Product Management in Practice

1. Product management is a connective role focused on delivering user value

Product management in practice often feels like a hundred simultaneous games of checkers.

CORE skills. Product managers need four key skills: Communication, Organization, Research, and Execution (CORE). These skills enable PMs to connect different roles and perspectives within an organization. The job involves facilitating collaboration, not necessarily having all the answers or technical expertise.

Connective responsibilities. A PM's primary duty is to align user needs with business goals and technical feasibility. This requires constant translation between stakeholders, balancing competing priorities, and making tough trade-offs. PMs must be comfortable with ambiguity and willing to do whatever it takes to move the product forward, even if it means stepping outside their formal job description.

Value delivery focus. Ultimately, a PM's success is measured by the value delivered to users and the business. This means staying laser-focused on user needs, even when organizational politics or shiny new technologies threaten to distract from that core purpose.

2. Cultivate a growth mindset and genuine curiosity about users and colleagues

Take a genuine interest in the work that they do.

Embrace learning. Product managers must be willing to admit what they don't know and actively seek out new knowledge. This applies to both technical concepts and understanding the perspectives of colleagues in different roles. Approaching interactions with genuine curiosity builds trust and opens up new avenues for collaboration.

Challenge assumptions. PMs should constantly question their own assumptions about users and the product. This means:

• Conducting regular user research
• Seeking out conflicting opinions
• Being open to pivoting when new information emerges

Foster team curiosity. Great PMs spread curiosity throughout their organization by:

• Modeling inquisitive behavior
• Creating opportunities for cross-functional learning
• Celebrating when team members challenge the status quo

3. Prioritize clear communication and overcommunication in all interactions

Clarity over comfort.

Err on the side of overcommunication. It's better to risk being repetitive than to leave room for misunderstanding. This applies to:

• Documenting decisions and rationales
• Following up verbal conversations with written summaries
• Proactively addressing potential concerns

Create structured communication channels. Implement tools and processes to facilitate clear communication:

• Use templates for feature requests, bug reports, etc.
• Establish regular check-ins with key stakeholders
• Create spaces for informal communication (e.g., team lunches)

Address the uncomfortable. Don't shy away from difficult conversations or potential points of conflict. Bringing issues into the open allows for collaborative problem-solving. Use techniques like "disagree and commit" to ensure all voices are heard while still moving forward decisively.

4. Balance stakeholder management with unwavering user-centricity

Live in your user's reality.

Understand stakeholder motivations. Take the time to learn what drives different stakeholders within your organization. This allows you to:

• Frame product decisions in terms that resonate with their priorities
• Anticipate potential objections or concerns
• Find win-win solutions that satisfy multiple stakeholders

Advocate for the user. Always bring the user's perspective into discussions, especially when it might conflict with internal stakeholder desires. Use concrete user research and data to support your arguments.

Align user needs with business goals. Look for ways to demonstrate how meeting user needs directly contributes to key business metrics. This creates a compelling narrative that can unite stakeholders around a shared vision.

5. Use data to inform decisions, not to abdicate responsibility

If you don't take the time to fully understand why this feature is being requested, you are in no position to promise anything.

Question the data. Always dig deeper into the context and methodology behind any metrics or research presented. Key questions to ask:

• What assumptions are built into this data?
• What are the limitations of how it was collected?
• What alternative explanations might exist for the patterns we're seeing?

Combine quantitative and qualitative insights. Numbers alone rarely tell the full story. Supplement quantitative data with:

• User interviews and observation
• Customer support interactions
• Competitive analysis

Take responsibility for interpretation. Data doesn't make decisions; people do. As a PM, your job is to synthesize multiple data points, consider business context, and make a clear recommendation. Be prepared to defend your reasoning, not just point to a chart.

6. Create flexible roadmaps and prioritize based on clear organizational goals

Your organization needs to have an explicit and shared understanding of what a roadmap means and how it is to be used.

Establish roadmap expectations. Clearly define:

• How far into the future the roadmap extends
• How often it will be updated
• Who has access and input
• The level of commitment represented by items on the roadmap

Tie prioritization to goals. Before diving into feature debates, ensure there's alignment on high-level objectives. Use frameworks like OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) to create a shared language for discussing priorities.

Build in flexibility. Leave room in your roadmap and sprint planning for:

• Addressing emergent user needs
• Experimenting with new ideas
• Tackling technical debt

Involve the team in prioritization. Use collaborative exercises like impact/effort mapping to give the entire team ownership over prioritization decisions. This builds buy-in and surfaces important context that might otherwise be missed.

7. Implement Agile practices thoughtfully, always tying back to core values

Changing specific practices within an organization, I've found it very helpful to document the change being made, the goal of that change, and how we will know when it is succeeding.

Start with values, not processes. Before implementing any specific Agile practices, ensure the team understands and buys into the core Agile values:

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan

Adapt to your context. Don't blindly follow Agile "best practices." Instead:

• Start with an off-the-shelf methodology (e.g., Scrum)
• Regularly evaluate which elements are working for your team
• Be willing to modify or abandon practices that aren't serving your goals

Measure the impact. For any Agile practice you implement, clearly define:

• The intended goal of the practice
• How you'll measure its success
• A timeline for re-evaluating its effectiveness

8. Navigate organizational challenges by focusing on what you can control

Make a list of the things outside of your control.

Identify your sphere of influence. In times of organizational turmoil, clearly delineate:

• What you can directly control
• What you can influence
• What is entirely outside your control

Delegate meaningfully. Avoid the trap of trying to shield your team from all organizational dysfunction. Instead:

• Involve team members in addressing challenges
• Give them ownership over important initiatives
• Use difficulties as opportunities for growth and learning

Protect team rituals. During stressful periods, it's tempting to cancel "non-essential" team activities. However, maintaining routines like team lunches or brainstorming sessions is crucial for:

• Preserving team cohesion
• Providing a sense of normalcy
• Creating space for informal communication and problem-solving

Model resilience. Your attitude as a PM sets the tone for the team. Demonstrate:

• A willingness to tackle difficult problems head-on
• The ability to maintain perspective in the face of setbacks
• A commitment to continuous learning and improvement

Last updated: August 8, 2024