How technical a Product Manager needs to be?

Find out what you really need to know about the technical side of the job

👋🏻 Hey there, welcome to the #26th edition of the Product Space Newsletter, where we help you become better at product management.

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Let's talk about the persistent, age-old questions that most of the aspiring product managers ask - ‘How technical should I be as a product manager?’ We’ve heard it time and again: you don’t need to be a tech whiz to be a successful PM. And yet, this misconception lingers around.

Product managers come from very diverse background, bringing a diverse range of skills to the table. So why do we keep circling back to technical expertise? It's time to dive deeper into the topic and understand the nuances of the role of tech in product management.

What do we mean by ‘Technical skills’?

Technical skills can mean different things depending on the industry and the role, and even within software development, the requirements vary across teams. However, some core skills are widely recognized like programming languages, databases, data structures and algorithms, APIs etc.

Technology is constantly evolving, which makes it exciting for those who are already part of it. But for outsiders—especially those transitioning from fields like marketing, sales or the vast landscape of tech can seem intimidating, almost like a barrier to entry.

The good thing is that Product Management sits at the intersection of design, business, and technology. If you’re strong in any of those areas and eager to learn the others, there’s a place for you in product management.

While PMs work within the tech industry and product development involves building technology, the level of technical knowledge required isn't as daunting as it might appear. With the right mindset and willingness to learn, those technical skills are far more accessible than they first seem.

Should a PM know how to code?

A product manager doesn’t need to code, but having a basic understanding of several technical concepts is definitely an advantage. The key is to understand how the system works rather than knowing the syntax of a language.

For instance, if you can comprehend the complexity of a feature request from an engineering point of view, you can make more informed decisions. But no, you won’t be writing code; you’ll be translating business needs into something developers can build.

Do product managers need to have a technical background?

A technical background is not a strict requirement for all PM roles. However, in some industries, such as SaaS or deep tech, it might be more valued. The goal is to bridge the gap between the technical and the business side, so while you don’t need to be an engineer, you should be able to “speak the language”. Having a technical background can make learning this easier, but many successful PMs come from non-technical fields and develop the necessary technical acumen over time.

Here are a few reasons why having a basic understanding of tech might be crucial:

1. Making Technical Trade-offs

As a PM, understanding the technical architecture of your product is essential when making trade-offs. For example, if you’re working on an analytics feature, should it be in real-time, or can there be a slight delay? These decisions have significant technical implications. A basic understanding of how things work will help you weigh the pros and cons effectively.

2. Understanding Technical Feasibility

Product Managers are constantly evaluating opportunities, and prioritizing them requires knowing the technical effort involved. While your tech team will provide the specifics, it’s helpful to have a rough idea yourself. This way, you can avoid repeatedly going back to your developers for estimates. You don’t need to calculate the exact workload, but having a sense of what's feasible and what's a moonshot helps streamline the process.

3. Managing Technical Debt

A common mistake is to allocate a percentage of bandwidth to technical debt without understanding what it really entails. As a PM, you’ll need to prioritize technical debt just like any other task—based on its impact and effort. It’s tough to prioritize something you don’t understand, so having some technical insight is crucial.

4. Assisting in Debugging

Debugging may not be the most glamorous part of the job, but having a general sense of how your product works can be a huge time-saver. You won’t need to find the root cause yourself, but being able to say, “This issue might stem from either A or B,” will help your team troubleshoot more efficiently.

5. Working with Data

A key part of your role is understanding user problems, and product usage data is vital for this. If you don’t have access to a data analyst at all times, it’s incredibly helpful to pull insights on your own. Knowing basic SQL allows you to be more self-sufficient when analyzing data, giving you the autonomy to make informed decisions.

6. Navigating the Delivery Process

During the delivery phase, your tech team will move your project into production. It’s important for a PM to understand the basics of coding environments (like staging, pre-production, and production), as well as concepts like branches and pull requests. This knowledge ensures smoother communication and helps you keep track of the process.

Do some product management roles have technical requirements?

In companies with highly technical products, the bar for technical knowledge is often set higher. If you're applying for a company building tools for developers, AI/Devops, or data scientists, you might be expected to understand not only the challenges and needs of these users but also the underlying technology in great detail, often enough to discuss trade-offs, technical specifications, integration processes etc. with engineers on a more granular level.

These companies usually hire Technical Product Managers (TPM), they often work closely with engineering teams and have a stronger background in coding, infrastructure, or system architecture.

As a PM, what should you know about tech?

You should be able to grasp high-level concepts like how APIs work, the difference between front-end and back-end development, the basics of cloud infrastructure, and how databases function. It’s crucial to understand the impact of technical decisions on the user experience and the business.

For example, a PM should know how a poor architecture decision could lead to scaling problems, or how a slow database could affect the product’s performance.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the key concepts that should be within your technical reach:

1. Front-end vs. Back-end

Front-end refers to the part of the product that users interact with—the visual elements like buttons, forms, and navigation. It’s what people see and experience.

Back-end is everything that happens behind the scenes. It’s responsible for the logic, database interactions, server-side operations, and handling data.

Knowing this distinction helps you understand how different teams approach building features and solving problems.

2. Mobile vs. Web Architecture

Mobile and web products have different development and architectural requirements. For instance, web applications usually rely on browser-based technologies (like HTML, CSS, JavaScript), while mobile apps have platform-specific constraints (iOS vs Android).

A mobile app might need more optimization due to device limitations (battery life, processing power), while web apps depend more on browser compatibility and server performance. Understanding these differences helps when prioritizing features or addressing platform-specific challenges.

3. iOS vs. Android Development

iOS and Android have unique ecosystems, which affect design, development, and rollouts. iOS has stricter App Store rules and typically requires more scrutiny before approving apps.

Android, while more flexible, deals with fragmentation across multiple devices with varying specifications, which can impact design choices. These factors influence how you plan product rollouts and feature releases across different platforms.

4. Basic Product Technical Architecture

Having a basic grasp of how your product is built from a technical perspective can make a world of difference. You don’t need to know all the nitty-gritty details, but ask your tech team about the architecture when you have the opportunity. Be curious!

For example, how does data flow through the system? What are the key components? The more you understand this, the better equipped you’ll be to make decisions that align with both business goals and technical realities.

5. APIs and Webhooks

APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are tools that allow different software systems to communicate with each other. For example, if your product integrates with another service (like Slack or a payment gateway), this integration is probably handled through an API. Understanding how to read API documentation means you can evaluate how these integrations work and whether they meet the needs of your product.

Webhooks are a way for one system to send real-time data to another whenever a specific event occurs. For instance, a webhook might notify your app when a user completes a payment on a third-party platform. Knowing what these are helps you understand how your product interacts with other systems in real time.

6. DevOps and Coding Environments

DevOps is the practice of managing the lifecycle of code from development to production. As a PM, having a basic understanding of coding environments will help you follow the delivery process more effectively.

• Staging is where code is tested before release.

• Pre-production (pre-prod) is a final testing environment that closely resembles the live system.

• Production is the live environment where users interact with the product.

• Branches are separate versions of code where teams work on features independently before merging them.

• Pull requests are requests to merge code changes from one branch to another, typically after review and testing.

Understanding these concepts allows you to track project progress and speak more effectively with developers when discussing timelines and delivery.

How will recruiters assess your technical knowledge?

Recruiters will likely focus on your ability to collaborate with engineers and whether you understand technical trade-offs.

When assessing your technical knowledge, recruiters employ several strategies like -

• During the interview process, you might encounter a "case study" phase where you're asked to partner with the lead developer on a feature. This hands-on approach allows the team to observe your thought process when tackling technical challenges.

• You might be asked questions like, "Can you explain how an API works?" or "Tell me about a time when you worked with engineers on a technically challenging feature." The focus isn’t on your ability to code but on whether you can break down complex technical concepts and make informed decisions.

• Recruiters often look for candidates who show genuine interest in the technical aspects of the product. They might assess whether you've taken initiative to explore technical resources, such as API documentation, as an indicator of your proactive approach and curiosity about technology.

These methods help recruiters gauge not only your technical knowledge but also your problem-solving skills, communication abilities, and enthusiasm for technology - all crucial traits for a successful Product Manager.

Here’s a guide on ‘How to answer technical questions in PM interviews without tech background’ by Akhil Yash Tiwari.

How to learn technical skills as a product manager?

Start by learning the basics of how software is built. Familiarize yourself with terms like API, front-end, back-end, databases, and cloud services. You can watch tutorial videos or articles to give you a foundational understanding.

Spend time with your engineering team—ask them questions, observe their process, and learn how they make technical decisions. Over time, this will help you develop a stronger technical sense.

How to learn product management skills?

Product management skills come from a mix of practical experience and learning from others.

Read books like Inspired by Marty Cagan and Hooked by Nir Eyal can offer a strong foundation.

Hands-on experience is key: manage a small side project, participate in Product Teardowns and PM Hackathons, join a PM community, or enroll in cohort-based programs where you can learn from experienced PMs and apply concepts in real-world scenarios.

Additionally, work on improving your soft skills like communication, prioritization, and user empathy—these are just as crucial as technical skills in PM.

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That’s a wrap for today!

How has been your experience as a PM without technical background? We’d love to hear from you!

Share in the comments below or reply to this email.

Until next time, keep innovating, keep iterating, and above all, keep being awesome.

Cheers!

Product Space