PRIORITIZATION FOR PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
One of the main challenges a Product Manager must face is prioritization. Even if you are a seasoned one, you should keep in mind the things described in this article when playing your role.
1| OKRs: Objectives and Key Results
Standard created by Intel and used by companies like Google or Linkedin
It has been commonly accepted that a successful project starts from a strategic alignment. One of the tools we can use to create it for our product is the OKRs.
OKRs are meant to set strategy and goals and help every department in the company, including Business and Product, to work together. The objective is where we want to go, and Key Results will let us know if we´re already there or not.
While KPIs are indicators about the performance of processes already working, OKRs help you create a bridge between your ultimate goals and current status, helping you to get there. Let’s create an example:
Imagine you are a Product Manager of a newly created product and you must mark out the way forward:
Objective: Where do we want to go? Gain market penetration and presence in social media to ensure future revenues.
Key Result: How will we know we are already there? Increase
product penetration rate to 5% / Increase number of our web profile visits to 10,000 for this year
Initiative: What will we do to get there? Implement a new reward
system for existing users when recommending our product.
Is important to measure the Key
Results and adapt them constantly.
If a Key result is always close to 1,
probably the KR is not enough
ambitious.
2| What are the problems we want to address?
Identify the main problems in terms of Product Management
- Ideas are presented as solutions:
“I want a CTA painted in orange with blue background”
Allow it and you will become a simple requirement-picker. Always try
to find the real source of the problem and present various possible
solutions. - Not clear what product teams are working on:
“I don’t understand why the product team is working on this initiative. It doesn’t help my team”
Obsolete data, internal divisions, a fight of egos, can benefit product misalignment. - Hard to say NO to ideas that come from the top.
Ideas that come from HiPPO (Highest Paid Person’s Opinion) may not be the best. - Product ideas come from only a few people.
Everyone in the company should be involved in creating the best product. Make sure to implement appropriate channels to identify and collect ideas. - Challenging to stack rank
“Almost 80% of our backlog is priority 1!”
Avoid confusion. Set an order and change it if necessary.
We are pretty sure that you will find some of these problems or,
even, all of them in your daily work as a product manager. But, how to escape from this situation? Are you prioritizing well enough?
Please, take a look at these.
3| Prioritization Guiding Principles:
Tips to succeed in prioritization process
- Priorities are decided by business cases, not by who comes up
with the idea. Show the rational of priority decision - Best ideas come from people who are closer to the problem.
- Priorities are not set in stone, they can change based on new data.
- It’s OK to disappoint customers or internal stakeholders: Say NO if it is necessary!
- Don’t agree with priorities. Disagree and commit
Conclusion
Probably by this time you have realized that being a Product Manager has more things in common with a craftsman than with a mathematical. If you doubt, take a step back and apply common sense.
