Puneet Gaur is a corporate speaker and author. He is currently working as COO of an AI-based B2B firm, NextQuarter.
There is a common disconnect that can happen between project managers and engineering teams. For example, say the manager is choosing between two trains. They may feel that they asked for the electric train on the left side, but the engineering team gave them the train on the right side. The engineers argue that the manager asked for something with blue and white bogies, and the engineering team gave them blue and white ones. They asked for an electric train; this engine runs on a battery. They asked for a driver-run train; this train is also a driver-run train. The missing bells and whistles will be added in future sprints. And then it takes years and years to add those bells and whistles.
Whether you are a startup or a large company, this is a widespread discussion and a common conflict. Both teams typically feel frustrated at the end of the debate. So, how can this be prevented?
First, let me clear up a myth: The issue is not about picking the right tool. This is about the ownership culture. In my experience, there are steps that the product leaders, technical team and upper management can each take to overcome these obstacles.
What can product leaders do better?
1. Realize that engineering teams are not mind readers. Product managers need to spell out, in an easily consumable format, what exactly they want. “We want an electric train” is not good enough.
2. Train technical teams extensively on the business environment they are operating in. Imagine a surgeon explaining the surgery process to an economist and expecting the economist to do it next week. Taking the time to teach your technical team how to understand your side of the process can reduce misunderstandings.
3. Increase collaboration between engineering, design, sales and marketing. Engineering teams can learn a lot from sales and marketing teams. Sales teams are working with customers directly, so their product development input is crucial.
4. Use your own product. When managers and employees use their products, they realize the pros and cons for themselves, and it becomes the quickest way for technical teams to get feedback on the latest releases. Consider setting up incentives to encourage your employees to use the product themselves.
What can technical teams do better?
1. Go beyond Product Requirement Documents (PRDs). There is a popular saying (that I just made up): Those who live by PRDs die by PRDs. So think beyond PRDs. Seek to understand the end goal and the end customer better so you can intuit what they will need that might not be included in the initial documents.
2. Look at your competitors and understand what gives them their competitive advantage. Do not restrict your competitive analysis to just feature comparison; you also need to determine factors like whether they are exceptional in onboarding a customer, or if they provide best-in-class after-sales support. Once you understand what features best complement the type of product, you’ll have a better idea of what to include in your own company’s product. For example, if your competitor is great at onboarding a customer, try integrating a self-onboarding process. If your competitor is great in after-sales support, consider whether you can embed self-help guides, instant chat or instant feedback features into the product.
3. Have a detailed tracking mechanism that tracks all the business requirements, feature development and test scenarios. If you don’t have this mechanism in place, it’s more likely that you will either miss a feature or miss having a quality product.
4. Embrace the change. Only after you move into a house do you realize there is a long list of things you want to change in the house. Product development is similar. Once product managers or businesses have a product in their hands, they tend to realize more of the changes they need in the product in the future. It is not reflective of a poor job by the engineering team; it is just a process. No one has ever built a perfect product from the start.
How can leaders facilitate better communication?
Let me draw from my own experience for this one. As a product leader and consultant, one of the biggest challenges I noticed was the reluctance of senior product leaders to take time out of their busy schedules to be exact about their expectations for the features of a product. And when engineering teams developed something based on half-expressed requirements, leaders got angry and made negative assumptions about the capabilities of engineering teams. This created a demotivating environment in the company. In cases like these, I recommend that you coach your product management leaders to accept that half-baked ideas produce half-baked bread. If they want fully baked bread, they must devote time to every step of the baking process. Engineering teams cannot read conscious minds, so forget about reading subconscious minds.
However, on the other side, I noticed that engineering teams could have baked the bread more because they should have known that no one buys half-baked bread. They were relying too much on the argument that because they got the requirements for half-baked bread, they produced half-baked bread. In this case, it’s important to coach your technical team about ownership and pride in their work. Great engineering teams are the ones that build products about the unstated needs of the customers. Apple produced the iPod when no one knew they needed an iPod; customers were happy with the Walkman.
My final suggestion is to consider appointing a bridge leader or team that both understands the challenges of the engineering team and is technical enough to understand the challenges of the engineering team. They can play a critical role in conflict resolution between seemingly opposite sides of the pole, with the same goal of winning the hearts of a customer. When everyone involved in the process has the assistance they need to understand each other, they will be able to collaborate effectively, helping each other and the customer see better results.
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