NewFernad

PM setup @Apple

What's the Product Management setup in Apple? How many per team and how does one become one- are only former engineers promoted to being a PM?

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Apple Mr. X Apr 5, 2018

Apple IMO doesn’t have Product Management vertical.. Atleast for engineering verticals they are all titled as EPM- either Engineering Project Manager or Engineering Program Manager ... the actual PM job is done maybe by the Directors/Sr. Managers themselves ? and EPMs help facilitate ?

Apple Jdhsvvs223 Apr 6, 2018

Yup, I love it

Microsoft Kei70 Apr 7, 2018

What does facilitate mean, project manage ?

Apple zrqv72 Apr 9, 2018

EPM varies by group at Apple. Even within the group the variance is super high. I didn’t fully understand project management and an engineering director started pushing some shitty waterfall process on me and asking me to do ridiculous work and that lasted about a week. The epms that do that kind of work are hated by engineers at Apple and I honestly still have no idea what they do. For every hour of work I put in I dedicate another 2 probably of learning to make sure I ask smart questions, actually create strategy for our projects and product and have the team working like a well oiled machine. The good news is every engineer begs to work with me. The bad news is I am completely burnt out and I worry my managers don’t value this work like my peers do.

Microsoft ummk Apr 9, 2018

So how close are you to actually writing specs / defining vision v/s just managing execution? From my time at Apple, all epms did was just manage radar

Apple zrqv72 Apr 12, 2018

I get in trouble for not using radar so I guess that’s the answer to your question. For me everything is about defining problems and then sitting with the team at the start to define what tasks fall under those problems and moving it all forward together. Again I refuse to just schedule meetings and don’t do radar religiously...my problems with being an epm are different. I feel very burnt out, I don’t understand why the other epms are so competitive and I don’t understand how one moves up by staying here.