Handling ambiguity, failures, and conflicts is a critical aspect of a product manager's role. Let's explore each of these challenges with real-world examples:
Handling Ambiguity: Ambiguity can arise at any stage of product development. A product manager must embrace uncertainty and focus on solving the issue.
Example: Imagine a product manager is tasked with developing a new feature for a mobile app, but the specifics of the feature are unclear. In this scenario, they can conduct user research, gather feedback from stakeholders, and create low-fidelity prototypes to explore potential solutions. As they iterate, the ambiguity gradually dissipates, and the path forward becomes clearer.
Managing Failures: Product managers must be prepared for failures and setbacks. When a product or feature doesn't perform as expected, it's essential to learn from the experience and adjust the course.
Example: Consider a product manager responsible for an e-commerce platform who launches a new feature aimed at increasing conversion rates. However, after implementation, the feature led to a decrease in sales. Instead of seeing this as a complete failure, the product manager must analyze user behavior and feedback to identify issues. They then adjust the feature, test it, and ultimately achieve the desired results.
Resolving Conflicts: Conflicts can arise within cross-functional teams due to differing perspectives, priorities, or goals. A product manager's role includes mediating conflicts to ensure alignment and progress.
Example: In a scenario where the engineering team wants to prioritize technical debt reduction, while the marketing team advocates for new feature development, a product manager can facilitate a discussion. By presenting the long-term benefits of addressing technical debt and explaining the potential impact on user experience, they can find a balanced solution that aligns with the company's goals.
In summary, successful product managers handle ambiguity by using research and prototyping to clarify the way forward. When faced with failures, they embrace them as opportunities for learning and adjustment, and conflicts are resolved through effective communication and alignment with the organization's overarching goals.
Aashish Sharma - TOSCA Problem Solving Framework - LinkedIn Post
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🚀 "TOSCA: The Art of Problem Solving in Product Management" 🚀
TOSCA is an abbreviation for Trouble, Owner, Success Criteria, Constraints, and Actors.
🎵 T - Trouble: What's the issue we're dealing with? We start by understanding the symptoms that make the problem real.
🔦 O - Owner: Every problem needs someone to champion it. We pinpoint the question: Whose problem is this? Think of it as shining a spotlight on the person responsible.
🏆 S - Success Criteria: We're in search of victory here. What does success look like, and when should we reach it?
🧩 C - Constraints: Think of these as the limits of our puzzle. Constraints give structure to our creativity, like the rules in a game.
👥 A - Actors: No one plays solo in our symphony. We acknowledge other players - stakeholders with their own wishes.
Consider the below example of a ride-sharing company:
Problem: Imagine you're a product manager at a ride-sharing company, and you've noticed a drop in driver engagement and a decline in the number of completed rides. Your problem is, "How can we improve driver engagement and increase the number of completed rides?"
T - Trouble: You start by identifying the symptoms. Drivers are complaining about long wait times at pick-up locations, and riders are frustrated with unreliable driver availability.
O - Owner: Whose problem is this? You find that this problem directly affects both riders and drivers.
S - Success Criteria: Success would mean shorter wait times for riders and increased earnings for drivers.