Table 1Transition record

software managertoICT product manager

A software manager already meets 20% of what the ICT product manager role asks for. The move turns on 18 required skills not yet in the profile.

From software manager

20%

Overlap1

To ICT product manager

9 Skills carried over

18 Required, not held

82 Difficulty2

Career overlap Distant match

20%

Learning distance A rebuild

82/ 100

Easy adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change Hard

1 Share of the ICT product manager role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the software manager profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A ICT product manager role treats 5 of its required skills as things a software manager already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

ICT system user requirements
define technology strategy
manage schedule of tasks
monitor technology trends
systems development life-cycle

What stands in the way is 18 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A ICT product manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a software manager background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held interact with users to gather requirements communication, collaboration and creativity
already held trading software information and communication technologies (icts)
already held ICT project management business, administration and law
already held ICT system user requirements information and communication technologies (icts)
already held monitor technology trends information skills
already held define technology strategy management skills

All 9 carried skills, including the 5 the ICT product manager role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 41 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier

01 management skills 6 required

required, not held assess ICT knowledge required
required, not held perform product planning required
required, not held create project specifications required
required, not held define technical requirements required
required, not held manage budgets required
required, not held plan product management required

02 business, administration and law 4 required, 6 supplementary

required, not held ICT market required
required, not held cost management required
required, not held product comprehension required
required, not held advertising techniques required

optional, not held ICT quality policy optional
optional, not held ICT sales methodologies optional
optional, not held ICT security legislation optional
optional, not held business process modelling optional
optional, not held innovation processes optional
optional, not held quality standards optional

03 information skills 4 required

required, not held conduct impact evaluation of ICT processes on business required
required, not held perform market research required
required, not held perform risk analysis required
required, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports required

04 information and communication technologies (icts) 2 required, 14 supplementary

required, not held ICT software specifications required
required, not held ICT hardware specifications required

optional, not held Agile development optional
optional, not held DevOps optional
optional, not held ICT process quality models optional
optional, not held Open source model optional
optional, not held Outsourcing model optional
optional, not held Prototyping development optional
optional, not held Rapid application development optional
optional, not held Spiral development optional
optional, not held Waterfall development optional
optional, not held hybrid model optional
optional, not held incremental development optional
optional, not held iterative development optional
optional, not held service-oriented modelling optional
optional, not held software design methodologies optional

05 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required, 1 supplementary

required, not held manage contracts required

optional, not held manage localisation optional

06 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 required, 1 supplementary

required, not held ICT infrastructure required

optional, not held engineering processes optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a ICT product manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 9 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held ICT system user requirements knowledge
already held define technology strategy skill
already held manage schedule of tasks skill
already held monitor technology trends skill
already held systems development life-cycle knowledge
already held ICT project management knowledge
already held digital systems knowledge
already held interact with users to gather requirements skill
already held trading software knowledge

The 1 learning area not shown above

Skill to acquire Tier

07 working with computers 1 supplementary

optional, not held perform online data analysis optional

23 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to acquire Tier

optional, not held Agile development optional
optional, not held DevOps optional
optional, not held ICT process quality models optional
optional, not held ICT quality policy optional
optional, not held ICT sales methodologies optional
optional, not held ICT security legislation optional
optional, not held Open source model optional
optional, not held Outsourcing model optional
optional, not held Prototyping development optional
optional, not held Rapid application development optional
optional, not held Spiral development optional
optional, not held Waterfall development optional
optional, not held business process modelling optional
optional, not held engineering processes optional
optional, not held hybrid model optional
optional, not held incremental development optional
optional, not held innovation processes optional
optional, not held iterative development optional
optional, not held service-oriented modelling optional
optional, not held software design methodologies optional
optional, not held manage localisation optional
optional, not held perform online data analysis optional
optional, not held quality standards optional

39 held skills the ICT product manager role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role Agile project management knowledge
not needed by the target role Android (mobile operating systems) knowledge
not needed by the target role BlackBerry knowledge
not needed by the target role ICT project management methodologies knowledge
not needed by the target role Process-based management knowledge
not needed by the target role analyse ICT technical proposals skill
not needed by the target role analyse software specifications skill
not needed by the target role apply ICT system usage policies skill
not needed by the target role apply conflict management skill
not needed by the target role apply system organisational policies skill
not needed by the target role coach employees skill
not needed by the target role create software design skill
not needed by the target role data storage knowledge
not needed by the target role ensure adherence to organisational ICT standards skill
not needed by the target role evaluate cost of software products skill
not needed by the target role execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
not needed by the target role give live presentation skill
not needed by the target role iOS knowledge
not needed by the target role identify ICT user needs skill
not needed by the target role lean project management knowledge
not needed by the target role manage ICT project skill
not needed by the target role manage business knowledge skill
not needed by the target role manage data skill
not needed by the target role manage software localisation skill
not needed by the target role manage staff skill
not needed by the target role manage tender processes skill
not needed by the target role mobile operating systems knowledge
not needed by the target role monitor ICT research skill
not needed by the target role negotiate buying conditions skill
not needed by the target role organisational policies knowledge
not needed by the target role provide user documentation skill
not needed by the target role quality assurance methodologies knowledge
not needed by the target role software metrics knowledge
not needed by the target role train employees skill
not needed by the target role unified modelling language knowledge
not needed by the target role use ICT ticketing system skill
not needed by the target role use an application-specific interface skill
not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
not needed by the target role use methodologies for user-centered design skill

28 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier

required, not held ICT infrastructure required
required, not held ICT market required
required, not held ICT software specifications required
required, not held cost management required
required, not held product comprehension required
required, not held ICT hardware specifications required
required, not held advertising techniques required
optional, not held Agile development optional
optional, not held DevOps optional
optional, not held ICT process quality models optional
optional, not held ICT quality policy optional
optional, not held ICT sales methodologies optional
optional, not held ICT security legislation optional
optional, not held Open source model optional
optional, not held Outsourcing model optional
optional, not held Prototyping development optional
optional, not held Rapid application development optional
optional, not held Spiral development optional
optional, not held Waterfall development optional
optional, not held business process modelling optional
optional, not held engineering processes optional
optional, not held hybrid model optional
optional, not held incremental development optional
optional, not held innovation processes optional
optional, not held iterative development optional
optional, not held service-oriented modelling optional
optional, not held software design methodologies optional
optional, not held quality standards optional

Index

Other moves recorded from software manager

Full index of moves from software manager

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.