Biggest Challenges Faced by a Product Manager at Acer
Bernice, a Product Manager at Acer, cites two key challenges: a lack of engineering background initially hampered communication with engineering teams, requiring extensive "homework" and consultation with senior colleagues to navigate technical disagreements; and the need to improve project prioritization and understanding of product management processes, given the numerous concurrent projects and unexpected issues encountered during a first year in the role.
Project Management, Communication, Overcoming Challenges, Technical Skills, Problem-Solving
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Bernice Li
Product Manager
Acer
National Taiwan University/2016
UCLA Anderson MBA
Fine Arts, Music, Marketing
Technology
Product / Service / Software Development and Management
International Student, Took Out Loans
Video Highlights
1. Bernice's lack of engineering background initially hindered her ability to understand technical discussions and navigate disagreements between engineering teams.
2. The multitude of concurrent projects and unexpected challenges required Bernice to prioritize tasks and processes, highlighting the importance of effective project management.
3. Bernice emphasizes the need to understand product management processes and adapt prioritization based on various situations, reflecting a continuous learning aspect of the role.
Transcript
What is the biggest challenge you face in your role?
The first challenge for me was that I didn't have an engineering background. This sometimes made it difficult to understand what the engineers were talking about. We needed to communicate with both internal engineering teams and those in our factories.
Sometimes their opinions conflicted, and because I didn't know much about technical matters, I struggled when they argued. I didn't know which side to support. I had to do a lot of homework and consult senior colleagues to understand the next steps. So, technical aspects were a challenge for me.
The second challenge was that we had many different projects running simultaneously. Things didn't always go as expected, so I had to re-prioritize production processes. Last year was my first time as a product manager, and I didn't fully grasp the importance of those processes. I didn't understand what would happen if I skipped a step.
I realized I needed to improve my understanding of the PM process and learn how to prioritize according to different situations.