How (not) to inherit projects as a product person

Read on,

If you work at an organization that has a culture of

• Limited documentation
• A history of existence > 5 years
• Copious experts with opinions

And you're experiencing the below symptoms

• Unclear assumptions and missed opportunities
• Difficulty in cutting scope and prioritizing features
• Strained communication and stakeholder relationships

At the end of this article you'll know

• How not to inherit projects
• Flawed coping mechanisms to avoid
• How to chart your ' Best Doable Option ' forward

Earlier last week - I sank my boat, but thankfully emerged unscathed due to our supportive eco system. I'm sharing, so that you the reader, can learn from or coach me.

What happened ?

I've been involved in a complex multi-year project that allows our users to be hyper-efficient in using our platform. I inherited this project recently from a colleague and was responsible in nudging this mammoth to its completion and eventual first version release.

< Omitting some narrative details I will keep confidential to respect everyone involved >

We reached a critical stage in our project and encountered some risks

What options does a product person, normally have in this situation ?

• Cut scope
• Push release dates
• Abandon ship

What did you think, I was able to do ?

None of them.

Why ?

Because, I lacked evidence-backed confidence.

What do I mean by evidence ?

*EVIDENCE; noun - The available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid

In taking on this project, my blind trust became my greatest failing. I assumed enough discovery had been done on the pain points, that assumptions were solid, and my role was just to see it through to the end. I took data from secondary sources, pieced it together, made a user journey document, and moved on. Now, with the release just weeks away and faced with tough questions from stakeholders, I found myself with no answers. Confidence? Gone. Smooth ride, huh?

What did I do ?

I shut my laptop and let out a good, old-fashioned cry. With the emotions spent, I poured myself a cup of tea and sat down to write the plan below, my “Best Doable Option.”

Symptoms of problem :

• Unclear assumptions and missed opportunities
• Difficulty in cutting scope and prioritizing features
• Strained communication and stakeholder relationships

Root cause of problem : My poor understanding of key pain points and assumptions

Best Doable Option

1. Get with internal stakeholders in an emergency meeting : Nail major use case and pain points
2. Map them to current features and validate with key people in 24 hours
3. Get honest with manager about my slip-up and chart a path forward to avoid this

I'm including below, the document I created to never lose context and sight of the big picture when I inherit a project next, hope you find it useful and can contribute to its betterment

Quick Checklist questions before you begin handover

• Is there a RACI matrix for internal stakeholders present ?
• Have you provided a list of external stakeholders who were requesting this pain point be addressed ?
• Is there a central place where all artifacts used in the project collected ?

[ Design, UX research, Strategy, Initiative document, Jira tickets ]

• Have you outlined, at minimum the below information to be shared

Pain points to be addressed with mappings to users, Risks and known limitations, Assumptions being made, Project Core objectives and goals, Success measures, Communication channels being used, Summaries of context behind key decisions, Current scope and expected delivery timelines, Critical dependencies and how they are currently being managed

• Has there been enough technical knowledge transfer between teams ?
• Is your engineering manager aligned and informed ?
• Does your product trio (Engineering, Design, Product) have sufficient context ?

Detailed reflection questions

Product discovery phase questions

1. How thorough was the problem identification phase?
2. What user research methods were used, and what were the key findings?
3. How involved were stakeholders during the discovery phase?
4. Were alternative solutions explored adequately?
5. What assumptions were made during discovery, and have they been validated?
6. How well-defined is the product’s value proposition?
7. What metrics or KPIs were established to measure the success of the product?
8. What feedback loops are in place for continuous discovery?
9. What risks or uncertainties were identified during discovery, and how were they addressed?
10. How well-defined are the user personas or target audience segments?

Preparing for the Handoff:

• Is the project documentation thorough and up-to-date?
• What are the open questions or areas of uncertainty in the project?
• How do I feel about the project’s current state and my readiness to hand it off?
• What lessons have I learned from this project that could benefit the next person?

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Additional ' Good-to-have' context

• What competitive analysis was conducted, and how did it influence the product direction?
• What was the role of prototyping or MVPs in the discovery process?
• How well-documented are the insights and decisions from the discovery phase?
• Were there any missed opportunities or areas that could have been explored further during discovery?
• How aligned were the discovery outcomes with the overall product vision?
• What learnings from this discovery process can be applied to future product initiatives?

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I only ask, that you leave a comment on how I can improve this piece to help more people - or simply to share it with someone who may benefit. I'm all ears ! Thanks again.

Further learning

*Yes, there's a whole opinion piece written on evidence backed decisions, by Saeed Khan ( Give it a read, Link )