Blockchain is filled with different products, offering varying features and use cases. These products have processes, which need to be overseen by a manager-blockchain product manager.
Some blockchain products are deploying decentralized finance functionalities, changing the governance system, and so on. It is the duty of a product manager to monitor the progression and development of the product. As a blockchain product manager, the professional interacts with different teams in the organization. They are present from the conceptualization of the idea to the launching of the product.
Usually, the job description of a product manager may vary depending on the potential effects and development process of the product. In a firm, the tasks earmarked to a manager for one blockchain feature may differ from what is expected of another product lead overseeing another feature.
Generally, the role of a blockchain product manager is product management, which involves analyzing the criteria that must be ticked during the development phase. They also have to deploy a development strategy and ensure that the different participants involved in the creation and deployment of the product follow the laid-out principles. Their duty also involves monitoring the tasks done by other members of the product development team like the data scientist, UI/UX designer, blockchain developer, smart contract engineer, and so on.
A product manager working in the blockchain industry needs to ensure that all the checkboxes created to guide the product development are ticked in real-time. They need to ensure that the clients’ needs are satisfied in the product.
Generally, the product lead acts as the bond between the different members of the team, ensuring that everyone works uniformly.
Job Description of a Blockchain Product Manager
As earlier mentioned, the blockchain product manager oversees the entire lifecycle of a product, making tweaks where necessary. Their job description may vary from one product to the other, but these are their major roles:
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Write out the vision of the product
Every product released on the blockchain has use cases and satisfies some needs. It could be to make decentralized trading better for traders in the ecosystem or a lucrative yield farming product that rewards users with lucrative APY. The product manager defines the product vision, which is the reason behind its creation.
Every product development process needs a strategy that must be followed to ensure that a workable product is available to users. The strategy is created by the product manager, who monitors other team members, ensuring that they strictly follow it.
A typical product has a roadmap, which details the entire process that will occur before it is launched to the market. It also showcases the expected timeframe for the varying stages. The product manager is responsible for defining all of these.
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Researches and incorporates the needs of clients
The sole aim of creating a product is to satisfy the needs and requirements of clients. A decentralized exchange is expected to have a product that allows users to swap one token for the other with little or no slippage. This is a basic requirement that every exchange is expected to possess. Blockchain product managers should anticipate the needs of clients and incorporate them into the product development plan. They act as the customer advocate articulating the potential needs of the users.
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Partners with other team members
The product development process is not done only by the product manager. Software engineers, blockchain developers, product designers, customer support personnel, marketers, and sales team are also involved in the process, meaning that the product manager is expected to work effectively with them. The product lead interacts and works closely with the aforementioned professional to ensure that the product is developed and launched using the strategy.
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Market Expert
Blockchain product managers need to understand why clients use a product and fancy the features of a platform to the other. They need to understudy the products released by competitors and carry out a SWOT analysis (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat analysis) to improve their products.
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Organizes beta and pilot programs
It is the duty of a blockchain product manager to initiate pilot and beta programs to test out the quality of the products before they are released to the public. During the programs, the product is tested to see if it ticks the necessary boxes, safe for usage, free from bugs, and so on. When the products are publicly launched, they are reviewed regularly to see if they still satisfy the needs of clients.
• Creates the business case for product improvement or new product development
As time goes on, an existing product available to the public may need alterations. It may have become obsolete and no longer fancied by users. The product manager has to be abreast with changes in the blockchain space and know when to build up a business case requesting alterations to existing product(s).
Regularly, new technologies are introduced into the blockchain space. For example, in the past, crypto-assets were restricted to one chain, and it was impossible to move an asset from one chain to the other. Now, cross-chain functionality exists, as crypto-assets can be moved from Ethereum to Binance Smart Chain and vice versa. A product manager has to know when to develop a business case for new products to ensure that the company is at par with its competitors or ahead of them.
How To Become A Blockchain Product Manager
The job description of a blockchain product management expert may seem daunting, but it is possible to become a product lead with some crucial steps.
• Understand blockchain fundamentals
As a product manager working in this field, it is paramount that the professional has an in-depth knowledge of the building blocks of this technology such as the consensus mechanism, the needs that the product intends to solve, smart contracts, and so on. During meetings, the manager will describe the plans of the company concerning the clients, and the way the intended products will satisfy the clientele base. To effectively communicate the above, the product lead should be well versed in blockchain terminologies. As the head of the product team, the manager also has to ensure that the developers, designers, and other team members do not go against the laid-out strategy.
• Understand blockchain languages
Typically, a product manager is not expected to code or learn blockchain programming languages like Solidity and Rust, but it is wise to understand the basics of the major languages. Understanding these languages makes it easier for product managers to be empathetic and interact effectively with other members of the team like developers, product designers, and so on.
• Learn product management fundamentals.
It is expected that a blockchain product manager should understand the basics and building blocks of product management. How should the product management process begin? How do you ensure that team members follow the laid-out guidelines to the end? How do you ensure that the needs of clients are satisfied in that product? Is the product development process rigid or is there room for tweaks?
To understand the important aspects of this career, there are different online and physical classroom courses that can be used. Online academies like Khan Academy and Coursera have product management courses. Universities also offer similar courses, both online and offline. Free training sessions on YouTube abound for potential product managers.
• Create your own products
Learning the theoretical aspect is the first step to becoming a blockchain product manager, and it is important to hone it by practicing with projects. People can demonstrate and improve their skills by practicing the different parts of the product management process like performing user-testing, writing scenarios, and so on.
The entire process needs the collaborative effects of others, meaning that a new product manager must find a team of individuals. An easy way to do this is to apply for a product internship program, which allows you to learn and practice.
• Develop a portfolio
While learning and practicing, a blockchain product manager has to create a portfolio of projects to display their skills and previous works. The portfolio should discuss the obstacles that were faced, the contributions made, and how the solutions improved the situation. A blockchain product manager is a problem solver in the blockchain space, meaning that it should be communicated in their portfolio.
Similar Names to Blockchain Product Manager
Similar names to blockchain product managers are associate product manager, product owner, group product manager, and chief product officer. The name titles may be different in varying companies.
Salary of a Blockchain Product Manager
In the United States, according to Glassdoor, “the national average salary for a Product Manager is $113,446 per year.” A Senior Product Manager is expected to earn $146,585 annually, while a Leader of Product earns $101,870 per annum.
In Conclusion
- A blockchain product manager is a crucial role in every blockchain-related organization.
- Product managers oversee the entire product development and launching process.
- It is a lucrative job, especially in the United States.
- To be a successful blockchain product manager, it’s crucial to understand the intricacies of blockchain technology and product management.
- There are several courses available online for potential product leads to use.
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