What A Product Manager At Acer Wishes They Had Known Before Entering The Hardware Industry
Bernice, a hardware product manager at Acer, wishes someone had explained the industry's power dynamics beforehand, noting that "engineering teams really have stronger power," particularly regarding mature products where "the first priority would be timeline management," rather than product design influence. The significant differences between hardware and software product management roles across industries also came as a surprise.
Project Management, Communication, Teamwork, Industry Realities, Workplace Challenges
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. The level of influence a hardware product manager has on product design can be limited, especially with mature products. Timeline management and communication between different departments (like engineering) often take priority.
2. Engineering teams often hold significant power in hardware product development due to their role in determining product feasibility.
3. The responsibilities of a product manager vary significantly across industries and product types (e.g., software vs. hardware). Understanding these differences beforehand is crucial for career planning and expectations.
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone would have told you before you entered the industry?
As the hardware product manager, I wish someone had told me this beforehand. We didn't have very strong ownership for the product.
The laptop I was responsible for was a more mature product. Therefore, we didn't have the power to affect the product design significantly. Instead, we had to work hard on timeline management to ensure the product was produced on time.
We also needed to listen to many different requirements from various departments. Typically, engineering teams held more power in certain conflicts. This is because they are the key team to determine if a product can be produced.
I wish someone had told me in advance that engineering teams have stronger power during the process for hardware products. That way, I could have learned more about those technical aspects beforehand. I also wish someone had told me that, apart from the product itself, timeline management is really important.
I expected to affect the product's design more than I could. In fact, I was more like a communicator among different teams, and the first priority was timeline management. I've spoken with product managers from different industries, and their responsibilities vary greatly.
For software products, for example, the product manager may have more power to affect product features or the production process. So, I think if someone had explained the differences between product managers across different products or industries, that would have been very helpful.