How do you become a product operations associate?

Product Operations Associate typically works on optimizing processes related to product development. They may coordinate between different teams, track project timelines, analyze data, and assist in ensuring efficient product launches. Additionally, they often help streamline communication and collaboration among various stakeholders involved in the product lifecycle.

Product Operations person can also be responsible for - development planning processes (roadmaps, delivery plans, execution monitoring, etc.) - product development prioritization processes - monitoring key touchpoints of the product development process with other departments in order to control/improve/define/implement/abort them - managing and implementing tools to support daily work of product managers and engineers - preparing various dashboards and reports to support operative work and decision making.

A product operations associate is responsible for coordinating and executing various tasks throughout the product lifecycle, from testing and launching to monitoring and improving products. They collaborate with product managers, engineers, designers, and other stakeholders to ensure that the customer needs and expectations are met. Specific duties of a product operations associate include conducting user research and feedback analysis to identify pain points and opportunities for improvement, creating and maintaining product documentation such as user guides, FAQs, release notes, and training materials, managing product backlogs and roadmaps, communicating product updates and changes to internal and external audiences, troubleshooting.

Due to a various tasks a product associate performs, I like to have a jack of all trades in my team. I would say that communication skills, organizational skills, cross-functional and cross-departmental collaboration, and ability to read people beyond what they talk are crucial for this role. Some additional skills would be: facilitating meetings, proactive problem solving, change management and strong execution.

As this specialization is quite new on the job market, it is important to understand what product operations means in a target organization. Based on that, seek for examples in your career or private life for experiences that proved you would be a great fit for the target company.

Take into consideration that this is a new specialization on the job market in general, and possibly a new in your company. So, be open to changes and adjustments on what the position actually means and how it fits the company needs. Pay special attention to product management and project management, as understanding both and their differences will be crucial for the role.