Product Management Checklists - How to make your job easier
Earlier this year I read Atul Gawande’s “The Checklist Manifesto”, where he provides a compelling argument for the humble checklist, believing it to be the most promising method available in overcoming failure. I think he has a point!
Why use a checklist?
The world is a complex place, and if you’re a product manager in a software company then the chances are that your product is complex too. As PMs were involved in a whole host of activities and sometimes it becomes difficult to remember all of the different elements that you need to do in order to pull everything together. We, therefore, need a method for supporting ourselves in delivering the best PM experience to others that we can. Checklists can act as a very useful reminder for us when we’re undertaking various tasks.
How to use a good checklist?
For some, a checklist can be a definitive list of small actions (1: Do step A, 2: Do step B, 3: Do step C), but the wide variety of things that a PM might be looking to achieve means that for us we want them to include a list of areas in which we need to take some action. The aim is that you’ll be able to consider the key factors when completing a specific task, so that the right people, have the right information, at the right time.
So with that in mind, here are some key checklists for product managers.
The Brief your Designer Checklist
[] Have you shared the user’s profile (e.g. role, demographics, etc…)?
[] Have you shared the goal that the user wants to achieve (e.g. the user wants to do X)?
[] Have you shared all the use cases?
[] Have you shared how the new feature fits into the existing product (e.g. in the mobile app, on the homepage) and any impact it has on existing features?
[] Have you shared the elements involved in the design (e.g. fields, content etc…)?
[] Have you shared any research, user feedback, or test results?
[] Have you confirmed the brand style or tone that is needed?
[] Have you shared any examples or mock-ups of this feature?
[] Have you shared the timelines for the delivery of the design?
[] Does the designer have access to the files and tools in order to deliver this design?
[] Have you confirmed who the subject matter expert is in case of subsequent questions?
The Defining a Feature Checklist
[] Who is the user and what is their role?
[] What is the user’s goal?
[] Why is the user trying to achieve this goal?
[] What is the impact if the goal IS met?
[] What is the impact if the goal IS NOT met?
[] What are the use cases for this feature?
[] What are the elements that make up the feature?
[] How will the elements interact with each other?
[] Are there any risks associated with the feature?
[] How will the feature be tested?
[] How will the success of the feature be measured?
The Prioritising Your Sprint Checklist
[] Are there any deadlines within your sprint?
[] What needs to be delivered to meet the sprint deadlines?
[] Are there any deadlines within the following three sprints?
[] What needs delivering now in order to meet the following three sprint deadlines?
[] What production bugs need resolving?
[] Are there any customers that need work given immediate attention?
[] Does any planning need to be done for work in the next six sprints?
[] Have you set your sprint goals?
The Assessing User Feedback Checklist
[] Do you know the role the user has in relation to your product?
[] Do you know what devices and systems the user uses to access your product?
[] Do you know what the user was hoping to achieve with your product?
[] Do you know how much of this achievement they can compete with your product?
[] Do you know why they cannot fully complete the achievement?
[] Do you know what would make their experience with your product better?
The Product Manager’s Release Checklist
[] Have you set a release date?
[] Has the release date been communicated to all interested parties?
[] Have the release notes been written?
[] Have the support team received the release notes?
[] Have the support documents been updated?
[] Have the sales team received the release notes?
[] Have the sales documents been updated?
[] Has the release been tested?
[] Do you have your release metrics in place?
These are by no means the definitive checklists, and the checklists will vary depending on your product and your processes, but they’re a start and better than nothing.
If you have any checklists of your own then do let me know and we can look to bring them all together.
You can also find these checklists on Slideshare.