As we near the end of January 2022, it’s a great time to Pause and to Reflect. Over the past two and half decades of my career, these actions have given me the greatest rewards for Product evolution. Here is my process to refine each step for deeper insights into execution pitfalls
Pause
Instead of building out feature after feature, plan a sprint or two for a zero iteration cycle. Use this time to reassess the features added in the last 90 days. Measure its outcomes from different perspectives.
e.g.If there was a feature shipped to improve retention, then don’t just measure user’s activity and churn in one dimensional way. Look into qualitative signals instead. Some areas for qualitative measurement would be to gauge end-to-end session quality. User sessions would encompass from the first touchpoint to the last one. Also, look for another lateral aspect of customer satisfaction. It could be lesser returned orders, abandoned carts, or abandoned Product journeys.
Another way to measure the efficacy of Pause is to take a real pulse of the team’s burnout state. Frequently, Feature developers are fully aware of technical challenges and downstream cascading effects of shortcuts taken. In addition to being the voice of customers in the company, A Product manager is also the bridge that connects the team to the Product.
The third Focus area to pause for is to identify one’s blindspots about their Product, their brand, and its changing landscape. Popular and stagnant Products are equally liable for missing out on this. I can’t emphasize enough how much this step matters. The most brutal way to get unfiltered feedback is to watch customers go through the return process or to watch your product fail miserably.
Reflect
With all the learnings from the first step, the next stage is to reflect on the learnings. Best reflections happen when we are left alone with plenty of time at hand. All of us have different ways to process our thoughts. For me, going through a mundane routine away from technology gadgets always works. For some, walking in nature works. Listening to favorite music, allowing oneself time to slide into a mental void, a long drive at night, playing one’s favorite sport, meditation, working out, or Just about anything else. Whichever routine works for an individual, key takeaways are to distill the insights into a few succinct sentences.
Once internal sifting of data points is completed, Schedule small meetings with Product teams. It’s important to ask honest questions and to foster open discussion. If you have all the answers, then it may be one more blindspot to work through. The deepest insights about the product’s limitations reside with developers, customer representatives, field engineers, and technical support teams. Leverage their insights.
Sometimes insights could be less clear and directed. It’s okay to conclude in the simplest acknowledgments.
e.g I don’t know enough about what drove conversion down after last months’ Product changes. Great product development is more of an art than an engineering process. Great artists are always living with more questions than answers. Relish the questions till you figure out the answers.
Most of the time, lack of clear insight points to lack of sufficient data points or ignorance of key external forces(Competitive advantage, Pricing powers of Suppliers/Customers, or substitute products) at play.
Resume
Resuming product development after the Zero iteration cycle is the key step to this 3-step cycle.
Have a fresh look at the Product backlog. Every Product backlog suffers from too many features asks and too little time to develop. One of the key benefits of this process is having a fresh insight into a backlog. Some features may seem unnecessary, irrelevant, or not aligned enough.
If this process was done diligently, one may come out with a directed assessment of execution pitfalls. E.g. Too feature-heavy sprints, Incorrect effort estimations, too much outbound focus, too many feature U-turns, etc.
Prioritize the top 3 insights which may assist the team and product the most. It’s natural for teams to execute in continuous Product development mode. However, world-class execution and product excellence are north star goals that require a great degree of self-awareness.
Self-awareness is a muscle that grows slowly and consistently only if teams are striving for it. Product Managers can be the driver of this process. These three steps have greatly helped me in building self-awareness about Product execution. Hope this helps you and your team as well. What are other ideas you have pursued to drive excellence in Product Quality?
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