5 product management tools Product Managers should master

In recent years, the competition for talents in the technology space has become more heated as the talent shortage especially in Southeast Asia widens. Chinese and American technology giants seeking to expand their growing market presence in this region, such as Tencent, Tiktok and Zoom, are offering better welfare benefits and higher rates for them. It is however important to note that technically skilled product managers are more likely to earn more than those who are not. Hence, all aspiring and existing product managers need to be equipped with technical knowledge and skills of prevailing software and tools that companies are actively looking out for.

Product management tools are applications which empower professionals in product teams to brainstorm ideas, plan timelines, analyse business needs, and identify gaps till the development and launching of the product. These applications can range from performing one stage of the product life cycle to covering end-to-end processes.

So you may ask, what does it take to get into product management? Which product management software should I brush up on to stay relevant in this industry? To answer these questions, this article will be focusing on the top 5 high-value product management software that any aspiring product manager should master.

Here are 5 of the most prevalent product management tools that everyone should know:

1. Monday.com

Monday.com is a cloud-based task management tool that allows members to build applications of their own.

Key features:

• Task Creation
• Tracking timelines
• Task Prioritization
• Project planning

It is one of the most flexible tools in the market right now. It includes a clear and intuitive user interface with teams, items, boards and workspaces. It is also able to handle a myriad of data types and formats. The non-exhaustive list contains text, timeline, people, tags, dates, numbers and status. With just a point and click, different view modes can be enabled as data are quickly transformed. Various presentation templates that are widely accepted in the industry are also available for users to choose from, including Kanban boards, calendars, timelines and Gantt charts.

2. ClickUp

Key features:

• Task boards
• Access management
• Sprint management
• Project Budgeting
• Dashboard creation

Teams waste so much time switching between tools—ClickUp’s mission is to create an all-in-one platform so that users can save time from switching between different tools. That is why ClickUp is built to be completely personalized and customizable so that any form of collaboration can happen regardless of team structure or operational differences. Any team can essentially leverage this same app to strategize, plan, collaborate and execute tasks.

3. QAWolf

QAWolf is a specific product management tool that provides comprehensive and fuss-free test coverage to ensure new products are bug-free.

Key features:

• Unlimited development test runs
• Full web application testing
• No vendor lock-in
• 100% parallelization

It is targeted at up-and-coming SAAS small and medium enterprises with minimal existing coverage. Companies which want to outsource testing and free up resources from test maintenance. By utilizing QA Wolf, companies can design tests online directly. QAWolf increases interface simplicity by only enabling users to re-run the specific lines of code that they are troubleshooting. QAWolf also provides the option to record errors with videos, highlighted code and logs to simplify the debugging process. Testers can also share and collaborate with team members using the testing dashboard to better facilitate the creation of test cases and maintenance of testing environments. Results for tests are then compiled in a matter of minutes and finally distributed via email or Slack.

4. Craft.io

Craft.io is a product management tool that supports product management personnel in defining functional requirements, task prioritization, facilitating collaboration and human resource management.

Key features:

• Feedback capturing
• Workflow planning
• Road mapping
• Release summary

Craft.io is a one-stop platform which gathers product data from ideation to stakeholder feedback. As a comprehensive data-consolidation tool, product managers can confidently analyze and support vital product decisions allowing product managers to improve communications between stakeholders and lead the team with increased product alignment. The platform empowers users to collaborate across its features such as in the process of roadmap creation, monitoring status and intuitive ways to present data. Integration across various well-established project management applications is facilitated as well, with platforms such as Jira, Github, Dropbox, Google Drive and Azure DevOps.

5. ProdPad

ProdPad is an end-to-end dynamic product management platform that supports every aspect of the product development journey.

Key features:

• Lean road mapping
• Idea management
• Feedback management
• Workflow planning

Through an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, lean roadmaps can be created easily in minutes. Lean road mapping in the platform is designed to focus on achieving outcomes and key results (OKRs). The option to share these strategies seamlessly with multiple stakeholders is also supported. Feedback management is another focus of this application to better understand and increase value to clients. It is done through smart AI technology to mine feedback for opportunities and gather the specific needs of customers.

Conclusion

These high-value product management software help even the most experienced teams leverage the latest data gathering, collaboration and sharing functionalities to enhance product alignment. Ultimately, these product management software empower product managers and allow companies to transform business processes and build more client-centric products.

If you want to know more about user experience and its industry, do check out our other resources available on our websites, such as our articles, weekly webinars, and podcasts.

CuriousCore offers mid-career professionals specialized and career accelerator courses and we also provide practitioner-led masterclasses and consultations for organisations to improve their customer experience strategy and business growth.