“Data product” as a phrase is pretty abstract. It isn’t until we get down to the nuts and bolts that it is possible to say “oh yeah, I can see what you mean”. I’ve written about a data product as a product where the end user experience is enhanced/improved by data. I thought today it would be helpful to look at an open role at Apple to see how they approach the concept. The role is “Data Product Manager - Ad Platforms”. The
Love the idea of trying to understand Data PM roles by breaking down job descriptions! This role in particular is very interesting as it feels like it overlaps with analytics/data science leadership vs data product management.
IMHO, based on the role description and requirements it feels more like they need a data "advisor" than a PM. I would argue that a significant part of the responsibilities of this role could be performed well by experienced data analysts/scientists working closely with the Ads Platform PM. A Data PM could be brought in when they need to build features that leverage data/predictions that can help improve the performance of the Ads Platform itself. Or if the data collected by this platform is important enough for the broader organization that it needs to be treated as a product in itself.
That way, the PM would be empowered to own a problem space and have the resources to build solutions to solve them. Either way, this is role is a great example of how "data product management" can be pretty abstract and why the nuts and bolts matter.
What Is a Data Product Manager? An Example from a Role at Apple
Love the idea of trying to understand Data PM roles by breaking down job descriptions! This role in particular is very interesting as it feels like it overlaps with analytics/data science leadership vs data product management.
IMHO, based on the role description and requirements it feels more like they need a data "advisor" than a PM. I would argue that a significant part of the responsibilities of this role could be performed well by experienced data analysts/scientists working closely with the Ads Platform PM. A Data PM could be brought in when they need to build features that leverage data/predictions that can help improve the performance of the Ads Platform itself. Or if the data collected by this platform is important enough for the broader organization that it needs to be treated as a product in itself.
That way, the PM would be empowered to own a problem space and have the resources to build solutions to solve them. Either way, this is role is a great example of how "data product management" can be pretty abstract and why the nuts and bolts matter.