Software manager to ICT 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.
82/ 100
1 How much of what an ICT product manager is expected to do is already part of a software manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the ICT product manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An ICT product manager role treats 5 of its required skills as things a software manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- 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 · What you already bring
Of the 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An 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.
- 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 · What you may need to learn
The 41 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn assess ICT knowledge required
- still to learn perform product planning required
- still to learn create project specifications required
- still to learn define technical requirements required
- still to learn manage budgets required
- still to learn plan product management required
- still to learn ICT market required
- still to learn cost management required
- still to learn product comprehension required
- still to learn 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
- still to learn conduct impact evaluation of ICT processes on business required
- still to learn perform market research required
- still to learn perform risk analysis required
- still to learn provide cost benefit analysis reports required
- still to learn ICT software specifications required
- still to learn 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
- still to learn manage contracts required
- optional, not held manage localisation optional
- still to learn ICT infrastructure required
- optional, not held engineering processes optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an 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 · The rest of the record
All 9 skills that carry over
- 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
- optional, not held perform online data analysis optional
23 supplementary skills, helpful but not 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 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
- 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.
- still to learn ICT infrastructure required
- still to learn ICT market required
- still to learn ICT software specifications required
- still to learn cost management required
- still to learn product comprehension required
- still to learn ICT hardware specifications required
- still to learn 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
Common questions about this move
Can a software manager become an ICT product manager?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A software manager already covers 20% of what an ICT product manager is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 5 of which the ICT product manager role treats as required.
What skills does a software manager need to become an ICT product manager?
18 required skills are missing, plus 23 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is ICT infrastructure.
How hard is the move from software manager to ICT product manager?
Its learning distance is 82 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
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.