Product management in product-based companies is about managing diverse talents and taking short, calculated steps to deliver a quality product. With rapidly evolving technologies, staying up-to-date matters for companies of all sizes. Here are three trends product managers should watch in 2023 and beyond.

Project Management Trends

Product Ops Manager

Growing companies refine the product manager role by dividing responsibilities, allowing the manager to focus on what they do best – create good products. The product operations role has become a popular way of dividing work. A 2022 Product-Led Alliance survey found that 91% of the “people in the product” had product ops function in place at their organisation. 

The product ops manager takes on the operational responsibilities of the product manager. They are focused on collaboration between departments and data collection and analysis. The work of an ops manager includes, but is not limited to: 

• Set goals for teams and develop strategies for team priorities
• Analyse data from the customers, product team, sales, etc. 
• Manage the tools the team will use (road mapping, communication, etc.)

AI Adoption in Product Management

Recent developments in AI technology have helped it spread beyond large tech companies and common use cases, like chatbots. While we are far from  AI making strategic decisions, the open availability of technology has allowed the development of solutions for various business tasks. Based on Open AI’s ChatGPT and similar resources, there are products for content development, data analytics, customer feedback, and more. 

The job of a product manager lends itself to AI adoption. The tool can be a virtual assistant for communication, ideation, and decision-making. A 2022 research report by IBM shows that 21% of product managers use AI. Moreover, companies were 13% more likely to adopt compared to 2021.

Many startups and established tech companies have entered AI in the last 12 months. In 2023 we can expect these companies to develop and refine products. Here are some ways the product management team may benefit from these products.

• Help with product lifecycle management by better understanding feedback from customers
• Speed up the user testing process
• Assist in communicating with colleagues by summarising questions and identifying work overlaps
• Help solve problems by generating ideas based on data it collects and analyses
• Generate technical and promotional content for the  product

Working Remotely

Remote work was more common in tech and telecom, but the pandemic has expanded it across industries. While things have returned to somewhere close to normal, the remote work trend has stayed and might even grow in future. 

According to an AT&T report, the hybrid (remote and office) model will rise from 42% in 2021 to 81% in 2024. Employees also like the hybrid or remote model, with 65% wanting to work remotely and 32% in a hybrid system, according to a FlexJobs survey.

For product managers, working with remote professionals across different departments means regular onboarding. Therefore, understanding how to accommodate remote workers will continue to be relevant for managers in the near future.

Understanding the latest trends in product management can help businesses match the pace of development in their industry. The use of AI, product operations managers, and remote work are three main project management trends.