Created: 14 June 2021

Last Updated: 15 June 2023

A Quick Guide to Agile Product Management

Agile product management is extremely useful in helping your company adapt to change and increase employee collaboration. Here is everything you need to know.

Keyword(s): agile product management

If you were guaranteed that your project was twice as likely to succeed if you used a different type of product management, would you do it? Agile projects have a higher success rate than waterfall projects. 

Agile product management is newer in comparison to linear development but it's been around for at least 20 years. Since then, Agile is infiltrated many different industries. It's a worthwhile investment but one that's often met with confusion. 

This guide will go over what Agile product management is and where you can take courses to become a product manager in Agile. 

What is Agile Product Management?

Things move fast in the business and tech world. Companies need to react quickly to keep up with the quick pace. 

When the Agile manifesto was created, its goal was to change how various products went through development. The writers of the manifesto originally wanted the development of software to be centred more around customers. They determined that by focusing on the customer during product development, better results would be achieved. 

Some of the values in the Agile manifesto include:

• Customer collaboration over contract negotiations 
• Working software over comprehensive documentation 
• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools 
• Responding to change over following a plan 

Implementing Agile product management can be difficult to implement and figure out. Getting an entire team to adopt these values involves individuals oftentimes shifting their ideologies. 

Companies need to react to the following things:

• Shifting marketing landscapes
• New data insights
• Competitor disruptions

Mistakes can be made during product development. Sometimes, the new information that's revealed can show that a team needs to completely change course. These changes can oftentimes result in weeks of lost work. 

With Agile product management, a team is constantly reviewing if they're going in the right direction. Their roadmap shifts often, enabling them to pivot as needed. It's all about embracing that things will change. 

How Can You React to Change?

One of the primary ways Agile helps product teams react to change is by breaking down a large task into smaller bites. The work is then distributed among teams that work closely with one another. This is in lieu of having one team work on one item at a time. 

Open communication and transparency help teams work in the same direction. Agile is more focused on being a mindset. It comes with a toolbox where an Agile product manager can choose what they need for their specific project. 

How Does an Agile Product Manager Help?

Product managers handle different inputs from various areas of their organization. They'll get information from:

• Customers
• Designers
• Developers
• Stakeholders

They're very focused on the product and the person that'll eventually use the product. The entire product management team needs to understand what the customer's needs are. 

With traditional product management, you usually interact with the customer on two separate occasions:

• Before you create the product so you understand what the requirements are
• When you deliver the product and check to see if it meets their specified needs

With Agile product management, you're involved with the customer for every stage of the process. You're close with them at every step so you can recognize what they need. 

An Agile product management team will create a high-level product roadmap and strategy. It communicates what the desired outcomes of the product are, not an entire concrete plan. It also communicates if there's any uncertainty with a certain part of the strategy. 

An Agile roadmap needs to be updated regularly. 

When you use the Agile approach, you'll deliver small pieces of the product to the customers after each milestone. You don't want to send it after the entire product has been completed. This helps you measure the product's success along the way instead of waiting until the end and having to rethink a design. 

User feedback and product innovation are key with Agile product management. You want to be agile with your thinking so you can create useful products for your customers. 

Agile Product Management Courses

Our Agile Product Management course gives students the tools to develop innovative solutions. They'll utilize the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®) to address the challenges of developing and launching software and systems in a short amount of time. This course is online and lasts for three days. 

Students will learn how to create solutions and products that are viable, desirable, and sustainable. They'll learn how continually exploring fuels product innovation. They'll also understand how to define their vision, strategy, and roadmap. 

Once you complete the course, you'll receive an Agile product management certification. You'll be a certified SAFe® Agile Product Manager. 

Some of the benefits of this course include:

• Managing value stream economics, such as licensing and pricing
• Developing and evolving roadmaps
• Exploring the needs of the market and the competitive landscape
• Using empathy to drive product design 
• Applying vision and product strategy 
• Exploring innovation within the value stream
• Executing and delivering value with SAFe®

After this course, you'll be prepared to take the certification exam. You'll also have one year of access to the SAFe community forum. There are resources such as workbooks, webinars, and presentations included in that platform. 

Who Benefits From Taking an Agile Product Management Course?

Individuals in the product development field will benefit from taking an Agile product management course. Some of those professions include:

• Coaches
• Consultants
• Product management teams
• Trainers
• Product managers
• Marketing managers
• Business owners
• Business Analysts
• Vice Presidents of product management
• Customer experience professionals

Our courses are offered worldwide for any user to access. 

Connect With Advised Skills Today

Learning the ins and outs of Agile product management is essential to keeping your skills relevant and creating products that connect with customers. All of our courses are available online. At the end of each course, you'll take an exam and receive a certificate. 

Check out our full list of Agile courses. We've trained more than 15,000 professionals across 30 countries. 

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is Agile Product Management?
   Agile Product Management is an iterative approach to planning and guiding project processes. Put the customer at the center of the development process.
   Deliver small pieces of the product consistently. Adjust the direction based on customer feedback and changing needs. The primary aim is to deliver value quickly, improve continuously, and be highly responsive to changes in the market.
2. How does Agile Product Management differ from traditional product management?
   Traditional product management typically follows a linear, sequential approach, known as the Waterfall model. This approach requires that the product is fully defined prior to the start of the project. Subsequent changes are minimal and difficult to implement.
   Agile Product Management is iterative and flexible. Changes and improvements are incorporated throughout the process based on feedback and market needs. This process is ongoing, allowing for continual improvement.
3. What are some key roles in Agile Product Management?
   The key roles in Agile Product Management are the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team. The Product Owner is responsible for defining the product vision, managing the product backlog, and prioritizing tasks. The Scrum Master facilitates communication, resolves issues, and helps the team follow Agile practices. The Development Team does the actual work of creating the product increment.
4. How is the product roadmap used in Agile Product Management?
   Agile Product Management uses the product roadmap as a strategic tool. This tool outlines the vision, direction, and progress of the product throughout its lifespan.
   An Agile roadmap is not fixed like a traditional roadmap. It is frequently updated due to new insights, changes in the market, and customer feedback. It helps to align the team and stakeholders and to manage expectations.
5. What are Agile frameworks and which are commonly used in product management?
   Agile frameworks provide a set of practices and principles for implementing the Agile approach. The most commonly used frameworks in Agile Product Management are Scrum and Kanban. Scrum is a framework that divides work into small, manageable pieces called "sprints," usually lasting two weeks. Kanban is a visualization tool that helps to manage workflow, minimize work-in-progress, and identify bottlenecks in real-time.
6. How does Agile Product Management handle changing customer requirements?
   Agile Product Management welcomes changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage. By delivering working software frequently, teams can get immediate feedback and quickly adapt the product to meet evolving customer needs.
   Agile is especially suited to products in fast-moving markets or where the requirements are uncertain at the start. This flexibility is the reason why.