Description:
Technical Program Managers (TPMs) are cross-functional leaders who specialize in bringing people and organizations together to accelerate turning ideas into products and difficult problems into solutions.
For this reason, understanding the TPM role is not only useful for those working with TPMs or who are TPMs themselves, but for anyone in tech who cares about efficiency and wants their team to execute better.
Having technical depth allows TPMs to drive accountability by being part of the process from end-to-end, not just tracking its progress in a spreadsheet.
According to Farheem Kahn, a senior Technical Program Manager at Microsoft, the TPM role may seem like a PM role with expanded technology knowledge, but it is more likely that a person with technical skills (e.g., software developer) expands their PM skills.
Most people don't like process, but processes can save us from the pitfalls of our good intentions. We just need to be cautious about the processes that really matter.
If it's not clear to you why companies like Uber, Microsoft, Snowflake, Amazon, Netflix and many others have TPM roles and see value in them—and I admit that it can be a gray area depending on the company's needs—let's discuss it.

Takeaways:
Understand how TPMs interact with different roles.
Understand the challenges that TPMs from different organizations and industries
Understand how TPMs can drive organizational change, promote agility, and foster a culture of continuous improvement