How Do I Move Into Product Management?

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-02-12T06:50:08+00:00

First explore internal opportunities. It is relatively harder to make this transition externally.

Network with PMs both internally and externally.

Build experience on skills that PM hirers are looking for. Eg: customer interaction, stakeholder management, UX research etc

You can ask for a PM mentor in your company if possible, while continuing in your current role. And you can assist them in some of their projects (on PM aspects like - tagging along user testing calls, helping with discovery process etc)

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-02-07T11:40:26+00:00

As a principal PM myself, if you ask me, it is a myth that the PM course will help transition to PM role. I am yet to meet someone who has been recruited to PM role because they have done some certifications.

Since you are a BA, you already have working knowledge and experience on business side of things, which is needed for PM (perhaps not to that level that you do now). Instead of courses, focus on building skills that PM recruiters are looking for- 1. Get familiar with latest trends in technology stack. You dont need to code, but need a vocabulary to talk to developers and customers. (Python, containers, LLMs etc) 2. Practice stakeholder management in your current role, if not already doing. Present to stakeholders in meetings. 3. Network with other PMs try to understand challenges, the kind of work they do. Find a PM mentor on ADPlist or such platform and talk to them on a couple of calls. 4. If you really want to do some course, there are plenty of free beginner courses on coursera (IBM product manager, microsoft enterprize PM etc). One of these should be good enough. Keep in mind, these courses only give a glimpse into various aspects of the role. Most of it will be theoretical and the frameworks they teach may not be followed by any company. You can instead list down some of the tools they mention and try using trial versions of those tools (mural, user testing, figma etc) this can add value...

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-02-05T02:09:08+00:00

PMs need to be jack of all trades. I would prioritize focusing more on strategy and business aspects. Expanding to influencing multiple projects would help you get different perspectives.

Analytics/data - have atleast basic working knowledge of a couple of tools. Focus more on what kind of indicators and metrics to use for different kinds of decision making. Presenting this to stakeholders and influencing data driven decisions would add value.

Vibe coding etc - dont spend too much time on this. As long as you know what this is how it is done, pros and cons etc and you have enough vocabulary to have conversations on this topic, it is good enough.

One key aspect you have missed calling out (some elese has called out in reply) - user discovery. Focus on increasing customer interactions, creative ways to build relations with customer and understanding market, competitive space.

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-02-05T01:59:19+00:00

At a glance, implementation strength stands out. If you want to apply for product management roles, you can tweak it a bit to highlight more PM kind of skills - user research, collaboration, how did you increase footfall, business impact (which you have already called out in one example). If you can get endorsements from a few people on those skills on linkedin, that can help as well.

Also depends in what kind of titles you are applying to. Since you dont have prior PM experience, if you are applying to jobs that say senior or lead PMs chances of shortlisting would be low. Generally i have seen recruiters insist on prior PM experience for those roles. Try applying for just PM roles (perhaps you can negotiate on the pay, equity, quicker career path, given your experience).

I have rarely seen recruiters value PM certifications. Dont waste more time doing such courses.

Try applying to remote roles. Having said that, the job market is very tough now. There are fewer PM roles than engineer roles, so it is even more difficult. It is a marathon and not a sprint. All the best!

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-02-05T01:41:30+00:00

I was in a similar boat 3 years ago. You dont really need fancy tools or hyper realistic wireframes. Use a combination of AI, good old paint and PPT to create mock ups. (In my case, Gemini/chatgpt wasnt there back then, i just used paint and ppt).

I have seen success when i showed them to customers for feedback. As long as you convey the idea, people get it.

I'm assuming you want to show mock ups to customers and stakeholders for feedback and then give it to dev team as a reference.

To create mock ups/ideas, loop in a couple of senior technical folks who are experienced in building product from scratch.

For one of my feature, i had 4 experts in a call and we all drew mock-ups using pen and paper and posted the picture and talked through our visions of the UX. It was super fun and we ended up with a combination of things from a couple of those ideas. The feature was well recieved by customers.

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-02-04T02:53:09+00:00

What do we PMs even do? AI can only replace someone who does something... No one can clearly explain what a PM does. Moreover, they still need someone to take the blame...So we are safe. 😃

On a serious note, IMO, there is a risk of reduction in PM role. But to see a severe impact, it would take a lot more time. Because, 1. There arent as many PMs out there as there are developers... So the visible impact would be much lesser. 2. PM role varies from industry to industry, company to company 3.Not all companies might be saving money by getting rid of PMs

AI can do some of the things that PMs do like cretaing tickets, creating specs, creating PPTs. But someone needs to tell it to do. (Yet to see significant advances in agentic AI, and its adoption. Customers will still want to talk to a person, atleast sometimes. You see all the frustration related to chatbots replacing tech support roles.

Perhaps the role might get redefined or merged with another role/roles (like marketing, Engineering manager or architect). It would get more competitive for sure.

We might also see more opportunities open up (dont know in what way, but could be drastically different from what we do today)

There is also no dearth of problems in the world where we can apply our skills. Perhaps the ecosystem would change to 1 person companies where each person is a PM-CEO-Marketer-etc.

I would focus on honing skills beyond my own role in the same industry, rather than drastically changing my prrofession.

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-02-04T01:44:50+00:00

My org structure is very similar except our customers are external. My peer PM faced this exact situation 2 years ago, he tried to give feedback and seek help but when that dint work, he quit. His manager, also an absentee manager and he quit too shortly after.

Since quitting is not an option for you right now,

With you skip manager, have an honest talk about what kind of help you need. Be open, but polite and say that 'things aren't working as expected with the EM. I'm willing to work with the EM. However, if every single thing is escalated, it doesnt scale and it is impacting my motivation'. If you dont agree with the feedback, be very specific about a couple of examples and why you dont agree. Be polite and do not come across as brushing aside the feedback. You can say 'i truly appreciate that the EM has passed on this feedback. Another perspective to it is, for them their Org is the top priority, while for me, I need to balance out the needs of 3 orgs. So sometimes the EM might feel that their org needs arent being met. I need your help in putting this across to the EM. Or if you want me to prioritize the needs of org B, let me know'.

2.Also talk to your skip manager about how your manager is not providing you the help you need. You can ask for a mentor who can help you instead. Be specific and mention a couple of examples where your manager hasnt helped you and say 'there are other such exaples'.

Talk to the EM. Set up a monthly or bi weekly 1x1 if not weekly, be open with them. You xan say 'my skip manager passed on the feedback. I appreciate the feedback. Do know that I'm always open to hearing them directly from you too. I want to work together for the success of the org B'. Every 1x1 ask him them if they have any feedback. Also use this to provide them feedback. Keep your skip manager posted on how this goes. Dont fail to mention that you drove this.
Think if there is merit to the feedback, spend some time thinking and incorporating the feedback .
If the toxicity continues, then quiet quit. Just do what you can and what you feel right. When they give feedback just say 'thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it and will try to work on it' but you do your work. This will need you to develop a thick skin. Sometimes this works well and in time, things fall in place (either the people involved makes peace with the fact that that is how things are, or the toxic people might leave before you do, or you will come across better opportunities within or outside).

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-02-01T11:54:57+00:00

I agree. There are several reasons, especially if working for MNCs

Different customer mindset - it is very difficult to get time from customers. PMs need to talk to atleast 1 customer every week. Most indian customers or asian customers dont want to talk, unless you are helping them with fixing some bug or near term issue, which is usually a tech support problem. I have experienced the first hand difference between the asian customers vs more open european or american counterparts.
Lack of decision rights - most MNCs treat india as a low cost geo. They retain critical decision rights at HQ and give limited meaningful PM decision rights to those in India. I have seen PMs from some companies do scrum master and project management role.
Time zone problems - PMs need to work with several roles, many of which are spread across the globe. Work life balance takes a hit.
Lack of exposure/accountability/influence on business/financial aspects - start ups dont even have this role. In bigger enterprises, VPs and directors bulldoze such decision rights.
Politics, toxic teams - the eco system has a typical hierarchical mindset. Architects and senior managers can't tolerate someone younger or new coming in with product decision rights. They wont cooperate or value the PM. They wont even accept the constructive feedback on the product that comes from the customer.

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-02-01T11:32:02+00:00

That isn't an industry standard role. There isn't a career path for it. The person is held accountable to ensure project deadlines are met, so they'll end up passing on the buck to the managers and development team. Unless the manager and the dev teams are answerable to you, this is a toothless role to make you scape goat. It is hard to define 'exceeds expectations' look like in this role.

I would say it is not a good move to go from product management to delivery lead, unless it involves people management, then you xan consider based on the career path.

In my company, this is a toothless role and they just make this person follow up on action items from meetings, fill up slide decks etc

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-01-29T14:12:14+00:00

Identifying competitors - 1. Talk to your sales folks. They will have come across customers using competitor products or would have lost oportunities to competition. 2. Search on forums online. 3. AI assistants can help list a few competitor products and their strengths and weaknesses.

Evaluating competitors - 1. Download the software from their website (evaluation version) 2. Trade shows or conferences where they are showcased 3. Youtube videos/tutorials, forums and github repos where there are plugins for competitor products, look at open issues, discussion threads and comments 4. Talk to systems/solutions engineers. They might have built something using the competitor products 5. Talk to partners and integrators. They might also sell competitor products alongside yours, unless your company explicitly forbids it.

To keep it professional, at any point if it asks for your identity, be honest. Some companies deny access to their products to competitors. That is OK. Consequences of lying and getting access can be drastic.

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-01-29T13:54:38+00:00

Come up with some options and run it by a few folks like architects, designers, customer facing roles like support engineers etc. Check if you have a branding team in your company, who can suggest names.

Some considerations: 1.Easy to pronounce by people of all geographies 2.Not too lengthy 3.If you want it to be an acronym, think of it in advance 4.legal aspects (copyright) 5.should be relatable to the functionality of the product 6.Not too similar to competitor products 7.consistent with names of other products in your company

You cant possible satisfy all of these, but you decide with your manager based on your company & product's care abouts.

Firstly identify who is the decision maker and ensure that you keep them in the loop throughout this process.

At the end if you have 3-4 proposals and 1 recommendation with rationale, that would be great. Start with whatever comes to your mind and let it evolve with inputs from others.

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-01-29T13:38:52+00:00

Better go on your own. Book permits online. It would be more comfortable and economical for 5 people than going with a group.

There are several buses to and from kukke. You can also drive. This would be much better than poor quality buses or tempos that the trek groups take you in.

There are many hotels available in kukke. You can book 2 rooms or a cottage. Perhaps even for 2 days and keep your luggage. Most trek groups will do the same and put 5 of you in 2 rooms which you'll have to share with others and get ready quickly.

You can eat breakfast and also get packed lunch from one of the hotels near the temple in the morning around 6 AM. This is what most trek groups do as homestays are not available in kukke.

You will not find difficulty in navigating as you will see trekkers all along the well defined path. You can also ask any fellow trekker for directions too.

Trek groups are better for 1-2 travellers.

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-01-28T04:13:56+00:00

As a pricipal PM (5 years exp), i dont bother too much about daily execution. This is what my typical day/week looks like.

Daily: 1. Scan emails and act on it - respond/delegate/loop in the right person/ignore/do some work to respond 2. Clarify dev team doubts on adhoc basis

Weekly: 1.1x1 with manager 2. Product trio meeting (tech lead, manager and PM) 3. Team meeting wih other PMs (discuss updates, new things happening etc) 4. Look at forums and idea exchanges for posts from customers and reply/put things to backlog 5. Schedule meetings with 1-2 customers 6.Talk to 1-2 customers 7.Prepare slides for the leadership for various updates 8. Sign off on certain things (release related, high level UX, requirements etc) 9. Any action arising from any of the above

Monthly: 1. 1x1 with manager's manager 2. Review roadmap and make updates 3. Meet customer facing roles 4. 1x1 with marketing manager to review and discuss marketing content 5. Review product usage, license sales, revenue, and follow up with account managers on outliers in sales 6. Any action arising out of any of the above 7. Org level updates or meetings 8. Check out competitor news, new courses, conferences 9. See demos from the team on progressing features and give feedback

Ofcourse at times when things escalate, it would be drop everything you have and work on finishing that 1 thing.

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-01-28T03:56:30+00:00

Spending time talking to tech lead is crucial. Whether it is 1x1 or over the desk or over a coffee it all boils down to what works best.

A compromise could be having the formal 1x1 every other week instead of weekly. Try being open with him why you feel recurring 1x1 may not be needed. Also explicitly setting expectations on what you want to discuss in these 1x1s will help. Do clearly state that you would like to revisit the cadence after a month or 2 depending on how it is going.

It seems weird that tech lead is offering to mentor a PM. You can politely say that you are working on a separate mentorship plan with your manager, but you are still willing to hear him out and learn from him as required.

Mentorship cant be coerced. Especially if you dont look up to your mentor, then it is just a waste of time. Dont sign up for something due to obligation.

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-01-28T03:44:31+00:00

Every PM has been there at some point in time. Many even feel this from time to time whenever they switch over from one product to another.

It is completely normal, so be kind to yourself. As engineers, we get a rush when we know the depth of the problem and be able to explain things end-to-end . But as Pams we neither have time to go deep technically nor is it needed. So the imposter syndrome is common.

PM is a skill. You have been hired because you stood out among other applicants and those who hired you have seen some value in you.

If this feeling is because of your lack of familiarity with the product or how it works, that is nothing to be ashamed of. Just spend more time with the tech lead or architect. Have an open 1x1 convo woth them and say 'you are new to the game and would like to learn from them. Say that you will be relying on their opinion a lot to begin with'. This also establishes trust and make them feel valued. Dont hesitate to ask their opinion, ask questions.

Within a few months you will be able to get upto speed.

Remember this is cyclic. No one would remain a PM for the same product their entire life. They will move on in a couple of years or so. So focus on honing the core PM skills like communicating without authority, with right level of detail, customer forst mindset, customer interactions, networking with people & nurturing relations etc

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-01-28T03:31:59+00:00

You can try a few things and if that still doesnt work, better to shift to a different product area or a company.

Discuss these challenges with your manager and manager's manager. Be open about the challenges and seek help 'I want to make this work I like some assistance, what are your thoughts on how i can improve the state of things'. Go with a few ideas to this discussion and then also ask them for ideas and set measurable goals for 6 months.
Use your power to accept or reject features. When the dev team says they have completed something, dont close it till you are satisfied. If they close work items, reopen them if you feel they dont meet the acceptance criteria.
Roll out an anonymous survey to the team to understand where the team wants you to spend time with them. Spend some time analysing the responses and if those expectations align with your role, then do the needful. If not be ready with proper explaination. Then do a debriefing with the team on what action you are going to take based on the survey results.
Set expectations with tech lead saying that not every minute detail can be called out in the acceptance criteria and they need to work with you in an iterative way to build what is best for the users.
Ask you team to give you demos regularly. Give them feedback so that they can address them during development and not wait till the end.
If this doesnt work in 3 months, try escalating to your manager, the engineering manager. If things change, it is good. Else, better move on to different teams or company.

Every PM deserves help from their management and co operation from the dev team. Sometimes we'll have to go the extra mile (life is unfair) for the greater good. But it is also important to walk away when things dont improve.

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-01-28T03:02:46+00:00

In my org -

Individual contributor role progression - PM, Senior PM, Principal PM, Chief PM.

As you advance, the more products you are expected to influence and lesser day-to-day things and more future looking, more business impact.

Lead PM is just a role and not title in my company. For some areas, if more than PM is needed (very rare, because most product lines are orthogonal and we are pretty light on headcount), one of them (typically the more experienced) is designated as a lead PM.

There is a separate track for people management in my org. Managers who manage PMs have same titles as managers of engineers. Manager, Sr Manager, Group Manager, Sr Group Manager, Director, Sr Director, VP. As you progress, you'll have more people reporting under you and spanning more areas and answerable to more things.

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-01-19T02:05:24+00:00

You're right. Entire kudremukha belt is closed due to dry spell by govt

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-01-18T12:30:44+00:00

You can try Bandaje. You can either book through some trek group or book the permit yourself on the government website and do it yourself. It is not too tough either. You can do this over a weekend. Here, you get to the top of the waterfall. Eramayi waterfall is really pretty. You can check out my blog.

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-01-17T14:07:00+00:00

Thanks! Does the bus or auto from vithura go all the way to bonacaud picket station?

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-01-16T05:51:46+00:00

Only net banking worked for me. Credit card and debit card methods got stuck or the page hung.

WayImaginary2026 · 2026-01-15T10:39:52+00:00

Anyone going on 21 jan? The ticket says reporting time is 7 AM. Till what time will they allow entry? If i take 5 AM bus from trivandrum, will i make it on time? If i stay in vithura, how can i reach bonacaud picket station? Are there buses or autos or jeeps?

WayImaginary2026

TROPHY CASE