It can be incredibly challenging to develop and manage a successful software product. When businesses aren’t relentlessly focused from the outset, they can make mistakes that become enormously consequential. For example, 56% of all defects during the software development lifecycle occur at the design stage, according to industry research by G2. To overcome these challenges and deliver software products that drive bottom-line profitability, businesses need to live by a philosophy known as product management. Product management focuses on bringing software products to market that resonate with customers and that fit into the bigger-picture vision of what the business is working to achieve. Successful product management is very much a strategic planning exercise; it depends on bringing together diverse teams – engineering, design, marketing, sales and customer service – to build and manage the best possible products.
At Outcode, our teams live by a product management philosophy. Not only does it inform how our own teams work, but we also guide our clients in infusing product management best practices into their own workplaces. As a result, Outcode has learned what works and what doesn’t. Let’s explore five essential product management best practices that every business should embrace:
Build masterful understanding of the marketplace
One of the biggest distinctions between project management and product management is that product management focuses on the marketplace – specifically, aligning software products to market needs and customer preferences. Thus, product management should revolve around a masterful understanding of the marketplace.
Businesses should be defining buyer personas, analyzing market trends, researching competitors, and formulating product metrics at the upfront to systematically track how a product is received in the marketplace. It is upon this foundation of understanding the market that businesses can engage in effective, long-term strategic planning for the product.
Embrace negotiation and compromise
For better or for worse, product management requires political savvy. When diverse teams are brought together to collaborate on software development, they must learn how to work together, find common ground, and work through disagreements. Thus, a product manager plays a key role as a negotiator and mediator. Product managers need to help different parties feel heard and then identify compromises. Equally important, product managers need to be able to push back on unrealistic expectations and plans that take the business in the wrong direction – particularly a direction that is not aligned with overarching business goals and priorities.
Outcode has found that the most successful product managers know how to say no without losing respect. These politically savvy leaders maintain the trust and respect of all parties despite the difficult choices they must so often make.
Share the product vision and roadmap widely
When businesses solicit the perspectives and ideas of diverse teams across their organization, they tend to end up with a lot of cooks in the kitchen (or at least people who think of themselves as cooks). To keep all of these collaborators focused and aligned, it’s essential to share the product vision and roadmap often and widely. Every team member – from developers to sales to customer service – needs to be reminded of what overall they’re working toward.
Businesses also should be sharing frequent updates about the progress they’re making toward realizing the big-picture vision for the product. Outcode has found that the most engaged stakeholders are the ones who understand how the steps they’re taking today are contributing to advancing the product roadmap.
Empower the product team
A common business instinct is to concentrate decision-making in the hands of one capable product manager, who can ensure every product is developed in accordance with goals and plans. But product development is actually more successful when others are empowered to make decisions. That’s because it’s not practical or strategic for a single product manager, or even a team of product managers, to make every single decision – big and small – on their own.
When every team member is empowered to make decisions, it enables work to progress faster and to be prioritized appropriately. Plus, additional perspectives lead to greater creativity and innovation. To ensure that all of these decision-makers are staying on track and making smart, risk-averse decisions, the product managers should be continually dialoguing with the team to reinforce the big-picture vision, goals, and priorities for the product. Outcode has found that when team members understand the big picture, they’re able to consistently make optimal decisions that align with this big picture.
Continuously solicit customer feedback
Product management decisions shouldn’t be made based on gut instinct or personal preference. Decisions that affect the design of and updates to products should be based on data – specifically, customer data.
Effective product management involves collecting customer feedback continuously, throughout the software development lifecycle and beyond. And customer feedback isn’t just customer surveys, interviews and anecdotal comments. It also should include tracking how customers use and interact with apps, and then linking these data to sales trends and customer service analytics.
Final thoughts
Product management is a strategic approach to developing software products that every business should embrace over traditional project management. To successfully implement product management, businesses should work to build a masterful understanding of the marketplace where they operate, embrace negotiation and compromise among diverse team members, share the product vision and roadmap widely, empower the product team to make smart decisions, and continuously solicit customer feedback.
Product management is part of Outcode’s DNA, and we excel at infusing product management best practices into the software development lifecycles of all of our clients. To understand how to use product management principles to supercharge your software development projects, please reach out to us today.
