I was thinking recently about the relationship between UX experts and Product Managers, which got me to thinking about what a good product manager is – especially in the world of web products.

I think a good product manager needs to understand the whole scope of his or her product. In the world of web or mobile software, this means he or she:

• is a technologist
• is a marketer
• is a strategist
• is an entrepreneur
• is a risk-taker
• is a visionary
• is a leader
• is a networker
• is a communicator
• is a presenter and speaker
• is a thought-leader
• is a product expert
• is a salesperson
• is fluent in web and mobile language and technology
• understands user experience/user interaction paradigms
• understands software development methodology and software development tools and processes

(Anyone have anything to add to the list? I’m sure it’s not complete…)

This list, incidentally, looks pretty similar to a list of attributes for a successful startup founder. Is this a surprise? Not really, considering that building a product is just like building a little business, and to be as successful as possible you need to run your product like you would a business.

For what it’s worth, a product manager is NOT (at least exclusively):

• a requirements manager
• a project manager (glorified or otherwise)
• a scrum master