Is Product Management the Same as UX Design?

UX Design and Product Management: Different Roles, Different Goals

At a fundamental level, UX design and product management aren’t the same, as reflected in their distinct titles, responsibilities, and place within the organisation. While UX designers and product managers may overlap in some tasks, their day-to-day focus and accountability often look very different.

What UX Designers Do vs. What Product Managers Do

UX designers focus primarily on creating user journeys, mapping process flows, and managing detailed interaction design. Product managers, on the other hand, may provide initial guidance through requirement documents and prototypes, often defining only the “happy path” or ideal experience. When these requirements reach UX designers, they’re expected to flesh out the full range of scenarios, including edge cases.

While PMs sometimes delve into user experience work, UX designers take this further into the intricate details. This isn’t due to exclusive skills but rather to differences in time, focus, and specialisation.

The Administrative and Process-Oriented Focus of Product Managers

Product managers have a broader mandate, overseeing the entire product process from concept to delivery. They manage complex roadmaps, update backlogs, track progress, and often bridge multiple departments to ensure alignment across the organization. Unlike UX designers, whose core focus is on creating the best possible user experience, PMs are responsible for monitoring and reporting on the product’s progress at every stage — not just its design. Their accountability covers alignment with business goals, customer needs, and cross-functional coordination, adding a layer of administrative and strategic oversight that UX design doesn’t typically entail.

The Growing Overlap Between PMs and UX Designers

While the roles remain distinct, product managers are increasingly taking on UX-oriented responsibilities, particularly in areas like product discovery and user research. This shift could be partly due to designers focusing more on UI work, leaving strategic and research opportunities for PMs to fill.

Additionally, many former UX designers, like Peter, are moving into product management, bringing a UX-centered approach to product leadership and further influencing the perception that these roles are blending.

The Bottom Line

For senior product leaders managing teams of UI-focused designers, it may seem like product managers are taking on more UX responsibilities. However, UX design and product management are still distinct fields, each with a unique focus and purpose. For the time being at least. Once AI removes the need for craft skills and tool mastery, who knows.