An excellent understanding of product manager tools will help you advance your career across software, business, healthcare, and data science industries. This skill applies to professionals who want to become a product manager, a software manager, or a project manager in 2022.
We can assist you in developing a fruitful product management career by providing a list of product manager tools. We will also discuss the cost and availability of product manager tools and the top companies that use them. Continue reading to discover an indispensable tool to make informed product decisions, lead agile teams, and devise an excellent product roadmap.
The 10 Best Product Manager Tools
- Adobe XD
- Aha
- Asana
- Balsamiq
- ClickUp
- GridRank
- Mixpanel
- Sketch
- Trello
- UserTesting
What Are Product Manager Tools?
Product manager tools assist product or project managers in making informed product decisions for optimal operational processes. There is a wide range of essential tools that serve various purposes throughout the product management lifecycle. You can use product manager tools for customer feedback, user research, Google Analytics, digital product roadmapping, time tracking, and task management.
These tools also provide online surveys, bug tracking, user onboarding, burnout charts, Agile development, user experience design mockups, and product vision. To break into today’s product management job market, you must master these tools.
What Are the Main Types of Product Manager Tools?
Continue reading to learn about the various types of product manager tools that offer a huge variety of solutions for your product team. Choose tools that offer the core features relevant to your daily tasks. Note the pricing options for these tools as well.
Project Management Tools
Project management or task management is crucial throughout the product development and execution process. This tool enables product managers to delegate, assign, track, and manage projects to their entire team. Depending on your team size and operation size, you will need to choose project management applications that are appropriate for you.
Examples of Project Management Tools
- Aha
- Asana
- ClickUp
- GridRank
- Trello
- UserTesting
Data Analytics and Management Tools
If you want to become an analytics manager, this type of product manager tool is pivotal for your career success. A data analytics and management tool conducts user tracking, user feedback analysis, operational time tracking, and product metrics analysis.
All these features are essential to excellent product development and management lifecycle. Data-driven project management is now the norm, and it is critical in developing productive product roadmaps and providing optimal digital experiences.
To further improve your data analytics skills, consider learning a programming language like Python or R. If you are a newbie to programming languages, consider tools like Enki or CodeHub, which are some of the best coding apps for beginners.
Examples of Data Analytics and Management Tools
- Mixpanel
User Research and Wireframing Tools
User research and user experience design tools help managers develop user-friendly and excellent products. These tools are responsible for the growth of product engagement and real user engagement. They often have additional features covering user feedback reporting, customer testing programs, customer analytics, user research, wireframing, and marketing analytics.
User research and wireframing tools provide many actionable insights to help with the UX design process and product engagement strategies.
Examples of User Research and Wireframing Tools
- Adobe XD
- Balsamiq
- Mixpanel
- Sketch
- UserTesting
Product Lifecycle Roadmapping Tools
Product roadmapping consists of the entire product lifecycle vision, strategies, and execution processes. Using product lifecycle roadmapping tools enables managers to summarize the product goals, outlooks, and operational strategies.
These tools offer data-driven and collaborative features covering time tracking, visual plans, burndown charts, actionable insights, Agile development plans, and daily tasks layout. Product roadmapping features are used throughout the product’s development.
Examples of Product Lifecycle Roadmapping Tools
- Aha
- Asana
- ClickUp
- GridRank
Product Prototyping Tools
A product prototyping tool is a great software development tool for displaying the overall goals and visual plans of the product. This tool plays a key role in developing a product template and providing internal teams with a strong sense of user feedback. Their features include 3D transforms, interactive designs, artboard sync, rapid prototyping, and user interaction design.
Examples of Product Prototyping Tools
- Adobe XD
- Mixpanel
- Sketch
Product Management Cheat Sheet: A Tabular List of Product Manager Tools
| Tool | Uses | Companies That Use It | Cost | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe XD | Product Prototyping, User Experience Design Tool | Dell, T-Mobile, Entity Academy, LPL Financial | XD Single App: $9.99/Month, All Apps: $52.99/Month |
Open Source |
| Aha | Product Lifecycle Roadmapping, Agile Project Management, Flowcharting Tool | LinkedIn, Dell, Siemens, LexisNexis, Wiley, Paycor | Roadmap Pricing: Startup: Contact Aha, Premium: $59/User/Month, Enterprise: $99/Workspace Owner or Contributor/Month, Enterprise+: $149/Workspace Owner or Contributor/Month |
Open Source |
| Asana | Collaboration Platform, Interactive Roadmap, Product Strategy, and Product Management Software Tool | Amazon, Roku, Google, Deloitte, Vodafone, Sky, Spotify, Slack, Uber, Avon | Basic: $0, Premium: $10.99/User/Month/Billed Annually, Business: $24.99/User/Month/Billed Annually |
Commercial |
| Balsamiq | User Research, User Experience Design, Wireframing Tool | LinkedIn, Salesforce, ebay, Accenture, Dropbox, Stack, Zalando | Balsamiq Cloud: Two Projects: $9/Month or $90/Year, Twenty Projects: $49/Month or $490/Year, Two Hundred Projects: $199/Month or $1,990/Year, Wireframes for Desktop: Varies by Number of Users and Ranges between $89 to $9,790 |
Open Source |
| ClickUp | Project Management, Product Strategy, Collaboration Tool | Career Karma, Google, Netflix, User, Nike, Ubisoft, Airbnb | Free, Unlimited: $5/User/Month, Business: $9/User/Month, Business Plus: $19/User/Month, Enterprise: Contact ClickUp’s sales teams |
Open Source |
| GridRank | Product Vision, Product Management, and Task Management Tool | Human Progress, FEMA, The Software Alliance, General Dynamics, BSA | Free, Contact GridRank for More Information on their Pricing Model |
Commercial |
| Mixpanel | Data Analytics, Data Management, Product Metrics, Customer Feedback, User Research Tool | Uber, DocuSign, Yelp, Lemonade, Expedia, ZipRecruiter, Rakuten Viber | Free, Growth: $25/Month, Enterprise: Contact Mixpanel |
Commercial |
| Sketch | Product Prototyping, User Experience Design, Collaboration Tool | Facebook, Google, Stripe, Xbox, MIT | Standard: $9/Editor/Month, Business: Contact Sketch |
Closed Source |
| Trello | Project Management, Collaboration Tool | Google, Costco Wholesale, SquareSpace, Fender | Free, Standard: $5/User/Month, Premium: $10/User/Month, Enterprise: $17.50/User/Month |
Closed Source |
| UserTesting | User Research, User Experience Design, Product Management Tool | Samsung, Dominos, Grammarly, Lowes, Patagonia | Contact UserTesting for Pricing on its Essentials, Advanced, Ultimate Plans | Commercial |
The Best Product Manager Tools, Explained
Now that you’ve learned about the best tools for product managers, keep reading for a description of their features and usages. There are numerous software solutions for product teams, so ensure you select the tools that correspond to your product feature requests. We will also include pricing options for these market-dominating products.
Adobe XD
- Type: Product Prototyping, User Experience Design Tool
- Companies That Use Adobe XD: Dell, T-Mobile
- Adobe XD Cost and Availability: Open Source
Adobe XD is a popular user experience design and prototyping tool that offers web design, brand design, and app design features. The tool’s UX features are great for product managers because they help them develop a user-friendly product while incorporating its customer survey tools and real user experiences reporting features. Adobe XD is trusted by several lucrative organizations, including Barclays and Equinox.
Aha
- Type: Product Lifecycle Roadmapping, Agile Project Management, Flowcharting Tool
- Companies That Use Aha: LinkedIn, Dell
- Aha Cost and Availability: Open Source
Aha is a product and software roadmapping software that offers Agile development features, product visibility solutions, user testing, and customizable templates to help you launch the visual plans for your product. It also provides SWOT analysis reporting features and time-tracking features to assist in the execution of a successful product.
Asana
- Type: Collaboration Platform, Interactive Roadmap, Product Strategy, and Product Management Software Tool
- Companies That Use Asana: Amazon, Google
- Asana Cost and Availability: Commercial
Asana is a project automation tool that aims to reduce project development workload for its users by streamlining their daily tasks. It is an all-in-one collaboration tool that offers app integration, real-time progress reporting, Kanban-style boards, Gantt chart, and portfolio building features. It also offers Agile project management, campaign management, sales and marketing management, and operations management solutions.
Balsamiq
- Type: User Research, User Experience Design, Wireframing Tool
- Companies That Use Balsamiq: Salesforce, Accenture
- Balsamiq Cost and Availability: Open Source
If you’re looking for the best UX design tools, then Balsamiq is worth looking into. This wireframing and UX design tool helps project managers develop and release a user-friendly and efficient product. It provides user interface components, interactive prototypes, drag-and-drop elements, and wireframing for speed optimization.
ClickUp
- Type: Project Management, Product Strategy, Collaboration Tool
- Companies That Use ClickUp: Google, Netflix
- ClickUp Cost and Availability: Open Source
ClickUp is a task management and collaboration tool designed for businesses looking to streamline operational tasks. It is an excellent choice for project teams because it is an all-in-one collaboration tool. You can delegate tasks, create marketing strategies, and set deadlines for your entire team.
GridRank
- Type: Product Vision, Product Management, and Task Management Tool
- Companies That Use GridRank: The Software Alliance, General Dynamics
- GrdiRank Cost and Availability: Commercial
If you are looking for a product vision layout platform that also aids your decision-making process, then GridRank is the product management tool for you. It turns your project lifecycle into a game and serves as a data analytics platform for your team to provide solutions. It also supports group collaboration and includes a game board that displays the various outcomes of your product criteria.
Mixpanel
- Type: Data Analytics, Data Management, Product Metrics, Customer Feedback, User Research Tool
- Companies That Use Mixpanel: ZipRecruiter, Expedia
- Mixpanel Cost and Availability: Commercial
Mixpanel is a powerful tool that reports providing analytics services to over 26,000 productive users which include Google, AWS, and Uber. This management tool offers product metrics, customer analytics, data integration, and group analytics solutions. Its analytical engine helps product managers convert, engage, and retain customers using the software’s behavioral analytics platform and customer testing programs.
Sketch
- Type: Product Prototyping, User Experience Design, Collaboration Tool
- Companies That Use Sketch: Facebook, Google
- Sketch Cost and Availability: Closed Source
Sketch is another all-in-one collaboration tool for user interface and user experience design projects. Product managers use this tool to create design mockups and product prototypes. Its library also offers product scalability, design integration, and workflow customization features. The tool is currently used by several top tech-based companies, including Google, Xbox, Facebook, and Stripe.
Trello
- Type: Project Management, Collaboration Tool
- Companies That Use Trello: Google, Costco Wholesale
- Trello Cost and Availability: Closed Source
With over 1,000,000 global users, Trello is a popular choice for project teams across several reputable companies. It is a task management and collaborative tool that offers a huge variety of project management features.
The tool’s board view includes user onboarding, taskflow allocation, productivity metrics, and workflow integration features. It can also be used as a software development tool because it has no-code automation and customizable templates features.
UserTesting
- Type: User Research, User Experience Design, Product Management Tool
- Companies That Use UserTesting: Samsung, Dominos
- UserTesting Cost and Availability: Commercial
User testing and customer insights play a key role in determining the success of a product and product managers are responsible for delivering an optimal product. UserTesting is a customer-driven product management system that offers tons of UX solutions. They include prototyping, user research, product launch, design mockups, and customer analytics. This is an excellent tool that will help you from the design and development stages of your product to its execution.
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Why Product Manager Tools Are Important
Product manager tools are important task management and automation software aids that ease the entire product development process. In this fast-paced era, it is pivotal that product managers execute the product operational processes with high efficiency. Product manager tools enable that efficiency by offering Agile development, Kanban-style boards, UX design integration, and customer insights analytics features.
Ensure you choose a tool that matches your project’s pricing options and company needs. Furthermore, adding product manager tool skills to your resume will boost your candidacy and allow you to enter a lucrative and high-paying field. According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary for product managers is $94,704. Therefore, why not master these management tools to advance your management career goals?
Product Manager Tools FAQ
Yes, product managers are highly in demand and this especially applies to software product managers. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for product managers is projected to grow by ten percent between 2020 to 2030. They are classified as advertising, promotion, and marketing management occupations.
Product manager tools are software aids that help managers execute smooth and efficient product development and delivery process. There is a huge variety of product management tools that come with custom pricing and custom rules.
The top product manager tools include AdobeXD, Aha, UserTesting, Trello, Sketch, Asana, and GridRank. Highly reputable companies such as Samsung, Google, Facebook, Uber, and Expedia use these tools to streamline their product management process.
Product management tools are worth it because they provide a variety of customer-driven, data analytics, user experience integration, collaboration, and software solutions necessary for an efficient product delivery process. These management tools help product and project managers provide a smooth and productive management process.
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