.

Fast forward half a decade, and the technology industry is booming now more than ever. Students and aspiring technologists alike are ditching the traditional high-prestige titles of “investment banker” and “management consultant” to join the ranks of startups and established tech behemoths, all with the intention of adding their digital fingerprints to a piece of tech history. Empires are being built almost overnight, and company valuations have ballooned to heights the world has never seen. Perhaps the most compelling argument to be made for working in tech industry is the raw ability to create and deploy products that millions of people can use in a matter of minutes. Couple that with the growing demand for software engineers, product managers, and technical staff, and you quickly begin to realize that the opportunities are endless.

That’s where this book comes in.

The past few years have given rise to a relatively new role in technology: the product manager. Understandably, this creates a bit of confusion for practitioners who have become accustomed to titles like project manager, program manager, engineering manager, and so on. What’s the difference? Isn’t the product manager just a glorified idea guy? Is the PM part of the formal management team? What does a product manager actually DO? Over the course of the next couple hundred pages or so, I’ll attempt to break down the PM role, provide real-life examples of PMs and their daily set of duties, and dissect the three main knowledge areas that make up the ideal product manager (technical, design, and product/business strategy). Everything will be explained from a ground-up, basic principles view, and I will attempt to trim the fat and avoid the fluff as much as possible. In the end, I want this to serve as a handbook for any new or aspiring PM to kickstart their journey and lay the foundation for their career in product.

And with that, let’s begin.