Product Planner Role Skill Set

The following set of skills, listed in alphabetical order, is essential to the Product

Planner role:

• • Authoring Skills—ability to articulate and document the customers’ market problem in a manner that encapsulates knowledge and represents a true understanding of the market and its needs.
• • Interpersonal Skills—ability to build strong rapport and relationships with customers so as to gain in-depth understanding of customers’ problems and needs.
• • Interview Skills—ability to interview customers in order to comprehensively understand their market problem.
• • Language Skills—ability to communicate, in written and verbal form, with diverse audiences, internal and external to the company, in a clear and comprehensible manner.
• • Methodological Skills—ability to structure and craft market requirements using a formal and structured methodology.
• • Process Skills—ability to implement and/or follow the product planning process component of the product delivery process.
• • Research Skills—ability to perform market research, market analysis, and competitive intelligence studies.

Product Planner Role Overview Table

The product planner role overview table (Table 16.1) provides the role’s general profile and a list of its key characteristics.

The role overview table is by no means an unwavering recommendation or a precise depiction of either the role or the qualities the person assuming the role should possess, or must have, in order to succeed at this role.

Table 16.1 Product Planner Role Overview Table