Producer vs. Project Manager

In my opinion, the role and title is determined by the function that the person is performing within the organization. Are they more creative oriented or technology focused?

Historically in advertising (and in television), a producer is the person that is responsible for getting all the work done across the board. At an advertising agency the production group is usually within the auspices of the creative department and the producer is tasked with ensuring that that work is completed and/or delivered when and where it needs to be. A producer could work for the studio or production. In the web world, producers would work more closely with the creative director, IA, flash developers and Front end folks. They are the bridge between the client and the creative department. The producer should be able to oversee the entire creative process and know what outputs are required and when they need to be delivered. They should also know how to lead & motivate the most artistic team members into delivering the best work

Traditionally a Project Manager derives from the engineering discipline (construction, architecture, electrical, software, etc.) and tends to be more technical in nature. Since there is a much more of scientific approach with technical endeavors, project managers need to be more focused on the details and the schedule. Knowing and understanding the Software Development Life Cycle, (SDLC) and all the deliverables that are associated with technology is vital to the success of a project manager. This role is often the liason between the client and the technical team. Project Managers tend to have a better understanding of the entire project, including understanding the business drivers, ensuring that the functionality meets those business drivers and making sure that the solution ultimately delivers against the business drivers. The project manager is also responsible for tracking the overall progress of the project, providing status reports and also assessing risk and creating mitigation plans. Finally the project manager should have some technical background as well, to be able to have a technical discussion, review an architecture and push the techies to determine if they are providing you with the absolute best solution.

This is not to say to say that producers and project managers are mutually exclusive, since there can often be a large union of skills and backgrounds depending upon your specific project. However, in general if you have a more creative project, I would look for a producer to lead the initiative, if it is a more technical solution, then a project manager is more appropriate.