Although it sounds a bit strange, the functions of a Product Manager have been exercised for centuries, evolving, undoubtedly, to become today a key part of any company, regardless of its sector or size. Centuries? Yes, centuries.

If we understand that a Product Manager is responsible for the life cycle of a product, from its creation to all the changes it must undergo to satisfy the needs of customers, we can perfectly imagine how a cloth merchant in medieval times fulfilled functions of Product Management. Makes sense, doesn't it?

However, let's not go too far and remember the creation of this role as we know it today. It happened in 1931 when Neil H. McEly described the need to hire a "Brand Men" at P&G who would have full responsibility for the brand, from monitoring to sales, managing the product and managing advertising and promotion. Later, this position was developed by Bill Hewlett and David Packard, who interpreted the role as a way of putting decision making as close as possible to the client.

If we take the functions of the "Brand Men" and those defined by Hewlett Packard in today's companies, it is easy to see that this position has the great responsibility of developing and managing the product life cycle, from the analysis of market conditions up to the definition of characteristics or functions, the market launch and sales´ follow-up.

Just by reading the role, we have an idea of the interaction level that a PM has with many other departments of the company, and even the detailed knowledge he must have, not only of the company itself (strategy, mission, vision and values) but also of the market and its consumers or clients. It is, undoubtedly, a position with many challenges and demand for skills that will require preparation and commitment from the applicant to achieve high levels of performance.

A Product Manager's mission is to coordinate the work of the teams involved in the creation, development, launch and monitoring of the life cycle of a product, through the design of the strategy, its planning and execution. He is, after all, as many indicate, "the CEO of the product."

It should be noted that some of his functions can only be given at certain times of the year or at specific moments, depending on the company's objectives; however, other functions are continuous and even overlap, as it includes constant monitoring, reviewing and analyzing tasks.

One of the most important functions of a Product Manager is to define the product´s vision. It goes beyond describing what the product itself will achieve and its impact on the company. It implies clarifying what the strategic direction is, complying with the company's objectives and the commercial tactics that allow the sales area to achieve them. To achieve this, the Product Manager must create a roadmap to achieve that vision step by step, but flexible enough to make the necessary adjustments as it progresses.

A PM is also responsible for creating the product´s strategy. In this sense, he must conceptualize an understandable, realistic and challenging strategy for the team involved in executing it. Just like any other strategy creation, it should include tactics, goals, timing, resources.

He is also responsible for analyzing the market and customers. Without good analysis of the market and the client, the company will hardly be able to cover their needs and, therefore, reach expected sales. Although many companies have departments dedicated exclusively to Market Research, they require the guidance of the Product Manager to guide their research, focus their analyzes and define specifically what they are looking for.

Therefore, coordination, leadership and teamwork are essential to obtain the input that the Product Manager will later analyze for decision making. After all, without knowing the market or the clients, a PM will be creating and designing ineffective strategies.

There are many departments with which the Product Manager must work, including Sales, Operations, Engineering; etc. However, beyond teamwork, a Product Manager must ensure that each member is as effective as possible in his role; therefore, it must be an example of clear and constant communication that ensures that everyone is working aligned regarding the general vision of the product.