Emerging Trends in Product Management

Emerging Trends in Product Management

And a 90-Day Action Plan for Product Leaders

By NBD Consulting Services | Product Ownership as a Service (POaaS)

Product Management has shifted from a feature-focused role to a strategic leadership function. Whether building new products, coaching teams, or scaling delivery practices, today’s Product Managers (PMs) must continuously evolve. At NBD Consulting Services, we help organizations stay ahead through embedded product leadership, fractional support, and our Product Ownership as a Service (POaaS) model.

Here are 8 emerging trends reshaping the future of product management — and a 90-day action plan to help you apply them in your context.

Top Trends in Product Management

1. Rise of Product Operations (Product Ops)

Product Ops enables scalable product practices by streamlining tooling, data access, and rituals. It’s becoming essential for cross-team consistency and accelerating delivery as organizations grow (ProductPlan).

2. AI-Augmented Product Management

AI tools now help PMs generate user stories, prioritize features, and surface behavioral insights. McKinsey reports that AI-powered organizations show improved speed, accuracy, and decision-making capabilities (McKinsey & Company).

3. Product-Led Growth (PLG)

PLG turns the product into the primary growth engine. OpenView’s research shows PLG companies grow faster and more efficiently by prioritizing in-product onboarding, usage-based triggers, and self-serve experiences (OpenView).

4. Continuous Discovery & Co-Creation

Continuous discovery keeps customer feedback flowing into the product lifecycle. Teresa Torres emphasizes weekly interviews and rapid prototyping as core practices for customer-informed decisions (Torres).

5. Outcome-Driven Roadmaps

Feature-focused roadmaps are fading in favor of roadmaps aligned with business outcomes. Roman Pichler advocates for goal-oriented product planning that enhances alignment and adaptability (Pichler).

6. Fractional Product Leadership and POaaS

Fractional PMs and Product Owners offer senior-level expertise without long hiring cycles. This is ideal for companies scaling fast or undergoing transformation (Koss). At NBD, POaaS ensures teams get experienced, embedded product leaders who accelerate maturity and value delivery.

7. Product Ethics & Accessibility

PMs are expected to lead with inclusive, ethical design. The Nielsen Norman Group stresses designing for all users, while the Center for Humane Technology highlights digital product ethics as essential to brand trust and loyalty (Nielsen Norman Group; Center for Humane Technology).

8. Blending Strategy and Execution

PMs now toggle between defining long-term vision and supporting sprint delivery. Marty Cagan emphasizes the need for “empowered” PMs who lead with influence across strategy and execution (Cagan).

90-Day Action Plan for Product Leaders

This plan helps PMs and product leaders translate emerging trends into practice.

Days 1–30: Audit & Awareness

• Evaluate your current PM practices, tooling, and feedback loops.

• Test AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Pendo, Jira AI) for user story generation or segmentation.

• Run a roadmap retrospective to assess alignment with outcomes.

• Conduct 5–10 customer interviews using continuous discovery frameworks (Torres).

• Identify gaps where a Product Ops role could improve efficiency.

Days 31–60: Pilot & Prototype

• Reframe your roadmap around outcomes (e.g., adoption, retention, conversion).

• Run a PLG experiment (e.g., A/B onboarding flow or trigger-based CTA).

• Start a discovery cadence (weekly or biweekly user interviews).

• Audit for accessibility and design bias.

• Engage fractional support (e.g., POaaS) to increase product leadership without hiring delay.

Days 61–90: Scale & Sustain

• Formalize a lightweight Product Ops model (standard KPIs, dashboarding, rituals).

• Host a quarterly product strategy sync tied to OKRs and roadmap themes.

• Launch an internal Product Ethics checklist or guideline.

• Document PLG or discovery results and share them cross-functionally.

• Mentor junior PMs or embed best practices across product teams.

How NBD Consulting Services Can Help

Through Product Ownership as a Service (POaaS) and targeted coaching, we help product teams level up fast. Whether you need:

• Embedded Product Owners

• A strategic roadmap reset

• Product Ops and maturity frameworks

• Fractional product leadership

We deliver support aligned to your business stage — without delay.

Let’s talk.

Schedule a discovery call to explore how NBD Consulting Services can accelerate your product delivery.

Works Cited

Cagan, Marty. Empowered: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products. Wiley, 2021.

Center for Humane Technology. “Our Approach.” Center for Humane Technology, www.humanetech.com/approach. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.

Koss, Jeff. “The Rise of the Fractional Executive.” Forbes, 9 June 2023, www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkoss/2023/06/09/rise-of-the-fractional-executive/.

McKinsey & Company. “The AI-Powered Organization.” McKinsey Digital, 2019, www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/the-ai-powered-organization.

Nielsen Norman Group. “Accessibility Guidelines.” NN/g, www.nngroup.com/topic/accessibility/. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.

OpenView. “Product-Led Growth Index.” OpenView Partners, www.openviewpartners.com/plg-index. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.

Pichler, Roman. “Goal-Oriented Product Roadmaps.” RomanPichler.com, www.romanpichler.com/blog/goal-oriented-product-roadmaps/. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.

ProductPlan. “What Is Product Operations?” ProductPlan, www.productplan.com/learn/product-operations/. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.

Torres, Teresa. Continuous Discovery Habits: Discover Products that Create Customer Value and Business Value. Product Talk, 2021.