Introduction
A technical product manager is a professional who holds in-depth technical knowledge related to a product. They are deeply engaged in the research and development of products, so that they thoroughly understand the technical aspects of it. Abbreviated as TPM, they primarily belong to the technical background and are either qualified engineers, designers, or developers. Many people consider them to be equivalent to product managers, but that is not entirely true. What makes them different is their proficiency in the technical domain. Their role is much more complex than it seems.
What is a Technical Product Manager?
A technical product manager is someone proficient in technology and techniques, familiar with the craft of developing products, and understands everything that it takes to curate a product from scratch.
Whether it is about designing a product, software, or an app, a technical product manager knows who it is built for, why, and how it can address an individual’s needs or solve a problem. By integrating the right set of practices and disciplines, a TPM collaborates with a highly creative team to conceptualize and develop a product from start to finish.
What Does a Technical Product Manager Do?
As elucidated above, a technical product manager is responsible for spearheading the design and development of products from inception to completion. Here is a list of the core roles and responsibilities that a technical product manager has.
A technical product manager is responsible for:
- Developing the roadmap to help the team work on the product creation.
- Giving ideas, suggestions, and proposals to the creative team for a better understanding of the product.
- Doing in-depth research on the product parameters before a product sample is designed.
- Coordinating with all the core teams involved in the product development to track progress and functionality.
- Generating data (from sources such as market analysis, user experience, etc.) that can be used to create the product(s) efficiently.
- Constantly tracking product performance to suggest additions and improvements if needed.
- Testing products on multiple levels to identify flaws and instructing the team to work on the necessary solutions.
- Listening to the reviews and insights of the creative team to know if everything works as per the plan.
What Skills Does a Technical Product Manager Need?
Not every product manager is the same. No matter how similar their roles appear, there are several notable differences in the way they approach and handle projects. Some of them are more focused on practicality than others, while others possess a strong creative and analytical sense, which they rely on to deliver outstanding results.
Here is a set of hard and soft skills that can be great additions to a technical product manager’s profile.
Hard Skills
Data interpretation, product roadmapping and prioritization, high technical understanding, and better business interpretation, as well as market knowledge, are some of the crucial hard skills that can help a technical product manager make informed decisions on behalf of the company. A few other key skills that they can count on include project management knowledge, expertise in development, and technical documentation.
Soft Skills
Someone who possesses strong communication skills, leadership prowess, analytical thinking, and the qualities of being a great team leader is the one who has all the necessary soft skills to qualify for the role of a technical product manager. Additionally, being flexible, understanding, and open to working with diverse individuals, including team members, stakeholders, and clients, is an essential interpersonal skill that fosters aspects such as team building and empathy, which helps in conflict resolution.
Tools Used by TPMs
There is a long list of tools and software used by the technical product managers to manage projects and organize tasks for the teams. We have listed the popular ones right below
- Jira - With smart features to regularize workflow, track backlog, and sprints, and visual Scrum boards to keep track of the project progress, Jira helps to plan and manage projects efficiently.
- Asana - From ideation to implementation, Asana helps product managers operate the project lifecycle with visibility and synchronization. The best part of this tool is that it comes with custom templates and fields.
- GitHub - Product managers use GitHub to collaborate with team members during the product development phase.
- Trello - This is a great tool for sorting tasks and prioritizing them beforehand. It also helps to track progress and boost team productivity through enhanced collaboration facilitated by the presence of the visual Trello board.
- ClickUp - Great for managing product lifecycles, from end to end. With this tool, the technical product managers can ideate, strategize, and plan tasks for their teams and easily monitor them until completion.
- Figma - Technical product managers use Figma to plan the product development phase in stages. It is a great tool for visualizing future products in the form of prototypes and acts as a mediator between the development team (designers) and the engineering team.
- Miro - Strategy mapping, planning, collaborative research, and whiteboarding, among other features, get simpler with Miro’s useful functionalities, which include Jira and Figma integration, for all the design and development tasks.
- Microsoft Project - Plan tasks, make schedules, administer resources, and track the progress of your projects with Microsoft Project. Utilize features like Gantt charts, Kanban boards, etc., to clearly communicate things with the team members and stakeholders.
- Smartsheet - With Smartsheet, the technical product managers can easily manage projects, regulate workflows, and build scalable solutions to oversee the project lifecycle. From initial planning to development and execution, everything can be easily managed with Smartsheet features, including boards, sheets, and dashboards.
- Wrike - A platform to manage daily tasks and automate workflow with features like scheduling, delegation, and a status tracking system, Wrike offers various tools to regulate the product development process and strategize for the future.
- Confluence - A virtual workspace, quite popular among product managers, that helps team members to collaborate in real time and manage workflow integration. Additionally, Confluence works as a centralized platform for all sorts of information related to the product.
- Notion - Technical product managers can create a “product management operating system” using Notion to visualize the customizable roadmap they wish to make. It also helps them to manage documents and track projects by working on them at a granular level.
- Slack - Technical product managers use Slack to communicate, collaborate, and manage projects effectively. It also helps facilitate workflows by offering multiple options to organize, integrate, and automate tasks.
- Microsoft Teams - A dynamic, useful tool that acts as a center of project management used for effective conversations, collaboration, and communication between team members.
- Discord - This is a highly sought-after online platform for product managers where they can connect, communicate, collaborate, network, and offer services and solutions to address concerns.
- Productboard - It offers a unified platform to manage the product lifecycle from start to finish (by assessing user requirements to synchronize it with the development team).
- Loom - This AI-driven video messaging platform is a popular one amongst technical product managers who use it for effective communication.
- Amplitude - An analytics platform to evaluate the performance of digital products and examine user behavior patterns.
Technical Product Manager vs Non-Technical Product Manager (table)
| Parameters | Technical Product Manager | Non-Technical Product Manager |
| Vision | To strategize and develop a vision for the company, ensuring the proposed roadmap delivers successful results. | To ensure a project is executed and completed on time, with the resources allotted and a defined scope. |
| Required Skills | If an individual possesses relevant technical expertise, has a deeper understanding of technology, and is highly analytical, they can excel as technical product managers. | A non-technical product manager possesses strong organizational, planning, and leadership skills, with a vision to drive project success. |
| Responsibilities | To define a roadmap for the project that ensures it contributes to achieving the business goals, and also to simplify the complex technical specifications for the non-technical audience, without compromising on the business vision. | To work on the project planning and managing project timelines by discussing the intricacies of the project with the stakeholders. In addition to this, this role also encompasses keeping track of the resources allocated for the project, tracking tasks, and ensuring a timely outcome. |
| Background | Primarily belong to the engineering, software development, computer science, or technology domain. | Non-technical product managers typically hold a background in non-technical subject matters, such as marketing, communications, business, etc. |
| Collaboration | They work closely with software developers, designers, and engineers to ensure a quality output is released with minimal flaws. | Non-technical product managers collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure the successful delivery of products. The designers, engineers, and sales teams are part of the non-technical product manager team. |
| Scope of Work | To keep an eye on the product development process, ensuring they reach the end users on time and address their requirements satisfactorily. | To align the tasks of the technical team with those of the cross-functional team so that there is no confusion in communication. It is for them to look after the accurate ideation and launch of the products. |
Technical Product Manager vs Scrum Master vs Project Manager (comparison table)
| Parameters | Technical Product Manager | Scrum Master | Project Manager |
| Scope of Work | To create a roadmap to achieve business goals and connect the development team with those in managerial positions within the company. Additionally, to prioritize the technical aspects involved in procuring the resources required for product delivery. | To oversee whether Scrum teams are highly operational within the Scrum framework. Additionally, focusing on eliminating roadblocks, training the team on Agile principles, and building productivity. | To define goals and project deliverables to the team members, and provide guidance to complete the tasks within the specified duration. Additionally, overseeing the resources at hand, the duration, and the project scope entails a project manager’s accountability. |
| Collaboration | A technical product manager is responsible for collaborating with teams to establish a connection between the technical aspects of a product and its development. | To work closely with the development team, product owner, and stakeholders to ensure that everything is aligned properly and scrum practices are followed. | A project manager collaborates with various individuals throughout the project, including team members, other project leaders, and the stakeholders. |
| Business Role | To oversee a product lifecycle and strike a balance between business goals and technical production, to drive market response. | To create a transparent, collaborative environment where teams can interact well to enhance agile delivery. | To plan, execute, and deliver projects according to the initially laid out roadmap within the allocated budget and predefined timeline. |
| Objective | To define and execute the vision of the product by following a detailed, practical roadmap that is assured to assist in accomplishing business goals. | The primary objective of a Scrum Master is to ensure the team members follow the core Scrum principles and deliver high-value increments. | To supervise the course of every project to ensure they are completed on time, according to the client's expectations, without any resource shortage. |
| Flexibility | The adaptability (flexibility) of a technical product manager depends on the company's dynamics, culture, and structure. | Since Scrum Masters operate in an Agile environment, they openly embrace changes and implement new developments as needed in the operations. | To think through, analyze, and integrate new ideas, plans, and strategies in the operations when circumstances call for a change to combat a situation. |
| Project Tools | Technical product managers utilize a range of tools, including Jira, Asana, Productboard, Confluence, Slack, Notion, Google Analytics, and Hotjar for various purposes. | Software like Jira, Trello, and Asana for project management. Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom for communication, Google Workspace for collaboration. | Asana, Jira, Microsoft Project, Monday.com, Zoho Projects, Gantt Charts, and Kanban Boards are some of the popular tools that the project managers use to regulate workflow within projects. |
| Responsibilities | To establish a connection between the technical team and the development team and ensure they are working towards a shared goal for business benefit. | To follow the Scrum methodology (an Agile framework) within the teams to ensure the key rules of the framework are followed. | To plan, organize, and guide a team to successfully lead a project to completion, ensuring it is completed as planned, utilizing the provided resources and the given timeline. |
| Methodology | The technical product manager employs a hybrid approach that combines traditional product management practices with modern technical expertise. | Training teams to incorporate the Scrum framework. They further eliminate barriers to track progress and facilitate Scrum events. | Primarily, the methodology of a project manager varies between Agile, Waterfall, and Scrum, which represent all the required tools and techniques in one place to manage a project efficiently. |
| Designed For | Minimizing the gap between the technical team and the goals of the business by emphasizing the essential aspects like viability, scalability, and quality of the product being designed. | Training teams to incorporate the Scrum framework. They further eliminate barriers to track progress and facilitate Scrum events. | The role of a project manager is designed to initiate, execute, and supervise projects from start to finish, ensuring they are completed on time and to the highest quality standards. |
| Role Challenges | To be able to balance the ongoing technical operations with business objectives, in addition to incorporating the latest technology in the functioning. | Managing Agile resistance, facing unclear accountabilities, and establishing effective communication channels. | Communication fallouts, impractical project timelines, scope creep, and inadequate resources are some of the challenges that the project managers experience. |
Salary & Career Outlook of a Technical Product Manager
Ideally, the aggregate annual compensation of a technical product manager ranges from $70,000 to $225,000. This salary can also vary, depending on the individual’s location and the company’s financial performance.
The career outlook for this job role is usually self-assuring, and people remain confident about it. This is one of the fastest-growing career options today, offering a promise of growth, knowledge, proficiency, and analytical skills.
How to Become a Technical Product Manager?
Anyone can become a technical product manager if they believe the role is a good fit for them. However, there is no dedicated roadmap to follow, except for certain certifications.
Education - The basics required for an individual to be qualified for the role of a technical product manager are a bachelor’s degree in IT, software development, engineering, or computer science. Having a strong background in either of these subjects helps an individual develop the necessary skills required in product curation. For those who are already working and cannot fully devote designated hours to such long-term training sessions, they can opt for short training sessions, known as boot camps, that offer equivalent training.
Experience - If the technical product aspirant holds relevant experience in technology, software design, and development, or has expertise in building products, or has been a part of a product development team, that can add to the qualification criteria of the individual. Furthermore, if someone is already working as a product developer, analyst, or product manager, they can easily advance their way out in this field.
Certifications - Some of the essential certifications that an aspiring technical product manager can pursue include:
- Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) - A crucial certification for technical product managers that helps build foundational knowledge of the Scrum framework is the CSPO Course.
- Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO) - The PSPO is a highly valued certificate for technical product managers to authenticate their understanding of the Scrum framework and optimize product value in an agile setting.
- Certified Product Manager (CPM) - A certificate that corroborates an individual’s expertise in identifying customer requirements and product management (for instance, market assessment, product life cycle management, and strategizing, etc) is the CPM.
- Product Manager Certification (PMC) - A certification that encompasses strategy and development throughout the product lifecycle, is also considered an integral credential for those pursuing a product or project management career path.
- New Product Development Professional (NPDP) - This international credential for product developers authenticates an individual’s knowledge and understanding of the new product development process.
– Continuous Learning - No matter what profession or passion an individual follows, they are focused on continuous improvement and learning as per the growing needs of the industry, and they can stay relevant for longer. This can be done by being an active learner, researcher, and participant in programs and workshops. Additionally, taking courses, master classes, attending webinars, and associating with groups that discuss the latest subjects trending around is a great way to upskill.
Career Path of a Technical Product Manager
This is how the career of a technical product manager looks:
Associate Product Manager/Software Engineer
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Technical Product Manager
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Senior Technical Product Manager
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Group Technical Product Manager
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Director of Technical Product Management (Director of Product)
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VP of Technical Product Management (VP of Product)
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Chief Technical Product Officer (Chief Product Officer)
Certifications for Technical Product Managers
Some of the popular certifications for a technical product manager are:
- Project Management Professional (PMP) - A globally acknowledged certification, the PMP Certification is validated by businesses and organizations, for those considering roles of project managers and leaders.
- Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) - A certification that validates an individual’s knowledge of Scrum and Agile methodologies is the CSM Course.
- Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) - An entry-level certification issued by PMI to substantiate the basic knowledge of project management is the CAPM certificate.
- SAFe® 6.0 Agile Product Management Certification Training - The SAFe® 6.0 APM Certification Training is a short 3-day course (either live virtual or in-person training) that prepares individuals to implement SAFe in project management roles.
- PRINCE2 Practitioner and Foundation - A universally acknowledged project management qualification that guides individuals on the process-based methodology for successful project delivery.
- SAFe® 6.0 AI-Empowered Product Owner/Product Manager (POPM) Certification Training - A short-term (2-day) course to upgrade your product management skills within the SAFe, with the use of AI.
- Generative AI for Product Owners/Product Managers Certification Training - This certification educates individuals on the fundamentals of AI, Generative AI, and Machine Learning, along with the uses of AI in planning, prioritization, and user research.
Conclusion
Technical product managers are invaluable to any organization they work for, as they become an integral part of the company’s vision and development strategy. With their strong technical expertise and business acumen, they not only prove to be great mentors but also managers. With their practical knowledge and useful outputs, they bridge the gap between the product designers (developers) and the management team. If you are technically sound, have brilliant communication skills, and can strategize for the inquisitive audience, a technical product manager can be the ultimate profession for you.
FAQs
Is TPM a good career path?
Certainly! If you are interested in exploring your technical knowledge and have a solid grasp of the intricacies involved in product development, becoming a Technical Product Manager (TPM) can be a great career decision. A well-paid TPM has a major say in a company’s development team and remains an indispensable part of the organization for a long time.
What technical skills should a technical product manager have?
Here is a detailed list of the most relevant technical skills that a technical product manager must possess:
- Data Analysis and Collection
- Fundamentals of Software Development
- System Architecture
- Agile Methodologies
- SQL
- API Knowledge
- CX/UI/UX Principles
- Cloud Computing
- Alpha/Beta Testing
- Product Roadmap Development Oversight
- Design Verification in Development
- Product Marketing
Is the technical product manager the same as the product owner?
No, both roles are not the same. However, an individual can certainly be both because many of the accountabilities of these two roles are the same.
Is TPM better than PM?
The answer to this question depends on the individual, their background, inclination, and experience. None of the roles can be termed “better” because both can be great career options if pursued thoughtfully.
If you have a strong grasp of technical details and know how to implement technical instructions into practice, you can choose to be a TPM (Technical Product Manager). However, if you are more into planning projects, designing strategies according to customer requirements, and are skilled at analyzing the market and driving results, then the Product Manager (PM) role is more suitable for you.


















