Product Management Venn Diagrams
Question: "There seems to be several Venn diagrams floating around the internet trying to explain product management. Does Blackblot also have a Venn diagram?"
Venn diagrams are simple drawings, usually of overlapping circles, which attempt to explain the relationship between objects.
Venn diagrams are only as good as the argument they attempt to represent. If the theory the Venn diagram is based on lacks credibility or can be proven to be inconsistent then consequently that Venn diagram lacks any practical significance.
The closest thing to a Venn diagram in the Blackblot PMTK Methodology™ is the schematic diagram which explains the first Blackblot PMTK Methodology™ foundation rule which states that "Product management is comprised of product planning and product marketing."
This schematic diagram asserts that product management is a domain which contains two disciplines: product planning and product marketing.
Each discipline has its own related competency. Product planning's related competency is knowing the customer (customer advocacy) so that the company can build the required product functionality for the user.
Product marketing's related competency is knowing the product's business value (business value) so that the company can inform buyers about the product's business value, which can influence the buying decision.
The overlap area between product planning and product marketing signifies the product. The overlap area also represents ongoing communication and interaction between the two disciplines.
The overlap area also means that the product planner must understand the business value represented in a feature which was built for the user, and that the product marketer must also understand the functionality represented in a feature which was built for the user because the buyer is acquiring the product for the user.
It is noted that not separating the two aforementioned disciplines will result in a job description overlap which causes unclear roles and responsibilities in product management.
For more information, see the What is Product Management? video presentation which explains the definition of product management according to the Blackblot PMTK Methodology™, and the Definition of Product Management - Blackblot PMTK Book Chapter.
