A Path to Product Success

How collaboration is changing the game for product leaders

The deadline for your requirements document is quickly approaching.  You are behind on the requirements document because:

• You handled several customer issues on the last feature

• A key stakeholder lowered the sales forecast because there was not enough documentation

• You lost time helping sales operations place orders just in time for the end of the quarter

• Your program manager keeps asking you to approve change requests

• Your engineering leader won't respond to your email about estimating the new feature

You think the common theme is product development issues.  Please think again!  These are huge product management issues.  

This raises big alarms to your product stakeholders too.

How can you get out of this situation?

The Missing Piece

The missing piece is product management collaboration.  Let's look at the product issues differently.  How can you solve these problems by collaborating?

There are collaborative ways to handle typical product issues.  These issues arise when product managers don't work with their product teams.  Frequently the root cause is unclear requirements.

Requirements Matter

You are thinking your requirements were very clear and succinct.  Perhaps you can point to a prioritized list of Jira tickets or a spreadsheet of requirements.

However, there is another problem - your list of requirements isn't clear

Isn't it enough to deliver a prioritized requirements list?  With all the demands on product managers, how does a product manager have time to do more?

No doubt product management is as demanding as all the other functions! However, a requirements list doesn't provide enough context for implementation.

Requirements Intent

A requirements list needs to be complimented with information on the intent of the requirement.  The product team needs to know the purpose of each requirement.  The key parts of requirement intent are:

• Customer needs: description of the customer's problem

• Business case: the business benefit of the requirement

• Product solution: the end-to-end resolution of the customer's needs

• Requirements list: specific requested product changes

The product team needs the total picture of the reasons for the requirement.

Is it enough to provide customer discovery material, the business case, and the solution overview with the requirements list? No.  This is a one-way communication to the product team.  There is no collaboration and no ongoing involvement in product development.

Product Manager and Program Manager Work Together

Product managers are no longer isolated to product features and roadmaps.  Today product managers and program managers collaborate cross-functionally and work on shared product goals.  Collaboration through the product lifecycle is the path to product success.

Product success starts with clear requirements and finishes with product manager and program manager collaboration.

Conclusion - Collaboration is the Path to Product Success

Successful product managers strike a balance between independent work and product team collaboration.  Product managers can prevent many product issues by joining forces with the product development team.  The touchpoints that make a difference are:

• Requirements review and response to feedback

• Requirements intent documented

• Alignment with program managers through every product phase

Today a collaborative model in product teams allows the best outcome in terms of delivering a successful product.