Prioritising the Roadmap

Hey there, and welcome to the 8th edition of the "It Depends" newsletter.

And some big news this week... we're just over 1,000 people now.

Thanks for reading! ??

If you're new here, every week we explore topics around Product, Growth and Startups. This week I've been thinking about the challenges of the prioritisation process ...

let's go ??

The pressure and saying no...

Prioritising is super difficult.

It's challenging to sort through the million ideas, requests, and suggestions that come your way. Your role is critical in driving the success of your product, and part of that responsibility involves making tough decisions about what gets prioritized and what does not.

Let's speak about the importance of saying no and how it aligns with your product strategy.

Why do product features often get wrongly prioritized?

Beyond the obvious technical limitations or resource constraints this is what we usually face:

1?? Because the CEO said so: While it helps your position to respect the CEO's vision and direction, it's equally crucial to ensure that product decisions are rooted in a well-defined strategy. Blindly prioritizing features solely based on executive orders without considering their alignment with the overall product direction can lead to inefficiencies and wasted resources. This is also an issue on the CEO's/Founder's side. What you think is right is not always the right thing to do... and as we all know, your ideas are constantly changing.

2?? That client wants it: Client feedback and requests are great for improving your product, but it's important to strike a balance between catering to individual client preferences and building a scalable solution. Prioritizing features solely based on a single client's demands can distract you from addressing the needs of your broader user base. What helps here is to take the suggested feature on board and try to see how that would fit within the vision and also, whether other clients would use it.

3?? Worse...I've already promised it to that client: In the rush to meet client expectations, it's easy to overpromise and commit to features that may not align with your long-term product vision or strategy. Sales teams, I'm looking at you here. Making strategic commitments and managing client expectations is vital to ensure you can deliver on your promises while keeping your product on the right track. There isn't much you can do once it's been committed I guess. So let's try to work closely with the salespeople and have them aligned to the product direction.

Now, how can you say no effectively? Here are a few tips:

? Clearly communicate your product strategy: Establish a clear vision and strategy for your product, ensuring that your team and stakeholders are aware of it. This serves as a guiding principle when making prioritization decisions, allowing you to say no to requests that do not align with the strategic objectives. And also, pointing people to the strategic decisions which everyone has agreed to. This way, it's not you who is directly saying no, but unfortunately, this request does not fit with the agreed direction.

? Focus on data and user feedback: Use data-driven insights and user feedback to support your decision-making process. When saying no, highlight the reasons based on user needs, market research, and data analysis. This approach helps stakeholders understand that you're making decisions with the best interests of the product and its users in mind. And use both qualitative (interviews) and quantitative (behaviour, surveys) data to inform you.

? Offer alternative solutions: Instead of a flat-out no, try to propose alternative solutions or compromises. Collaborate with stakeholders to find a middle ground that aligns with your product strategy while addressing their underlying concerns or needs. This particularly works when something has already been promised or when it is required to close a big client.

By being confident in saying no, you can ensure that your teams remain focused on delivering value to users while aligning with the product strategy. This is extremely important to build a culture that values strategic decision-making and understands the long-term benefits of prioritizing the right features.

Saying no is not about being obstructive, but rather about making thoughtful, strategic choices that will drive the success of your product.

Just for fun and some stuff to click on

???My goto background playlist for work: Study Lofi

?? Challenging on what Great PMs look like: Good Product Managers, Great Product Manager from Shreyas Doshi

???From Kurzgesagt: How a Nuclear War will Start - Minute by Minute

?? I'm updating my personal brand visuals to a more BurntOrange/offwhite/black and keeping it more consistent. But in the meantime, you'll be seeing a hybrid of the old and new brands until I get to refresh all of the assets.

Founder Stories

I'll never get tired of seeing Founders gain confidence in what to do next.

"We now have a clearer perspective on our strategy and product roadmap"

That's absolutely amazing to read!

Product Advising is my main product offering and you can read more about it here?or just send me a?DM to chat.

This is what Cypherleak's Founder had to say about working together...

Content recap

Some content from the past few days.

Your user Onboarding is broken. Many SaaS companies get user onboarding wrong. They flood their users with tutorials and guided flows explaining every part of the product. Continue reading

Gaining Confidence. Once you define what you're going to focus on and who you're specifically going to serve then everything becomes easier. It's easier to prioritise. Easier to find the right buyers. And easier to say "no". Continue Reading

Choosing your partners. Whether it's in business or life. Life is a lot more fun when you live it with the right person.?Continue Reading

Carousel: 10 product people from Europe, with less than 10k followers. These are some of my favourite creators with smaller accounts whom I love learning from and occasionally argue with, in the Comments Section. Continue Reading

Product Management is not always like the books. Whether you're a Founder or a PM, the reality of product management in startups, particularly before product-market fit, is quite different from what's explained in books. Continue Reading

Work with me

Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Product Advising: I work with you on what to prioritise to drive Product Growth. In practice, I help SaaS, Tech and Mobile App companies define (1) What products to build, (2) How to build them and (3) How to get adoption. This is my main product and you can read more about it here?or send me a?DM.
2. Coaching and Mentorship: Work with me 1:1. For Founders and Product Managers who want hands-on and specific advice on their work or career.?Learn more?here.
3. Learn about Product, Growth and Startups: Follow me?on LinkedIn?for daily, actionable content on Product, Growth and Startups, and?subscribe?to this weekly newsletter for some more thoughts.

Send me a note?to start exploring [email protected]

That's all for today. My inbox is open if I can help you.

speak soon ??

Matthew