What is the difference between a product manager and a program manager?

Remember to describe responsibilities that have the potential for overlap between these two roles. These areas represent the scenarios that have the most collaboration opportunities and potential for conflict.

"A product manager is in charge of the strategy and the success of the development of a specific product they are responsible for. They have end-to-end ownership of all of the activities that affect the development and support of their product throughout its entire lifecycle, and they help to define the customer experience. A product manager may partner with multiple project teams at a time on the development of their product. For example, the product manager of software that has a web and app version may work with multiple development and support teams to ensure its features are developed and supported properly. They may also work with marketing, legal, and other business teams as needed.

A program manager has oversight over the strategy for the success of project execution within a defined portfolio. They help to apply standards and foster coordination between various development teams. They typically oversee the work of individual project managers and assist with resource allocation issues, budget requests, etc.

There is an overlap between these two roles. In the example of the software product manager I gave, they may work alongside a program manager to coordinate interdependencies across teams. However, the product manager maintains a product-specific focus to ensure the right things are developed at the right time. The program manager is more concerned with the efficiency of the operations within the teams they are responsible for and ensures products are developed in the right way."