The fundamental difference between a project manager vs. a product manager is their focus and scope. 

Product managers are strategic thinkers who own the product vision and make informed decisions about which features to build based on user needs and market opportunities. They're responsible for the long-term success of a product and spend their time researching, strategizing, and defining requirements.

On the other hand, project managers are tactical executors who ensure that work gets completed on time, within budget, and according to specifications. They focus on process, coordination, and delivery. While product managers ask, "What should we build and why?” project managers ask, "How do we build it efficiently?"

Think of it this way: if building a product were like constructing a house, the product manager would decide what type of house to build, where to build it, and what features it should have. The project manager would create the construction timeline, coordinate with contractors, and ensure everything stays on schedule and within budget.

A product manager wears many hats, but the core responsibility is ensuring that the right product is built for users. Product managers spend their days balancing user needs and technical constraints to decide product direction.

Defines the vision and strategy

Product managers create and communicate a clear vision for the product's direction. They develop comprehensive strategies that align with company objectives and market opportunities. This involves analyzing competitive landscapes, identifying target markets, and establishing success metrics that guide all product decisions.

Prioritizes the product roadmap

Managing a product roadmap means making tough choices about what features to build first. Product managers evaluate potential features based on user impact, business value, and development effort.

They constantly reassess priorities as new information becomes available and market conditions change

Conducts user and market research

Understanding users is fundamental to product success. Product managers conduct interviews, analyze usage data, and study market trends to uncover insights about user behavior and needs. 

This research informs every major product decision and helps validate assumptions before development begins.

Defines requirements and features

Product managers translate user needs into detailed requirements that development teams can act on. They write user stories, define acceptance criteria, and work closely with designers to ensure everyone understands what needs to be built. 

It requires balancing user requests with technical feasibility and business constraints.

Collaborates with cross-functional teams

Product managers work with design, engineering, marketing, sales, and support teams daily. They facilitate communication between departments and ensure everyone stays aligned on product goals. Collaboration is necessary for successful product development and launch execution.

Measures product success

After the feature's launch, product managers track performance against established metrics. They analyze user adoption, engagement, and feedback to determine whether product changes achieved their intended goals. The data drives future product decisions and helps optimize existing features.

A project manager’s main priority is successfully delivering initiatives within defined constraints. They excel at breaking down complex work into manageable tasks, coordinating resources, and keeping everyone accountable to deadlines. 

Their success is measured by delivering projects on time, within budget, and in line with quality standards.

Plans projects

Project managers develop comprehensive plans outlining scope, timeline, resources, and deliverables. They break large initiatives into smaller, manageable tasks and identify dependencies between different work streams. Effective planning involves assessing risks and developing contingency plans to address potential obstacles.

Manages project timelines

Keeping projects on schedule requires constant attention to deadlines and milestones. Project managers track progress against planned timelines, identify potential delays early, and adjust schedules as needed. They communicate timeline changes to stakeholders and work with teams to find solutions when projects fall behind schedule.

Allocates resources

Project managers coordinate with department managers to secure necessary resources and manage competing priorities across multiple projects. Resource allocation involves balancing workloads and optimizing team productivity.

Facilitates team communication

Clear communication prevents misunderstandings and keeps projects moving smoothly. Project managers run regular status meetings, manage project documentation, and ensure information flows effectively between team members. They serve as a central point of contact for project-related questions and updates.

Tracks progress and performance

Project managers monitor key metrics like budget utilization, milestone completion, and quality indicators. They identify when projects are veering off course and take corrective action to get back on track. Regular progress reporting keeps stakeholders informed and enables data-driven decision-making.

Oversees project execution

Project managers ensure that work gets completed according to specifications and quality standards. They coordinate testing, review deliverables, and manage the handoff process when projects are complete. 

This oversight ensures that projects meet their intended objectives and stakeholder expectations.

Product and project managers share many of the same skill sets. Both roles require exceptional communication, as they spend much of their time facilitating conversations between different stakeholders. They both need to influence without authority, convincing team members to prioritize their initiatives, even when they are not directly managing them.

Both roles involve significant coordination and organization skills. Product managers coordinate between user research, design, and development phases, while project managers coordinate between different work streams and team members. They use similar tools to track progress, manage documentation, and facilitate collaboration.

Strategic planning is another shared responsibility, although it is applied differently. Product managers develop product strategies, while project managers create execution strategies. Both need to think several steps ahead and anticipate potential challenges before they become problems.

Problem-solving is central to both roles. Product managers solve user problems through product features, while project managers solve delivery problems through process improvements. They both need to remain calm under pressure and find creative solutions when standard approaches don't work.

Both roles also require a strong understanding of business objectives and how their work contributes to the overall success of the company. They need to make decisions that balance competing priorities and optimize for long-term outcomes, rather than focusing on short-term gains.

The decision between hiring a product manager or a project manager depends on your current challenges and the stage of your business. Here's how to determine which role your team needs most.

When you need a product manager

• Early-stage startups and new product development: Product managers are essential when figuring out what to build and for whom. A product manager should be your priority if you're validating product-market fit, conducting user research, or defining your core value proposition.

• Strategy and vision gaps: You need a product manager when your team is building features without clear user research, struggling to prioritize competing requests, or lacking a coherent product vision. Signs include frequent changes in direction, features that don't get adopted by users, or difficulty explaining why certain features matter.

• Market expansion: Product managers become crucial when entering new markets or pivoting your business model. They can research new user segments, analyze competitive landscapes, and adapt their product strategy accordingly.

For example, a B2B software company wants to expand from serving small businesses to enterprise clients. They need a product manager to research the needs of enterprise users, identify required features such as advanced security and integration capabilities, and develop a roadmap for this market expansion.

When you need a project manager

• Execution and delivery challenges: Project managers become necessary when you have clear requirements but struggle with execution. If your team regularly misses deadlines, struggles to coordinate between departments, or lacks visibility into project status, a project manager can implement the necessary processes and structure for reliable delivery.

• Complex, multi-team initiatives: Project managers are particularly valuable for large initiatives that involve multiple teams, external dependencies, or strict regulatory requirements. They typically excel at coordinating these complex scenarios.

• Scale and growth: As companies grow and multiple initiatives run simultaneously, project managers become essential for maintaining delivery predictability and resource optimization.

For example, a fintech startup has a clear product roadmap but struggles to deliver features on time due to coordination issues between its mobile app team, backend engineers, and compliance specialists. A project manager would create structured processes, manage dependencies, and ensure regulatory requirements are met throughout development.

When you need both roles

Certain organizations benefit from having both roles working together. Companies with mature products often have product managers defining the roadmap, while project managers ensure that individual features are delivered on schedule. 

This combination is particularly effective when facing strategic complexity and execution challenges. You should match the role to your primary challenge: strategy and vision problems require product managers, while execution and delivery problems require project managers. 

Consider your team's current capabilities as well — if you have strong technical leaders who can handle coordination, focus on product management first.

When product and project managers collaborate effectively, they create a powerful combination of strategic vision and tactical execution. The product manager knows what needs to be built and why, while the project manager determines how to build it efficiently. 

This partnership works best when both roles have clearly defined responsibilities and maintain strong alignment throughout the development process.

• Establish shared goals and priorities: Set goals to help all stakeholders understand what success looks like. Product managers should involve project managers in roadmap planning to get realistic timeline estimates and identify potential execution challenges early. 

• Maintain regular communication: Schedule consistent sync meetings covering upcoming priorities, resource constraints, and any project scope or timeline changes. Both managers should feel comfortable raising concerns and suggesting alternatives when plans need to be adjusted.

• Create clear documentation standards: Product managers should provide detailed requirements and success criteria, while project managers should maintain transparent project status and timeline updates. Shared tools and dashboards help both roles stay informed about progress and potential issues without constant check-ins.

• Respect each other's expertise: The best partnerships develop when both managers defer to each other's areas of strength. Product managers should trust project managers to find the most efficient execution path, while project managers should trust product managers' strategic decisions about feature priorities and user needs.

• Plan for scope changes together: When requirements shift or new information emerges, both managers should collaborate on assessing the impact. Product managers evaluate how changes affect user value and business goals, while project managers assess timeline and resource implications. Joint decision-making leads to better outcomes than isolated choices.

Consider a software company launching a new mobile app feature. The product manager would start by researching user behavior, identifying pain points, and defining success metrics for the new feature. 

They'd create user stories, work with designers on mockups, and establish acceptance criteria for the development team. Throughout the process, they'd gather user feedback and decide feature scope based on user value and business impact.

The project manager would take those requirements and create a project plan with timelines, resources, and milestones. They'd coordinate with the design team, mobile developers, backend engineers, and QA testers to ensure work is completed in the correct sequence. 

If the designer needs an extra week for user testing, the project manager would adjust the timelines and communicate changes to stakeholders.

In another scenario, imagine an e-commerce company expanding into a new market. The product manager would research local user preferences, the competitive landscape, and regulatory requirements to determine what product modifications are needed. 

Based on user research and market analysis, they'd prioritize features like local payment methods, language localization, and region-specific shipping options. The project manager would coordinate the complex execution involving multiple teams: engineers implementing new payment integrations, translators localizing content, legal teams ensuring compliance, and marketing teams preparing launch campaigns. 

They'd manage dependencies between these work streams and ensure everything comes together for a coordinated market entry.

These examples demonstrate how both roles are essential, showcasing different aspects of successfully bringing a product to market.

Jira supports both product and project management with flexible tools for each role. Product managers use boards, backlogs, timelines, and dashboards to prioritize features and track product metrics. Project managers rely on timelines, program boards, calendars, and forms for project planning and intake. Both roles benefit from summary pages that provide clear progress overviews and improve team alignment.

Jira seamlessly integrates with Confluence and Jira Product Discovery (JPD) to provide a comprehensive solution for complete product and project workflows. Teams can leverage product management templates in Confluence and project management templates in Jira to get started quickly. 

This connected approach enables more effective team management throughout the entire development process.

Get Jira Free