Product Management in 2022

Most Product functions now are making strong strides towards being completely user-centric rather than just churning out features based on static release plans disguised as roadmaps. Leaders are quickly realising that their most important goal should be adding value to the user, rather than just hitting releases. 2022 is going to be no different, but the pressure is now on for businesses who haven’t adopted this user-centric approach, to do so using data driven insights and analytics, and UX research and design. There is also the increasing challenge of the Product Talent shortage. So, what will 2022 look like for Product Managers and how can they prepare?

Data-Drive Outcome Based Product Maps Become the Norm

Product teams can sometimes be disconnected with the overall strategic goals of a business, and this is the first problem. It’s important that all Product targets are strongly aligned to the overall business goals so that everyone is working towards a common vision. Every feature or update that a product team release, should impact the business goals positively, whilst adding value to the customer. This is why, according to Forrester, “the value provided to customers — not the number of offering releases — should be the focal point for product management objectives.”

So how do you use data correctly to ensure you add value? The first step is setting effective metrics that truly reflect and make steps towards that overarching business goal. Product Managers should focus on measuring the delivery of positive customer outcomes, which could be metrics such as ‘usage’, ‘sign ups’, ‘error messages’, ‘churn rate’, ‘subscriptions’, ‘cancellations’, and so on. These metrics will depend on what your business does and what it wants to achieve. Whatever you decide, it's important to ensure they always reflect the overall business goal, even if this means changing them.

Your business vision might change depending on environmental, socio-political, economical, or internal business factors. It’s important that your metrics and the data you collect and base decisions off, are always up to date. Regularly revisiting your metrics is important.

Collecting qualitative data from users around their experience and feedback on your product can also be really useful to gain insights on what your users need. This can, however, quickly become overwhelming so it’s important to log this data properly, prioritise what’s important and flag what doesn’t align with your goals. In a recent roundtable I hosted, Mohammed Sidat of Response tap correctly explained “all feedback is good feedback, but not all feedback needs including on your roadmap”, meaning that not every piece of feedback is something you have to action.

For more insights into Data Management in Product; please request our recent guide on Building Outcome Based Product Roadmaps.

UX Researchers and UX Designers Become Integral to Product Teams

So much thought has to go into Product Design, including visual design, content and usability, accessibility and inclusivity considerations, information architecture, interaction design, user research. These, and more, play a part in driving profit margins and avoiding consumer confusion. This is why having UX specialists, including UX Researchers and UX Designers, involved from the very start and integrated within the Product teams is particularly useful.

UX Researchers can conduct research into actual, potential, hypothetical, and target users to help inform decision making processes in the build of a product to ensure it is adding value to users, whilst also being accessible and inclusive. Effective UX research methods are the key to making the right decisions based on the input of real-world users and helps keep the user at the centre of the design and development. By having UX Researchers as part of the Product team, they can influence Product design during the initial build, and throughout the full product lifecycle to ensure the delivery of a great Product that really puts the user first.

UX Designers ensure that the Product Team has sufficient capacity to truly take a user-centred design approach, whilst providing the engineers with exciting, valuable, and accessible design features. A great UX Designer is also someone who can build wireframes and prototypes, and define the most important structures and flows, communicate with other players, brainstorm and run workshops. Together UX Researchers and Designers can help Product and Engineering teams build creative products that meet the needs of all users.

From July 2020 to July 2021, the number of job listings with “accessibility” in the title grew 78% — evidence that firms are putting budgets in place to improve the accessibility of their products. We predict that in 2022, $10 billion in design spending will shift to vendors and services that commit to accessibility, which is where UX is going to come in. In 2022, I expect more Product functions to start recruiting UX professionals into the team for this reason. If you want to get ahead of your competition and start building an effective UX function for your product team, please get in touch.

The Product Talent Shortage

Exceptional Product talent is already hard to find, and this is only set to increase as many more businesses adopt a Product-centric approach. With this increase in demand for talent, businesses are having to fight for the attention of the top candidates. The first thing most businesses do is offer more money. As businesses heighten salaries, candidate expectations of salary are also increasing. This means businesses are at risk or overpaying for a lack of experience. For example, a year ago, a traditional Product Owner with 3 years-experience would receive an average salary of ￡45,000 - ￡50,000; now they expect nothing less than ￡60,000 - ￡65,000. This ￡15,000 pay-rise expectation will make it more difficult for smaller businesses, with less budget, to compete on the talent market.

So how can you prepare for 2022?

·????????Pipeline and budget well in advance to give you time to identify and hire the top Product talent

·????????Use Salary Surveys to guide your salary offers (you can request Maxwell Bond’s guide free of charge)

·????????Implement stronger D&I processes within your recruitment

·????????Consider what extra benefits you can offer, such as flexible working, free parking, and healthcare etc.

·????????Promote internally and offer training to reduce staff turnover

·????????Define your roles carefully and seek advice where you are unsure. Organisations that don’t fully understand the difference between BA and Product will struggle to hire in 2022!

For more advice on hiring exceptional Product talent for 2022, please reach out directly.

Team Culture will be Key

With the huge demand for Product professionals, those looking for a new role can be more selective about the businesses they choose to work for, and many professionals are looking into company culture in much more detail. They want diversity of thought, an inclusive space where they opportunity to grow and help people. They want companies with a good social ethos and tend to stay away from those that aren’t aligned with their own morals and ethics.

Product professionals want to work in businesses that are making a positive impact on the world, on its users, and on other communities. Product talent are creative people, they want the opportunity to innovate, create and feel empowered to do so. You need to ask yourself whether you are offering potential candidates a high performing environment that will give them space to add value, to be creative, to continuously learn, and progress in their career. You also need to make sure you’re advertising values, opportunities, responsibilities, and benefits in an honest and transparent way in your job adverts.

So, what can Product Manager’s Expect in 2022?

·????????Data is going to be more important than ever

·????????Product development will becoming increasingly user-centric

·????????60% of firms will shift to a hybrid model, meaning that businesses need to design meetings, job roles, and promotion opportunities that fit both face-to-face and remote engagement

·????????Higher Product salaries and increasing talent competition will force small to medium businesses to rethink their recruitment and candidate attraction strategies

·????????A stronger focus on team culture by potential candidates

·????????Integration of UX, UI and Product in the same teams to drive Product Centricity will become the norm

Product Management in 2022

Whilst none of the points discussed above are anything strictly new to Product, they are features I expect to see even more of a focus on in 2022 and beyond. Businesses need to prepare now in order to steal the march and get ahead of their competition ready for the New Year.

What do you expect to see in Product Management in 2022? Leave a comment with your predictions.

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