Product Management, guiding every step of your product.
Maintaining high standards throughout your product’s lifecycle is a delicate balance between identifying possible improvements and knowing when to hold back. Sometimes the best thing you can do for a product is to say no to a new feature. It’s important to make decisions based on user data, but it’s equally important not to react to every new trend. User frustration and desire for new features can sometimes cause product stability, team wellbeing and other important issues to be overlooked, even when they most need attention. This is where the product manager comes into play. A good product manager knows when to push forwards and when to step on the brakes, how to manage stakeholder expectations, and crucially, is able to explain why. Your project manager will ensure that everyone is on the same page throughout the entire process.
Get your product launch on track
You need a linchpin.
Every organisation needs a linchpin, one person who can bring everything together and make a difference. This is your project manager. Seeing eye-to-eye with all stakeholders and being aware of everyone’s requirements, concerns, and interests are both essential in ensuring everyone is in agreement over the product’s direction. Your project manager takes the initiative, leads the product team, strives for improvement, and is unafraid to question the status quo when necessary.
Working agile.
Working in sprints allows a much greater degree of flexibility in a product’s development. Stakeholders can contribute ideas and possible features throughout, which the product manager can then prioritise and include in the roadmap. Making sure this process runs smoothly requires a project manager with an eye on the finishing line and the skills to create cogent and convincing user stories. A good product manager must have a good working knowledge of tools such as Jira, Asana, Confluence, Figma, Miro, Github, and Slack.
Not data-driven but
data-informed
All successful companies are aware of the importance of data. When you are working to deliver the best possible product for your users, extensive research and a broad range of insights are invaluable in optimising said product. Knowing what to do with your data once you have obtained it is equally, if not more important. You could set your data as KPIs, but then what? Using a KPI of “social media likes” as a general indicator of how well you are doing would be data-driven. By contrast, knowing how to interpret it alongside all the other data and making decisions according to the big picture is data-informed. Being data-informed means the product’s development is stabler and less reactive, benefiting both product and team.
Guiding teams with empathy
In most projects, there’s always a new deadline around the corner. Investors are waiting, stakeholders want to see changes implemented, users are hungry for a new feature, and competitors are breathing down your neck. Under poor management this kind of pressure will rapidly wear out even the best development teams. It is crucial that your team has a project manager that has their backs, that knows when a celebration is in order, that knows when to push forward and when to go back to the drawing board.
Managing expectations
All stakeholders have their own goals and targets, their own needs and motivations. It is one of a project manager’s key responsibilities to manage these expectations wisely and provide timely updates to each and every stakeholder. The more effectively they do this, the smoother product development will feel for everyone involved. A good project manager also takes responsibility for mistakes, flagging them up for shareholders and detailing how they will be avoided in future. This helps build the trust required to keep the product on track.
Setting a point on the horizon
Keeping your eye on the finishing line in the midst of changing requirements, trends, needs, wants, and even stakeholders can be challenging for any product manager. Nonetheless, this is exactly what needs to be done. As product manager, you need to be flexible enough to adapt the roadmap when needed while making sure everyone sees eye to eye about where the product needs to be at the end of the line. Setting a clear point on the horizon can help to plot the right course.
Keeping people motivated
The motivation levels of everyone involved are likely to dip at certain moments over the duration of a project, particularly in the immediate aftermath of a launch or a deadline. This is why successes need to be celebrated; your team needs to know that they are valued and appreciated. The motivation levels of all parties are a strong indicator of how successful a sprint will be. Keeping an eye on individual team members and their position within the organisation is crucial for maintain good morale. A single team member that is dissatisfied with their role is enough to lower the entire team’s motivation.
The power of a thorough evaluation.
What went well? What could be improved? These feel like simple questions to answer, but it can be daunting to own up to mistakes or to take responsibility for things that went differently than expected. It is important create a safe working environment where people are unafraid to admit mistakes and can work together to find better practices. Having the right analytical tools and tracking in place is also very important to ensure a thorough evaluation.