In today’s tech-driven world, the line between Product Management and Software Development is thinner than ever. One conversation that keeps popping up is: do developers make better product managers?

After years of watching teams grow, struggle, and succeed, I believe the answer is yes — and for very good reasons.

Why Developers Often Make Great Product Managers

1. Deep Technical Understanding
   A product manager with a background in software development doesn’t just write user stories and requirements. They understand the complexities behind every feature request. They can spot potential risks early, foresee technical debt, and suggest realistic solutions — not just dream features that engineers later have to painfully “translate” into feasible work.
   
   
2. Smaller, Faster Teams
   When your PM can speak code (even if they’re no longer coding day-to-day), your product team can move leaner. There’s less need for lengthy explanations, fewer layers of translation between “what we want” and “what we can build.” It reduces the overhead of constant back-and-forth between business and tech. A product team of five can deliver the work that would traditionally take seven or eight people, simply because communication flows better.
   
   
3. Stronger Collaboration with Engineers
   Developers trust other developers. When a former engineer steps into a product role, they naturally build faster rapport with the dev team. They can empathize with real technical challenges, advocate for realistic timelines, and push back on unreasonable expectations — not from a defensive place, but from a place of understanding.
   
   
4. Better Prioritization
   Understanding technical trade-offs leads to better decision-making. A PM who knows when a “small tweak” will actually mean a month-long backend refactor can prioritize roadmap items more intelligently. This results in a product that ships faster, cleaner, and more reliably.
   
   
5. Ownership of the “How” as Well as the “What”
   Traditional product managers define what should be built, while engineers figure out how. Developer-turned-PMs can often bridge the two. They won’t micromanage solutions, but they can engage meaningfully in technical architecture conversations early on, ensuring that the “what” is shaped by a smart, scalable “how.”
   

But It’s Not Automatic…

Of course, not every developer will make a great product manager.
Being a good PM still demands skills that aren’t technical:

• Customer empathy
• Business acumen
• Strategic thinking
• Clear communication
• Prioritization under uncertainty

A developer who wants to move into product must choose to develop these muscles.
Technical knowledge is an amplifier, not a replacement.

Final Thoughts: Why Smaller Product Teams Matter

In the age of fast-moving startups and lean software development, smaller, faster product teams are a huge advantage.
When your product manager can engage at a technical level, you naturally eliminate redundancy:

• Fewer meetings explaining specs
• Faster problem-solving
• More aligned execution

In short: you spend less time talking about the work and more time doing the work.

If you’re building a product team today, don’t just look for people who can write PRDs.
Look for people who can speak to both customers and code.
That’s how you build smarter products with smaller, stronger teams.