PRODUCT ROADMAP

Never be afraid to ask “why” in Product Management.

Unleashing the Power of Curiosity to Drive Product Success.

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto

Product & Leadership Playbook

Play 14/196 — You need to know the why.

Creating a product that resonates with your target audience and meets their needs is your ultimate goal as a product manager. However, with so many moving parts involved in product development, it can be easy to lose sight of this goal. In the previous article: The Importance of Saying “No” in Product Management we have been discussing and highlighted the real reasons why it's significant for all product people to say “No” when it's due.

“Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning.” — William Arthur Ward

When you continually question the reasoning behind each decision, you can ensure that your team stays aligned with your audience’s needs and delivers a product that truly solves their problems.

This article aims to demonstrate how asking “why” can empower product managers of all levels to steer projects to successful outcomes. For example, this inquiry can help in working out user needs and avoiding obstacles in the development phase. Read on to uncover how curiosity can be tapped into to drive your product’s success.

In product management, why is “why” so important?

By asking “why” at every stage of the product development process, you can stay focused on your audience’s needs and ensure your team delivers the right product.

1. Understand user needs: Asking “why” can help you get to the root of what your audience truly wants and needs from your product. Instead of assuming that you know what your users want, asking “why” can help you dig deeper and uncover insights that you may have missed otherwise.
2. Identify potential roadblocks: Asking “why” can also help you identify potential roadblocks in the product development process. By understanding the reasoning behind each decision, you can anticipate potential challenges and address them before they become major issues.
3. Stay aligned with your team: Asking “why” can also help you stay aligned with your team throughout the product development process. By questioning the reasoning behind each decision, you can ensure that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goal.
4. Manage your roadmap and Stakeholders: One of the most common challenges that product managers face is managing stakeholder requests. Stakeholders may have their own priorities and objectives that they want to see reflected in the product roadmap. However, these requests may not always align with the needs of the target audience.

How to ask “why” effectively?

You as a product manager can also filter out requests that do not align with the product vision or strategy by understanding the real reasons behind stakeholder requests. It is making it significantly easier for everyone in the Product Organization to prioritize and ignore requests based on underlying motivations and priorities.

1. Be genuinely curious: It can be sometimes nerve-wracking when we get new requests, however, I still recommend to keep listening to and approaching each question as an opportunity to learn and understand more about your users and the product development process.
2. Be empathetic: Asking “why” can sometimes feel confrontational, especially to higher-level stakeholders or when time is not permitting. To avoid this, be empathetic in your approach. Frame your questions in a way that shows that you are genuinely interested in understanding the reasoning behind each decision.
3. Be strategic: Finally, be strategic in your questioning. Ask “why” in a way that helps you uncover deeper insights and understand the bigger picture. Use your questions to identify potential roadblocks and ensure that everyone is working towards the same goal.

Get the roadmap right by Filtering

One effective way to filter incoming requests is to use a framework or decision-making process that aligns with the product vision and strategy.

If you want to deep dive into the Product Decision-making process, you can find more content here: Get better at decision-making, by following this one trend.

Another method is where the product team can use already established Frameworks, such as the Kano Model, RICE Score, or Urgent / Important Quadrant, which are all evaluates customer needs to be based on their level of satisfaction and the impact of meeting those needs on overall customer satisfaction. By using a framework like this, product managers can evaluate stakeholder requests based on their potential impact on customer satisfaction and prioritize them accordingly.

No matter how the filtering takes place, it is critical in the process to involve the stakeholders, in the decision-making process. By collaborating with stakeholders and incorporating their feedback into the decision-making process, product managers can ensure that stakeholder requests are evaluated based on their underlying motivations and priorities.

Conclusion

During the product development process, it is crucial to ask “why” as a product manager. By questioning the reasoning behind each decision, you can ensure your team stays aligned with your audience’s needs and delivers a product that truly solves their pain points. You can unleash the power of curiosity to drive your product’s success if you are genuinely curious, empathetic, and strategic when you ask “why”.

About the author:

Hi, I’m Lehel. I became a product manager to fuel my curiosity in technology and business management by creating digital products. My journey allowed me to dive deep into product design, user experience, business administration, and learning multiple programming languages. I have been fortunate to lead programs for successful Startups and Fortune 500 companies whereas a leader, my focus is on establishing a great product culture to help people strive by following servant leadership and radical candor principles. In my free time, I write about product management & leadership topics to document the learnings of my past 15 years in the field.

It starts with:

• How People Analytics helps to empower and manage tech teams?
• How to map business value with human capital?
• The 5 pillars of scaling cross-functional teams
• 12 Best Books to read in 2023 as a Product Leader
• How to set crystal clear goals as a Leader?
• How to Master the Art of Product Planning?
• The most important job of a Product Leader.
• Discovering the Right Course of Action: How to Make Tough Decisions
• 12 reasons, why successful product leaders regularly collaborate with their team members.
• Gather facts, not just opinions, to make informed decisions.
• Your failures will make you beyond successful if you follow this simple process.
• Product Manager Hiring: The Decision-Making Engine.
• Get better at decision-making, by following this one trend.
• Customer Satisfaction First: Mastering the Art of Prioritizing Customers over Stakeholder Satisfaction
• The Importance of Saying “No” in Product Management.

You can find me at lehelkakonyi.com as well.