Project versus product management: a perceptual change

Transition to product management: Israel’s National Planning administration in a mindset change

The Difference Between Project Management and Product Management, and How the Digital Technologies and Information Division at the Israel’s National Planning administration Changed Its Management Approach

While technology companies commonly operate with a product management mindset, more traditional companies typically lean toward project management. These are two distinct management disciplines, each with its unique characteristics, workflows, measurements, goals, and division of responsibilities.

However, this conceptual gap is gradually narrowing, primarily due to digitization and technological transformation processes that traditional companies have been experiencing in recent years. Some have realized that when they invest substantial resources into developing digital assets, it’s not a project with a defined start and end at launch but a living, breathing product that requires an entirely different type of responsibility, with ongoing goals, managed scope, constantly evolving requirements, and, most importantly, a management methodology closely connected to real-world outcomes.

The National Planning Administration is an organization that initiates and advances national, regional, and local planning projects. It also operates national planning institutions, handles detailed plans, and develops regulations under the Planning and Building Law. The IT management of the Planning Administration, accustomed to traditional project management for many years, recognized the need for a shift in approach and, in particular, the adoption of a new methodology for management and implementation to create more sustained business-technology value.

As with any change, this shift is a challenging process that requires adopting new tools and methods, learning techniques from external sources, building work teams, even restructuring organizational frameworks, and integrating new roles. All these elements have a direct impact on daily routines, work protocols, management, performance measurement, and more.

The IT management team at the National Planning Administration, led by CIO Ayala Yehezkel, aimed to establish faster and more relevant workflows for their clients, aligning more closely with the organization’s business objectives.

Our experienced consultants were eager to take on this challenge, embarking on a productive collaboration with the IT management of the Planning Administration. The process began with preparatory meetings to map and define the agency’s client types, outline and chart core processes within existing systems, and assess the current organizational structure within the division.

Next, the work teams faced the need to define what constitutes a “product,” as traditional organizations often adhere to the concept of a “project” with a set beginning and end. This is a fundamental difference, encompassing not only a distinct management approach but also different goals, measurements, and, ultimately, value—particularly for end users.

Once we collaboratively defined the set of products, we moved on to establish the structure of product teams, areas of responsibility, interfaces, and success metrics. This intensive (yet fascinating) process involved implementing a unique methodology developed over years of experience with a wide range of organizations. This methodology enables the organization to embrace change—a complex challenge in any setting—and deliver practical outcomes quickly, so that actionable benefits can be realized “the very next morning.”

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