Successful product development requires technical prowess and strong business acumen. One without the other gets you nowhere.
Here enters the Technical Product Manager (TPM). Being both tech savvy and business trained, TPMs are the keystone of product development. Their sharp understanding of technical details and keen perception of the market allow them to transform technically dense concepts into desirable product features.
“A TPM focuses on managing complex technical projects and programs, working closely with engineering teams to ensure that technical aspects are executed efficiently. They act as intermediaries between the technical team and stakeholders, translating technical requirements into comprehensible terms and solving technical problems along the way.” — Caio Alves, Technical Product Manager at DevSquad
In the article we talk about technical product managers—who they are and what they do. We also share the qualities that make TPMs so awesome and why here at DevSquad they are the only type of managers we hire.
What is a technical product manager?
A TPM is the person directly responsible for the successful development of technical products and their alignment with the business goals and clients needs. The objective of this role is to succinctly navigate the engineering complexities of product development while maintaining a focus on market demands.
“Being a TPM is a high-risk role where you need to manage expectations of stakeholders and make sure you are helping them make the right bets.” — Pedro Pessoa, Technical Product Manager at DevSquad
What does a technical product manager do?
Technical product managers work closely with the engineering, development, network, and infrastructure teams to develop successful products.
TPMs also act as liaisons with product managers, marketing teams, and product owners to establish successful cross communication between technical and non-technical teams. This helps ensure that product development meets expected functionality. And, it helps stakeholders understand why certain features should be included in the design and how the products are produced.
“TPM is a dynamic and impactful role. It involves balancing technical expertise with strategic planning, ensuring that projects align with business goals while meeting technical requirements. The role is central to driving innovation, coordinating cross-functional teams, and delivering products that enhance user experiences. The ability to solve complex problems and effectively communicate with both technical and non-technical stakeholders makes the TPM role crucial in bringing cutting-edge products to market.”— Caio Alves, Technical Product Manager at DevSquad
Primary responsibilities of a TPM
The high diversity of technology and its applications means the role of a TPM can take many forms. Some may take full ownership of components of the product suite. Others may act as subject matter experts and consult across multiple products. While the roles may vary, common responsibilities of a TPM include:
Manage product vision - TPMs carry the product vision developed by the product owner. This includes addressing questions and concerns about the product’s objectives necessary to create a workable blueprint. And, clarifying sort-term and long-term product goals to optimize feature planning and development.
Product roadmap - Creating the product roadmap is one of the key responsibilities of the TPM. The roadmap translates the product vision into an executable plan. It establishes the division of tasks and timelines necessary to create the deliverables on time.
Market research - Market research responsibilities for a TPM is unique. The research includes standard market research to find market gaps, managing user feedback to understand customer needs, and internal communications with the engineering and design teams to understand (in their perspective) what is and is not working. All the information is then compiled to find the best solutions that also maintain the product vision.
Risk assessments - It is up to the TPM to assess the risks of product development. Ideally, the TPM will anticipate issues before they arise and steer the team around them. They are also responsible for preparing contingency plans as well. While risks and contingency plans are company specific, common threats include cybersecurity, delayed timelines, roadblocks, production problems, exceeding budgets, and labor issues.
Cross-communication with product teams and stakeholders - The TPM must continuously communicate and collaborate with multiple teams and stakeholders. It is their responsibility to make sure all parties (technical and non-technical) are on the same page throughout the product development process.
Technical oversight - Maintaining technical feasibility is paramount to the success of product development. And, keeping up with the latest technological standards and practices helps avoid descending into legacy system status.
In addition to their primary responsibilities, other duties taken on by TPM include:
Assessing engineering estimates
Reviewing technical documents
Security activities
Scalability activities
Infrastructure activities
Third-party software evaluations
Fixing bugs
Technical product managers are first and foremost managers. That means they are applying a business-focused, customer-centric mindset. Their technical knowledge is there to facilitate these mindsets in the complex technical aspects of product development.
“A TPM must be able to have a rough understanding of the technical aspect of the product and be able to estimate the complexity of a task as soon as the stakeholder asks for it, without having to rely 100% on the dev team.” — Pedro Pessoa, Technical Product Manager at DevSquad
What is the difference between a technical product manager and a traditional product manager?
Technical product managers bring a more technical perspective to the management role when compared to the traditional Product Manager (PM).
“The Main difference between a PM and a TPM is that a TPM must also be able to explain the technical side of the product and provide technical alternatives to the stakeholders” — Antônio Salla, Technical Product Manager at DevSquad
Product managers are focused on business strategy and issues. Their attention is on what a product should do and the pain points it is addressing. Areas specific to a traditional product manager include:
Pricing
Packaging
Massaging
Sales
consumer-facing experience
TPMs work closely with engineering and development teams. Their focus is directed at how the product is going to do what it should do and what is needed to get it done. Areas addressed by a TPM include:
API development
Data science
Developer platforms
Technical feasibility
Implementation
Tech product manage
Internal team-facing experience
Both roles are product management roles. As such there are areas of overlap. Those include:
Roadmapping
Customer research
User story creation
Feature selection
For SaaS companies, the ideal situation is to have both types of managers on your team (at least with regards to role responsibility). Working in tandem ensures a sufficient level of attention and detail is applied to all the aspects associated with product development. And, the overlapping of core responsibilities such as roadmapping and customer research ensures the continued steady advancement of the product—even when the particular demands on one manager have them focused on very specific issues.
“While TPMs have a strong technical background and advanced project management skills, PMs have a market-oriented perspective and focus on user experience, balancing customer needs with company goals.” — Caio Alves, Technical Product Manager at DevSquad
What are the qualities that make a strong TPM?
Technical product managers possess strong technical backgrounds and product management skills that make them an invaluable team member. Here’s a breakdown of the qualities of a great TPMs.
“The qualities of a successful Technical Product Manager (TPM) include a strong technical background, effective communication, project management, and a customer-centric mindset. Developing these skills involves gaining hands-on experience in technical roles, refining communication abilities through cross-functional collaboration, mastering project management methodologies, and continuously engaging with customers to understand their needs and feedback. Balancing technical expertise with strategic vision is key to excelling in this role.” — Caio Alves, Technical Product Manager at DevSquad
1. Technical expertise
A deep understanding of the technology behind your products is an absolute must. And a general understanding of other technologies is also very helpful. Examples of this technical knowledge include coding languages, architectural frameworks, and software engineering principles. And, if you’re a company that works with hardware as well you’ll want to make sure building hardware is included on that list.
“A technical product manager must know what is possible to get done with a coding language or framework and have an estimate for a task based on those things. Also, they must have soft-skills such as emotional intelligence, negotiation skills and management skills to manage not only the project but the customer expectations in a realistic way.”—Mayron Alves de Araujo, Technical Product Manager at DevSquad
2. Product management experience
A solid understanding in product lifecycle management is necessary for a TPM to be successful in their position. Carrying a product from conception, through the launch, and onto maturity is the heart of the TPM. Experience in product management includes creating and managing roadmaps, feature prioritization, and maintaining product alignment with user needs and business goals.
3. Thorough knowledge of product development processes
A TPM should know the stages of new product development and how to employ the research driven strategy of product discovery. Understanding product development methodologies such as Agile development and product strategy techniques like Lean Startup is also important. This knowledge will maximize the potential for success of your product.
4. Data analysis skills
Collecting and interpreting data is ultimately what every decision is made (or should be made) from. Technical product managers should be able to use analytics and data analysis to make data-driven decisions that improve the product and streamline its development. For example, a TPM should be able to utilize data-driven decision practices for feature prioritization, customer churn analysis, and to improve the UX.
5. Cross-functional collaboration experience
Typically, there are many different teams involved in building a product. Those include development teams, design teams, customer success teams, marketing teams and more. Effective collaboration is critical for successful product launches as well as continuous development. A technical product manager must be able to connect and collaborate with teams outside their own management sphere.
“A solid technical background is required, but also being humble enough to recognize the difficulties of business management, design, marketing, and all the other areas that surround a successful product. Empathizing and connecting with people is required both for managing the team and dealing with clients.” — Nelson Pereira, Technical Product Manager at DevSquad
6. Solid communication skills
In addition to the communications necessary to manage teams and delegate tasks, TPMs are the communication link between technical and non-technical teams and stakeholders. The ability to effectively translate product vision into technical tasks and technical challenges into product vision roadblocks is imperative. Great communication skills also improves cross-functional collaboration.
“A TPM can better communicate with clients and teams to discuss and manage the risk. Sometimes a client's request can be easily handled by the TPM if they know how complex it is and what are the risks involved.” — Vitor Carnello, Technical Product Manager at DevSquad
7. Problem-solving capabilities
Effective problem-solving is the cornerstone of success. The development of any product will be faced with complicated challenges. They can arise from user pain points or technical hurdles. Overcoming these challenges requires critical thinking, experimentation, and a level of assertiveness necessary to take calculated risks. The ability to tackle complex problems and innovate solutions makes a great TPM.
“We were in crunch time to deliver a critical feature once and a developer from a team of two got sick. There wasn't enough time to share the project knowledge with a new dev to replace them. As a TMP I was able to code some of the requirements with the other developer and help the team deliver on schedule.”—Sandro Boçon, Technical Product Manager at DevSquad
8. Security and compliance awareness
Cybersecurity threats are a serious matter. Being hacked is a common cause of why startups fail. Non-compliance with regulatory measures can also lead to debilitating fines. A TPM should be up to date with the latest security best practices and regulatory requirements. This is necessary to mitigate risks, maintain compliance, and protect user data.
9. Excited about emerging technologies
The rapid pace of technological innovation has resulted in the continuous development of new trends and methodologies. Technical product managers must be interested and aware of these new technologies and their potential applications. This will ensure products stay relevant and maintain a competitive edge.
“I'm excited with how artificial intelligence can work as an extension of our own intelligence when it comes to analyzing data surrounding a product and supporting the decisions we make about it.”—Nelson Pereira, Technical Product Manager at DevSquad
“I'm particularly excited about the rise of AI and machine learning and the growth of edge computing. These trends have the potential to revolutionize various industries by enabling smarter, faster, and more efficient solutions. As a TPM, integrating these technologies can lead to innovative product features, improved performance, and enhanced user experiences. Embracing these trends will be crucial for staying competitive and delivering cutting-edge products.” — Caio Alves, Technical Product Manager at DevSquad.
“Generative AI applied to development is an exciting technology. That will give the product team the possibility of prototyping solutions faster and speed up the validation of those assumptions with the users.” — Antônio Salla, Technical Product Manager at DevSquad
Why we only hire TPMs
As you can see, TPMs are an incredible resource for successful product development and team management. They provide the needed qualities to stay at the cutting edge and keep everyone on the same page.
That is why we only hire TPMs. At DevSquad, our passion is product development. We have found that as former developers who know how to stick to a vision and manage technical work, TPMs are the perfect fit for our high-performing distributed teams.
“My career transition into a technical product manager was not easy, but at the same time, it's been one of the best experiences of my life. Delivering quality products to users with the help of amazing plural teams brings a great sense of fulfillment and achievement, and I hope to reach even higher standards here at DevSquad.” — Nelson Pereira, Technical Product Manager at DevSquad
An alternative to hiring your own technical product manager
Having a TPM on board is critical for success, but finding the right one (in addition to assembling the rest of a team that works effectively together) is both time-consuming and distracts you from the areas where your time is better spent.
With DevSquad, you get a TPM with your fully managed, ready-to-go, and high-performing team of professionals. You also get strategic advice and product strategy from our CEO and CTO. This advice is tailored to help with technical decisions, architecture, development feasibility, cost, aligning to user needs, and product-market fit.
DevSquad believes in building impactful products. That’s why working with us starts with our design sprint workshop. Here we validate your vision before you commit to building it. And, your commitment to build is not bound in any long term contracts. We don’t just build to build.
DevSquad only takes on new products that we can provide strategy for and we only select the best potential products because we can only onboard a couple of new customers a month.
Are you building a SaaS product? Get expert technical advice and product strategy from our CEO and CTO alongside fully-managed product development. Learn more about how we work.
