Product

Role in Repeatable
Product management matures into a discipline with roadmaps, sprint planning, and user stories. You have a structured backlog and a formal method of gathering customer feedback, either via direct input from sales and CS or dedicated product research sessions.

Objectives
The objective is to create a product that appeals to a broader audience while retaining the core features that made early customers happy. You’re tackling feature requests from different segments, balancing speed with maintaining a stable platform.

Areas of Specialization
At this point you’ll have dedicated roles for product management and design that are separate and distinct individual contributors.   Product managers are driving backlog prioritization, cross-functional alignment (especially with marketing for go-to-market initiatives), and ongoing market research to guide product strategy.   Design is ensuring that what your developers build delights users.