A few years ago, an article in the Financial Times declared that the data scientist was the “sexiest job on the planet.” Today, data product management (DPM) has taken over that mantle. And it’s not difficult to see why. Highly successful companies with huge valuations do not own physical assets. Uber does not own cabs, and Airbnb does not own rooms. They are data product companies.
The DPM role is becoming increasingly important as it generates revenue with minimal capital expenditure (CAPEX). Just as with brick-and-mortar companies, there will be large, medium, small, and individual data product creators. Data products are everywhere today, and all information distribution should be managed as part of a data product lifecycle.
What is a Data Product Manager (DPM)?
A data product manager (DPM) specializes in transforming data and information into a monetizable product. The simplest example is a weather app—collecting weather data, packaging it in an appealing way, and delivering it conveniently to users. Similarly, newspapers turn information into monetizable publications. A growing field is statistical data publishing, where journalists and business professionals collect, organize, and publish data in a consumer-friendly format.
The DPM role encompasses collecting, organizing, storing, packaging, and sharing or publishing data to information consumers. This role is pivotal in leveraging data flow throughout the entire product lifecycle—from conception and design to distribution and beyond—with the aim of continuously building, refining, updating, and perfecting the data products under management.
Since the data product is an asset, its monetization is a key aspect of the DPM role. The data monetization models are still emerging, and the creativity of the DPM in developing new business models with data is a highly sought-after skill in the market.
How Does a Data Product Manager Differ from a Traditional PM?
While data is crucial for all product managers because it informs essential product activities like setting OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), being data-driven doesn’t officially make a PM a DPM.
Ellen Merryweather of the Product School blog writes: “Data is an integral part of Product Management, as it is with all aspects of product. You may have seen the job title ‘Data Product Manager’ and thought ‘well, aren’t all Product Managers…Data Product Managers?’ It’s a common misconception, but being a data-driven Product Manager doesn’t necessarily make you a Data Product Manager.”
The key differentiator between a data PM and a traditional PM is the product that they manage. Traditional PMs certainly use data to guide their product decisions, but for data PMs, data is the core product. The apps can be surprisingly simple. Many people collect nutritional data in spreadsheets, just like DishingOutData. Now, they can organize this data, package it as an infoapp (short for information app), and publish it to a wider audience.