Preface

The role of a Technical Program Manager (TPM) has been around inside and outside of the tech industry for quite a while; yet somehow there is still quite a sense of mystery around what the role is and why it is beneficial, let alone how someone can succeed in being a TPM. This book looks to solve that mystery by diving into what it means to be a TPM, where the role came from, and where it is headed. You’ll get a look into how the TPM works and develops their career in the “Big 5” – Amazon, Apple, Alphabet (Google), Meta (Facebook), and Microsoft. Though I focus on these companies, in my interviews and subsequent experience running the industry-wide TPM Summit, these concepts are common across an ever-growing group of companies.

I’ve been at Amazon for a little over 11 years now and I remember back to when I was first interviewed, I had a hard time remembering what the term TPM even stood for, let alone what the role entailed. In my onsite interviews, I asked what the job role was and what the day-to-day was like. Eleven years later and I’m asked those same questions by interviewees at least once a week. I attend conferences discussing what it means to be a TPM and have written papers on what it means to be a TPM within my own organization because, as you’ll see in this book, it depends on where you are as to what the role entails.

No matter what, there are foundational principles that are followed across the industry that will set you on the right path and help you when you get stuck in a rut without a way forward.

A lot has happened between the first and second edition of this book. The first edition launched me into the world of TPM leadership in various LinkedIn communities and sparked the creation of a non-profit organization, TPM Events, to foster community, learning, networking, and ultimately a unified understanding of the TPM role across the tech industry. When I started the non-profit with my co-founders Zhanat Abylkassym and Josie Gillan in 2023, we set out to run a single conference. After the first TPM Summit in October of 2023, we kept going and expanded into local chapters to facilitate growth and learning in between the now-annual TPM Summit. We spun off a podcast, TPM Ridge, and have many other ideas in the works.

In the wider world, generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has blossomed into a driving force of change. Our job descriptions are changing, new roles are forming, and everyone is looking to what the future will have in store for them. I believe that GenAI will necessarily change what we do by taking the easily repeatable and generative portions of our jobs and forcing TPMs to become prompt-engineering experts. To balance this out, I believe TPMs will need to lean hard on our emotional intelligence skills to remain relevant in the coming decade. GenAI won’t replace our ability to form relationships with our stakeholders and use empathy to drive the change we need.

Hopefully the introduction of these two new topics will balance out your growth as we move into this new reality.

Let’s get you ready to be a successful TPM!