Product management is evolving faster than ever. AI, shifting customer expectations, and new org structures are redefining how product teams operate, make decisions, and deliver impact.

In 2026, what does great product management really look like?

We’re excited to partner with ProductPlan to drive the 11th annual edition of the State of Product Management Report. For over a decade, this comprehensive research has been owned, developed, and published by ProductPlan, uncovering how product teams are structured, how they build strategy, how they prioritize, and how they’re using AI to succeed.

What we’ll uncover in this report

The data gathered will be synthesized by the teams at Product-Led Alliance and ProductPlan across these key themes:

🔍 Product org structure & maturity

  • How product organizations are structured today – from team size to key decision makers.
  • How companies of different sizes approach product maturity.
  • How product outcomes are connected to overarching company goals.

🎯 Strategy, alignment & communication

  • How strongly roadmaps align with product strategy.
  • What most often causes misalignment between strategy and roadmaps.
  • How clearly product strategy is understood and communicated across teams.

✅ Prioritization & decision-making

  • Who has final say on prioritization decisions.
  • How teams define and run their prioritization process.
  • Which criteria and frameworks are actually used – and what most often overrides them.

📊 Measuring impact & success

  • How confident teams are in measuring the business impact of their work.
  • The top metrics used to define product success (e.g., revenue, adoption, retention, NPS, time-to-market).
  • How organizations benchmark efficiency, collaboration, and delivery.

💡Customer insight & discovery

  • How effectively teams gather and use customer insights in product decisions.
  • The methods used to collect and interpret feedback and research.
  • Where AI is already being used to support customer insights and discovery.

🤖 AI in product management

  • Where organizations are in their adoption of AI for product work.
  • The value teams have actually realized from AI – and what’s blocking more impact.
  • Concerns, hesitations, and readiness around weaving AI into everyday workflows and processes.

🧩 Roles, specialization & hybrid teams

  • How product roles are evolving with increased specialization.
  • The impact of hybrid (PM + design + engineering) responsibilities.
  • How AI is influencing hiring, team structure, and skills expectations.

🛠️ Tools, roadmapping & investment

  • Whether organizations are consolidating or reducing product tools – and why.
  • Where teams build and maintain their product roadmaps today.
  • The highest priority areas for investment in the product development process next year.

⚠️ Challenges & outlook for 2026

  • The biggest challenges product teams expect to face next year.
  • How organizations are planning for change, from AI adoption to market shifts.
  • Where product leaders see the biggest opportunities for growth and innovation.

Why participate?

✅ Benchmark your team. See how your product organization compares with others of similar size, industry, and maturity.

✅ Shape the future of product management. Your insights will inform a key industry report that product leaders and teams will use to guide strategy, org design, and investment decisions.

✅ Get practical, real-world insights. Learn how peers are handling AI adoption, prioritization, customer insights, and tool consolidation.

Join the movement – Take the survey now

Help define the future of product management in 2026. Your voice matters!

Take the survey now

Brought to you in partnership with ProductPlan.