A requirement: why does it need to be discussed over and over? Starting from this question, look at how a role connects needs, execution, and feedback.
Understanding today's problem
From the feedback, tell the symptoms apart from the problem that needs solving. Confirm with the relevant colleagues who the users are, what difficulty they face, and what limits the current solution has.
Moving forward with the team
Organize a discussion of the solution with design, engineering, and operations. Make the priorities, scope, and acceptance criteria clear, so the different roles share a common understanding of this delivery.
Delivery and continuous improvement
Watch the feedback after launch and confirm whether the problem has improved. Record what is still unresolved and decide the next step, rather than treating shipping a feature as the end of the work.
Role names help us see how work is divided; everyday collaboration is what truly connects those divisions.
A day in the role
The work, step by step
01Tell symptoms from problems
From the feedback, find out who the users are and what difficulty they face.
02Organize the discussion of solutions
Make the priorities, scope, and acceptance criteria clear.
03Follow up on the launch
Watch the feedback and confirm whether the problem has improved.
04Maintain the requirement record
Record what is still unresolved and the reasons behind the trade-offs.
Across the eras
Where this work appears in the timeline
- Web
1994–2000
Portal channel editors and website planners, deciding what went in each channel and how pages were arranged.
- Community & Search Era
2001–2008
The product manager system spreads across internet companies. The daily work is writing requirement documents, drawing prototypes, following up on iterations, and reviewing user feedback.
- Mobile Era
2009–2015
Mobile product managers focus on growth, retention, and conversion, and "user growth" becomes a methodology.
- Cloud & Intelligence Era
2016–2022
Data-driven product managers looking at funnels, running experiments and driving growth; the "strategy product manager" emerged.
- Large Model Era
2023–present
AI product managers who define "the boundary of model capability plus a fallback experience", using evaluations to replace part of the requirements document.
Occupation records
Recognition, mappings and market data
As of September 2026, no formal Product Manager occupation recognition was found. Digital Solution Designer (4-04-04-05) is related but not equivalent; U.S. Marketing Managers data is a proxy.
Occupation names and classifications
China · Occupation classification / mapping · A
Digital Solution Designer
Classification code · 4-04-04-05.
中国就业网（人社部）
Pay, hiring and outlook indicators
United States · Proxy occupation · A
Marketing Managers
Median annual pay： US$166,790
2025 median (P50) · USD/year
O*NET OnLine（美国劳工部资助） · 11-2021.00 Marketing Managers
United States · Proxy occupation · A
Marketing Managers
Projected growth / sample change： Much faster than average (7% or higher)
2025–2035 projected growth band
O*NET OnLine（美国劳工部资助） · 11-2021.00 Marketing Managers
Global · Proxy occupation · B
Product Managers
List position / share of job postings： #41
WEF Future of Jobs Report, Figure 2.3 · 2025–2030 list position
Report list position; no in-chart percentage is shown.
World Economic Forum · The Future of Jobs Report 2025 (PDF)
Paper coverage
This round’s paper record
No L1 paper links were approved for this round. A shared category alone is not evidence of a role link.