‘Nobody Knows What They’re Doing’ and other unhelpful mantras
A summary of my first 3 months as a Product Manager
Almost as soon I heard about the job of a Product Manager, I was hooked and began learning as much as I could about it. I read books, joined Slack communities, took an online course on the topic and then followed that up with 2 more intensive courses on software development and UX. But the more I read on the subject, the more division I found on how to build software.
Scrum is the future. Scrum is dead. Daily stand-ups are important. Everyone hates stand-ups. Use story points. Don’t use story points. Build MVPs. Build MMPs. Build MLPs. It seems everyone has an opinion on how to use Scrum, and that nobody seems to be strictly following the agile manifesto anymore anyways. The more I read, the more I realized that either there was no right answer or that nobody knew what they were doing. No wonder imposter syndrome is such a hot topic these days.
Then I got a job where I was paid to know the answers and lead a team of developers to build new products in 3-month release windows. I was excited to hit the ground running and see how software development worked in the real world outside of books, classrooms, and blog posts. But I found that even within our company there was debate and personal preference around the structure and rhythms of software development; while there was documentation around our processes, each PM had their own management approach and priorities.
So, as a junior PM, I sometimes felt like I was walking on eggshells when managing my first product. What was the right way to run our meetings? How often should I meet with our developers? Should I include our engineers in the design process? How much say should they have on the roadmap? Do I even need a roadmap? Why do we need story points again?
Then I started seeing a phrase pop up in a number of circles — nobody knows what they’re doing anyway, so maybe you shouldn’t feel so bad about yourself. But I didn’t find much comfort in that saying. I still have to do the job, don’t I? How am I supposed to figure it out if nobody else has?
Maybe knowing what you’re doing isn’t the point anyways. Maybe the phrase ‘nobody knows what they’re doing’ should instead be interpreted as ‘everyone is still figuring it out’. Maybe what you’re doing is more important than how you’re doing it.
Each company has their own methodologies behind software development that comes from their founders, the company culture, the industry, and other invisible factors. What works for AirBnb or Basecamp or Apple might not work for you, and there is no one-size fits all for each industry and company at each growth stage. Apparently how you work is less important than the fact that you’re working in the first place.
In the next few months, I know I’ll continue to struggle in finding a balance between experimentation and following the ‘rules’. It can be a fine line to walk, but it’s vital for continuous improvement and iterative development.
I hope I never reach the point where I know what I’m doing, because continuous learning is what got me interested in this job in the first place. At least I’m not the only one still figuring it out.
