
Ask HN: What Are Good Product Manager Qualities - m1117
How important are design skills for a product person? Is it more important to have engineering background or good design skills?
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greenyoda
A basic understanding of the development process is necessary since product
managers need to be able to work with the engineering team, but since PMs
don't write code, they don't need to have an engineering background. I think
design skills are more important. (They may need an engineering background if
you have a very technical product, like an IDE, that's being sold to
developers.)

What you didn't mention, and what I think is very important in a PM, is
"people skills". PMs have to be able to interact effectively with the sales,
marketing, and support organizations, and also with users. They have to be
able to envision themselves in the position of the user, and have empathy for
users problems.

(I'm an engineering manager who has worked closely with many PMs over the
years.)

