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Product Manager's Guidebook
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  • Guidebook
    • Welcome
    • Contribute
    • Donate
  • Prelude
    • A Note From The Author
    • How To Use This Guide
  • Introduction
    • Overview
    • What is a Product Manager?
      • Roles and Responsibilities of a Product Manager
      • The Product Mindset
      • Understanding the Product Management Lifecycle
      • Different Types of Product Managers
    • Product Team Structures
      • Stakeholders, Leadership, and the Company
      • Cross-Functional Product Team
      • Differences between Project, Program, and Product Management
  • People Skills
    • Overview
    • Communication
      • Knowing Your Audience
      • Elements of Persuasion and Motivation
      • The Art of Storytelling
      • Effective Meeting Management
      • Delivering Presentations and Demos
    • Building Relationships
      • Collaboration Cadence and Tools
      • Team Agreements and Purpose
      • Understanding Business Problems
      • Managing Expectations
      • Communicating Progress
    • Leadership
      • Cross-Functional Leadership
      • Applied Motivation and Getting Buy-In
      • Giving and Receiving Feedback
      • Aligning Product Mission, Vision, and Strategy
      • Sharing Impact and Outcomes
  • Process Skills
    • Overview
    • Strategy
      • Objective Setting
      • Prioritization
      • Roadmapping
    • Discovery
      • Problem Research and Definition
      • Customer Discovery and Research
      • Solution Design and Validation
    • Development
      • Writing and Using Product Requirements
      • Concepts through Designing
      • Working with Designers
      • Development Execution and Methodologies
      • Working with Engineers
      • Scoping and Writing User Stories
      • Technical Debt Management
    • Delivery
      • Roll-out and Release Management
      • Assessing Assumptions, Risk, and Issues
      • Measuring Product Launch Success
      • Marketing and Communications
      • User Activation
    • Optimization
      • Iterative Development and Learning
      • Streamlining Processes and Experiences
  • Knowledge Skills
    • Overview
    • Understanding the Customer
      • Customer Segmentation and Targeting
      • User Research Methods
      • Understanding Customer Pain Points
      • User Personas Development
      • User Behavior and Psychology
      • Acquiring and Retaining Customers
    • Data-Driven Decisions
      • The Role of Data in Product
      • Data Analysis and Interpretation
      • Identifying and Understanding Assumptions
      • Formulating Your Hypotheses
      • Selecting a Hypothesis for Testing
      • Navigating Signal Metrics to Define KPIs for Hypothesis Testing
      • Testing Your Hypothesis
      • Upholding Data Privacy and Ethics
    • Domain Knowledge
      • Competitive Analysis and Industry
      • Achieving Product-Market Fit
      • Technology and Innovation
      • Aligning with the Company
    • Business Understanding
      • Organizational Values, Objectives, and Priorities
      • Long-Term Planning
      • Business Model Fit
      • Monetization Strategy
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  • Example
  • Pain Points
  • Practical Exercise
  • Related Research Topics
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  1. People Skills
  2. Building Relationships

Managing Expectations

Description: Managing expectations involves communicating clearly and regularly about what your team, stakeholders, and leadership can expect regarding product development progress, potential roadblocks, and outcomes. This is crucial for maintaining trust and alignment across all parties involved in a product's lifecycle.

Example

Consider a Product Manager at a software company like Adobe. They are in charge of a new feature development for one of Adobe's creative tools. To manage expectations, they create a detailed product roadmap that outlines the timeline for the feature release. This roadmap is shared with stakeholders and leadership, providing a clear picture of what to expect and when.

On the other hand, the Product Manager also provides regular updates to the development team, keeping them informed about the progress and any changes in the plan. For instance, if there's a delay in the development due to unforeseen technical challenges, the Product Manager communicates this to all parties involved, updating the roadmap and setting new expectations. This proactive communication helps maintain trust, even when there are setbacks.

Pain Points

Balancing transparency with the need to avoid overpromising can be challenging. It's also important to manage your own expectations and be prepared for changes and setbacks. For example, a Product Manager might face challenges when there are delays in the development process or changes in the business strategy that affect the product roadmap.

Practical Exercise

Think about a company or a team you're familiar with. Imagine you're a Product Manager working on a new product or feature. How would you manage expectations with your team, stakeholders, and leadership? What communication strategies would you use? What potential challenges might you face and how would you handle them?

Related Research Topics

  • Change management [ Google | Perplexity ]

  • Agile planning [ Google | Perplexity ]

  • Communication strategies in project management [ Google | Perplexity ]

  • Managing stakeholder expectations [ Google | Perplexity ]

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Last updated 2 months ago