Clarifying Assumptions, Collecting Unbiased Feedback, and How Customer Journey Mapping is the Perfect Tool for New Product Managers

Hey there, newbie product managers! Welcome to the exhilarating world of product management, where every day brings new challenges and opportunities for growth. As you embark on this exciting journey, there's two crucial tasks that deserves your immediate attention: clarifying assumptions and collecting unbiased feedback. In this article I explanin how we can leverage Customer Journey Map to achieve both.

Clarifying assumptions and scope

When we first join a new product team, we likely come in with certain assumptions about the product, the platform, and our team's responsibilities. These assumptions are often formed during the interview process or through initial discussions with the managers. However, it's essential to validate and refine these assumptions early on to ensure alignment and clarity within the team. The sooner we do this the better it is for us, our team and our manager as well. The initial experiences, thoughts, ideas we have form a lot of the work we do. It impacts a lot of the decisions we make going forward and we sometimes don’t even realize it.

This is where Customer Journey Mapping comes into play. By dissecting the customer journey from start to finish, we gain invaluable insights into the current state of affairs. We'll uncover hidden pain points, identify areas for improvement, develop empathy for our customers and also have a fair understanding of the current status quo. We will end up with a list of problems, even unprioritized, that are helpful going forward. Once we have a list of problems we have the information needed to discuss, clarify and align with our manager and the team the scope of work and responsibilities. This does take a bit of work and a fair bit of upfront effort but it is really valuable. And all of this is in addition to the other benefits as mentioned in the previous article.

Collecting unbiased feedback

Let’s face it. We are all humans and even though we know sunk costs shouldn’t be a factor in making a decision going froward - we tend to do it subconciously. We listen to our hearts. We tend to overweigh or underweigh the feedback based on the amount of work the team has put into it. We might also feel strongly whenever we get feedback.

Customer Journey Mapping, as one of the first tasks on joining a new team, provides a unique opportunity to collect unbiased feedback. As a newcomer to the team, we bring a fresh perspective and an open mind. Unlike our more seasoned colleagues, we haven't yet formed personal attachments to specific features or projects. This lack of bias allows us to gather feedback objectively, without any preconceived notions or agendas.

So, why is this so important? Well, because unbiased feedback is the lifeblood of product management. It serves as the foundation for informed decision-making, driving product improvements, and ultimately, enhancing the customer experience. By prioritizing Customer Journey Mapping from the outset, we're laying the groundwork for a more collaborative, customer-centric approach to product management.

And no it is not a one off task

One thing that stuck with me from the discussion with Tillman Roedle is - “A customer journey map is never done. It’s an ongoing job”. I’m in complete agreement here. This is one thing you should start with and one thing you should have up to date. Which PM doesn’t want a tool which always tells them about the problems that they need to solve.

Ready to kickstart your journey? Reach out to me for a workshop, where we'll work together to see how we can go about clarifying assumptions, collecting unbiased feedback, and master the art of Customer Journey Mapping.

Next week, I'll be sharing for newbiew PMs a guided tool which takes a step-by-step guided approach for creating your first Customer Journey Map. Stay tuned!

Here is a list of resources to help you get started with Custiomer journey Mapping.

Link to my website!