Product Commandments: Updated

Three years ago, I wrote a post about the most important things I had learned about Product Management. If I was a baby PM then, I‘m just a little kid PM now, but I figured I’d update it with what I’ve learned since then.

1: Talk to users. This commandment was buried in the list before, but I’m pulling it to the top. Talk to new users, old users, typical users, and strange users. Have short, specific interviews and long wandering conversations. If they’ll let you, visit their homes or follow them around. If you’re building an internal tool, hang out while the people who will use it do their jobs.

I learn something by talking to the people who need what I’m building, but I also fall in love with them a little bit and feel compelled to help. Talking to users builds a bridge between a dry set of Jira tickets and a mission.

2: Products are made by people. The people you work with are part of the scenery of your workplace, but they can also be your greatest asset. Share the context, discuss problems, build consensus. Ask for help. Sometimes asking one more question or giving a bit more clarity makes the difference between a successful launch and a sneaky fatal bug.

This one can be hard for me because 1) I’m an introvert and 2) I don’t like talking, particularly when I feel like I’m repeating myself. But communication errors hurt. Explaining something is cheap — confusion is expensive.

3: Don’t be shy about documenting. I produce a lot of documents: requirements docs, presentations, spreadsheets, tickets, emails… it goes on. I make piles of numbered lists and pasted screenshots and reminders of the goals of a specific document, meeting or feature. Colleagues have marveled at the number of documents I refer to in the past.

I’m not writing my novel here — most of these artifacts get thrown away. But a good document can keep a meeting on track, facilitate a remote discussion, and provide a decision for reference over the long term. It doesn’t need to last forever, just to provide value. Words tend to float around in an organization — pin them down if you want them to stick.

4: Start with the Problem. Everyone likes to start with a Feature: users, colleagues, stakeholders. Features are sexy. They have things like UX and copy; they can be built and tested. It’s the PM’s job to start with the Problem, even if that sometimes feels pedantic and No Fun. Be the person who asks why does the user need this? What does she want? How do we know if she gets it?

The Problem is the North Star. Starting with the Problem can turn a Feature into something else entirely. Sometimes it should be simpler and smaller. Sometimes it should be bigger and grander. Starting with the Problem tells you what your Feature needs to be and guides you there.

5: Attack the problems you want to avoid. Some problems sit at the bottom of my list for a while. If it’s a low-priority problem, that’s okay. However, I enjoy actually solving things, so the problem at the bottom of my list is sometimes a thorny one that I haven’t figured out how to approach.

There are tools for this: hold a brainstorm, do some research, explore the problem more. But the important thing is to start — everything gets easier from there.

6: Build relationships for constructive conversations. Things don’t always go the way you plan. The launch is delayed, the main feature is broken, and you can’t get the space/money/whatever you need for the project. Take a breath, and another one.

Challenges test the relationships you’ve built with teammates — let’s hope your relational channel is clear. You need to be able to say 1) This won’t work. 2) Here’s specifically why it won’t work. 3) How do we fix it? This needs to happen firmly and loudly, but without offending anyone or taking their focus off the problem. When a constructive conversation works, it’s beautiful. When relationships are broken, it is explosive. And not in a good way.

7: Phasing saves the day. Monster projects take a long time to build and a long time to test. Thoughtful phasing aligns the team around smaller goals, provides a sense of progress, and benefits your users sooner. One of my colleagues is fantastic at phasing projects, and his teams feel like they have unstoppable momentum — it’s magic.

8: Prioritize. Am I doing the most important thing I could be doing right now? Rinse and repeat.

9: Don’t stop learning. Take a class, read a book, attend a Meetup. Even if it’s not directly related to your product, smart people and good ideas stir your brain up and prime it for creativity.

10: Numbered lists are better than bulleted lists. Otherwise, how would I reference my joke in point #7?

Sources:
Commander’s Intent comes from Made to Stick
The idea of constructive conversations comes from Crucial Conversations
The Relational Channel comes from The Best Place to Work
My product grounding comes from Inspired