Here's how you can integrate stakeholder feedback into evaluating product managers' performance.

For a customer-facing product, the ultimate stakeholder is the person who writes the check, i.e., the customer. Therefore, a product manager’s vision should focus on serving the customer to maximize product value. While other stakeholders are crucial in enabling this, various tools are available to assess their feedback on the product manager’s performance, including post-release feedback, net promoter scores, and 360-degree feedback.

Great article on gathering stakeholder feedback! I’ve found that setting up a regular process, like surveys and check-ins, really helps. One thing that worked for me is asking specific questions about how well the product manager prioritizes features and leads teams. Making sure stakeholders understand the importance of their feedback has improved both our product and management processes significantly.

To evaluate performance I start by defining clear objectives and KPIs, like the examples under 'Gather Input', that are aligned with business goals. Then I send invites to select stakeholders, such as internal teams, customers, and executives, and develop a structured feedback framework using surveys, one-on-one interviews, and feedback workshops. My leadership team collects and analyzes the feedback in preparation to then share insights with product managers in regular review meetings.

Identifying who to seek the feedback from is as important as the actual process of seeking feedback. The questions going out for the feedback also need to be tailored as per the audience being reached out to. As each stakeholder would be working in a different capacity with the PM. The feedback framework needs to be structured that gives a clear understanding of what the PM is doing well, what can the PM improve on, Strengths to continue leveraging and any other think abouts! It can be followed by 1-1 interviews, if needed.

I've always been a big fan of 360 degree feedback. This becomes especially valuable for product managers & leaders. As product managers, our days are all about working with stakeholders across different departments - sales, support, services, customers, analysts, legal - the list is endless. It is also critical that we speak to them in a language they understand, while also being sure to understand their goals & constraints. So, understanding how my team is influencing, communicating and collaborating with stakeholders is a critical piece of their performance evaluations.

1. Categorise feedback into themes like communication, project management, product vision, and stakeholder engagement. Use a spreadsheet or tool to organise and tag comments. 2. Weigh feedback based on stakeholder relevance, prioritising input from those closely involved with the product. 3. Differentiate between subjective opinions and objective observations. Focus on specific examples and metrics. 4. Identify patterns and trends across feedback sources. Use data visualisation to highlight these. 5. Cross-reference feedback with quantitative performance metrics for context and validation. 6. Synthesise findings into actionable insights, focusing on areas of stakeholder agreement and alignment with objective data.

In my experience, finding patterns and common themes in stakeholder feedback is crucial. I always categorize comments by topic and weigh them based on how closely the stakeholder works with the product. Focusing on objective observations rather than subjective opinions has helped me get actionable insights to improve our product management.

Set clear metrics aligned with feedback themes: 1. Identify key themes from feedback (e.g., communication, project delivery, innovation). 2. Develop SMART metrics for each theme: - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound - Example: % of stakeholders satisfied with update frequency (Communication) - Example: % of projects completed on time and budget (Delivery) - Example: Number of new features launched per quarter (Innovation) 3. Ensure metrics are objective and measurable. 4. Align metrics with company OKRs or KPIs. 5. Clearly communicate metrics to product managers, explaining evaluation criteria. 6. Regularly review and adjust metrics for ongoing relevance.

Setting clear, SMART metrics based on feedback is spot on. I've seen how measuring specific areas like communication frequency and quality can really make a difference. When product managers understand these goals, it creates a transparent and goal-oriented environment. I’ve used this approach, and it has helped align everyone’s expectations and performance standards.

Establish regular one-on-one feedback sessions where managers review the real-time feedback with each PM, discussing insights and setting actionable goals for improvement. Maintain transparency by sharing aggregated feedback and insights with PMs, explaining how this feedback will be used for their professional development. Encourage PMs to make incremental changes and continuously monitor their progress. Regularly check in to see how these adjustments are impacting their performance and project outcomes.After implementing changes based on feedback, solicit further input from team members and stakeholders to validate improvements and ensure continuous performance enhancement.

Creating a feedback loop is essential for continuous improvement. I’ve experienced firsthand how sharing analyzed feedback and metrics helps with understand stakeholder expectations better. Encouraging them to set personal goals and report back on their progress has bridged gaps between expectations and actual performance, promoting growth.

I've learned that integrating stakeholder feedback is crucial in evaluating our product managers' performance. Here are my top insights on how to monitor progress effectively: - Regular Check-ins: Schedule consistent feedback sessions with cross-functional teams. E.g., bi-weekly syncs can uncover insights from engineering & marketing. - Survey Feedback: Use tools like SurveyMonkey or Google Forms to gather structured feedback. This helps identify trends in stakeholder satisfaction. - 360-Degree Reviews: Incorporate peer reviews to get a comprehensive view of the PM's performance. - Actionable Metrics: Set clear KPIs for PMs tied to stakeholder inputs, such as customer satisfaction scores or feature adoption rates.

Regularly reviewing progress is crucial. From my experience, it’s not just about tracking metrics but also seeing improvements in stakeholder satisfaction over time. Keeping the process flexible to adapt to changes in the product or market is key. Regular check-ins with stakeholders and product managers have kept our evaluation process relevant and effective.

More to consider around PM performance are: - Using a balanced scorecard to evaluate performance across multiple dimensions - Implementing a 360-degree feedback system, and fostering a culture of open and constructive feedback - Ensuring anonymity and confidentiality in feedback collection - Aligning the feedback process with company goals -Conducting regular check-ins - Celebrating success and continuous improvement.

There could be multiple ways to measure and monitor feedback that a manger can adopt to focus on the PMs performance: - Direct Feedback: 1-1 meetings, Surveys, 360 feedback, 2x2 matrix on strengths, improvements; balanced scorecard - Indirect Feedback: Peer Reviews, observational ways of shadowing in calls, meetings, peer recognition - Collaborative feedback: Retrospective meetings, brainstorming meetings, development workshops - Automated feedback: Pulse surveys, health checks, AI powered apps for real time feedback - Regular cadence: Annual Reviews, Mid-year reviews, kaizen events, quarterly retros