Product Management

We help companies create and scale the product management function to set and achieve ambitious product goals.

The scope of the product manager is expanding rapidly, driven by changes in how software is developed—the growing role of data in product decisions, the evolution of product development practices and execution pod, and the consumerization of B2B software, with an elevated role for design.

As a result, leading companies are adopting a mini-CEO product manager archetype with skill sets across five capability areas: customer experience, market orientation, business acumen, technical skills, and soft skills.

McKinsey helps companies transform their product management capabilities by helping build the talent capabilities and putting in place the right product operating model and infrastructure, tailored for your product context. We also help companies develop and retain this crucial—but often overlooked—talent pool.

Example of our work

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Helping an enterprise tech provider strengthen its product manager workforce

We helped a high-tech company elevate the skills and impact of its 300-person product organization through a three-month capability building program that encompassed learning forums, online modules, executive coaching and on-the-job learning.

Featured Capabilities

Talent Development

Build product management talent through four levers: a well-articulated leadership development model, tailored learning journeys, ongoing development enablers and strategic recruiting. The Product Management Academy leverages a field-and-forum approach and adult learning techniques to build skills for product managers from diverse backgrounds. Built in a modular fashion, this program can be tailored to offer personalized learning journeys across different inflexion points in a product-oriented career.

Product Management Index

Measure your organization’s product management maturity across five individual dimensions and four organizational dimensions compared with peers and best-in-class software companies. This benchmark reveals areas of strength and opportunities to build capabilities for individual product managers and organizational changes to enable their development.

Product Management Operating Model Design

Design the right organization, processes, tools and data infrastructure to get the best out of your product managers.

Key dimensions to measure product management maturity

Featured Insights

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The product management talent dilemma

November 28, 2018 – Despite product managers’ central roles in software organizations, they are often neglected from a talent-management perspective....