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Building the Product Right— Key Details & Strategies for Success
Embracing the Power of the Technology Radar for Caizin

4: Product Management Gets Frustrating When Someone Else Cares More About the Risks

Published by Mahendra Yadav on April 12, 2023
Categories
  • product manager
  • saas product development
  • Thought Leadership
Tags
  • product manager
  • risk management

No matter what industry, all businesses face risks. But in the world of product management, is there a specific list of risks that can make or break your product roadmap? Are there tips and tricks for becoming a successful “CEO of the product”? Does it start by proving “who cares?” 

Building products is hard while identifying a problem or opportunity in the market may seem relatively easy. Any product development project is the shared responsibility of a well-rounded cross-functional team of engineers and designers involved in building the product. However, driving the project towards desirable outcomes is a responsibility borne by an able-shouldered product manager.   

Once the problem/opportunity is identified, the battle moves on to  

  1. discovering whether there are enough customers for it, 
  2. building the right solution for it, 
  3. taking a product to the market that customers will love, 
  4. finding out whether the target customers will use it and are willing to pay for using it over an extended period, 
  5. staying ahead of the competition and gaining market share.  

You may have guessed by now that there is more on the project manager’s To-Do list, aside from owning the product and getting stuff done. Of course, this is a high-level list, a very simplified version of real scenarios. 

Most product management commentary revolves around tools, methods, techniques, and sometimes processes for effective execution. With the different stages of fit (Problem-Solution, Product-Market, Business Model) and metrics, the “science” of product management becomes the core area of focus to achieve customer success for a product. 

But, more often than not, we overlook two critical aspects of product management—risk management and people skills.

For today, let’s focus on risk management and keep the topic of people skills for another time. 

What is Risk Management, and What Role Does It Play in Product Management? 

Identifying risks (as early as possible), analyzing, and mitigating them—risk management is a crucial part of product management. To ensure a successful project, product managers must constantly monitor and identify different types of risks throughout the iteratively progressing product development life cycle and be ready with a comprehensive risk management plan. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that product management is essentially risk management.

The 4 Pillars of Product Management a.k.a. Risk Management 

In his book, Inspired, Marty Cagan has beautifully articulated the four big risks while managing a product.

I am listing them down here in his exact words [1]: 

  1. value risk (whether customers will buy it, or users will choose to use it) 
  2. usability risk (whether users can figure out how to use it) 
  3. feasibility risk (whether our engineers can build what we need with the time, skills, and technology we have) 
  4. business viability risk (whether this solution also works for the various aspects of our business)

Over the years, across many products and services engagement that I have been close to, this is what I believe—  

“Who (Also) Care” About These Risks 

B2C StartupB2B StartupSeed Funded B2C StartupSeed Funded B2B StartupSeries A+ B2C EnterpriseSeries A+ B2B Enterprise
Value RiskFounders, CustomersFounders – With confidence from 1 to 6 customers, CustomersFounders, Customers, InvestorsSales Team (sometimes to please 1 customer), Founders, Customers, InvestorsFounders, Investors, CustomersSales Team (in highly empowered fashion) Founders, Investors, Customers
Usability RiskProbably SomeoneCustomer – Largely coming as pushback to changeFounders, CustomersFounders, CustomersDesign Team (if hired), Founders, CustomersDesign Team (if hired), Founders, Customers
Feasibility RiskCTO (Tech), CEO (Cost)CTO (Tech), CEO (Cost), Customer (Cost)CTO (Tech Debt vs Feature Bloat, scaling team without breaking things)CTO (Tech Debt vs Feature Bloat, scaling team without breaking things, custom needs of customers)CTO (Tech Debt vs Feature Bloat, scaling team without breaking things, custom needs of customers, engineering culture, CTO’s voice in the company)CTO (Tech Debt vs Feature Bloat, scaling team without breaking things, custom needs of customers, engineering culture, CTO’s voice in the company)
Business Viability RiskFoundersFoundersFounders, Investors, (sometimes) CustomersFounders, Investors, CustomersInvestors, CFO, Founders, CustomersInvestors, CFO, Founders, Customers
Please note – This list is not exhaustive and is generalized, with some “probability.” 

How Much Should a Product Manager Care? 

As product managers, if these stakeholders care for the risks with higher intensities than you and/or start governing decisions, the “joy” of product management starts to decline. 

A product manager’s success depends on dealing with the stakeholders and corresponding risks with intent, effort, knowledge, and interpersonal skills. The best outcome is gaining enough trust and faith that the stakeholders delegate their hopes and fears to you with a highly lean communication plan. Many times, this may turn into a battle for changing the mindset of many, which might also call for a movement to overhaul the product culture of the organization. Sometimes the product manager either resigns or gets fired out of frustration. 

A certain Henry said, “Who cares?” and it became the best life lesson for me, but that story is for some other time! 

Not to mention, probably now you know that more than 50% of the battle for product managers is people skills. 

Until the next time, thanks for reading. 

Bibliography: 

[1]Cagan, M. (2017, December 4). The Four Big Risks. Silicon Valley Product Group. https://www.svpg.com/four-big-risks/ 

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Mahendra Yadav
Mahendra Yadav
A dedicated professional with 22+ years of experience in the IT industry, Mahendra has successfully played pivotal roles at every organization he is a part of. Tavisca, his previous venture, developed into a successful product and technology company and was acquired by CxLoyalty, which eventually became a JPMorgan Chase company. Mahendra is a Mechanical Engineering graduate of IIT Kanpur. With a strategic mindset and commendable business acumen, he has proven to be an accomplished and empathetic leader in technology, sales, business development, product management, and organizational culture.

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I am a passionate coder and a blogger with
almost 10 years of experience in IT industry.

Anand ShuklaAnand Shukla

Anand is an accomplished Sales Leader with over 15 years of extensive work experience in the IT Industry across the US, Europe, and APAC markets. He has in-depth knowledge of software development and IT Services for various industry verticals. Anand has contributed significantly to the startup ecosystem, helping businesses build and scale products and advising fast-paced startups on their growth strategy.

Anand is an intrepid traveler—he has visited more than 38 countries—loves riding motorcycles, having interesting conversations with people, and is always up for an adventurous ride!

Hemant BhattHemant Bhatt

Hemant is a Product Manager with professional experience of 18+ years. Prior to Caizin, Hemant co-founded Tavisca. He transitioned from technology to product leadership over his career. He is a believer in an iterative approach to product development and greatly values customer first focus. His is passionate about building people centric organizations. When not working, he loves spending time with his wife and kids.

Mahendra YadavMahendra Yadav

A dedicated professional with 22+ years of experience in the IT industry, Mahendra has successfully played pivotal roles at every organization he is a part of.
Tavisca, his previous venture, developed into a successful product and technology company and was acquired by CxLoyalty, which eventually became a JPMorgan Chase company.
Mahendra is a Mechanical Engineering graduate of IIT Kanpur. With a strategic mindset and commendable business acumen, he has proven to be an accomplished and empathetic leader in technology, sales, business development, product management, and organizational culture.

Shikha SingalShikha Singal

Shikha is a professionally qualified Digital Marketer with a master’s degree and over 20 years of dynamic experience in corporate strategy, marketing, and transforming business operations. Shikha is a motivated professional who excels at business expansion, mergers, and acquisitions.

She has consistently delivered impressive results throughout her career because of her exceptional organizational skills and specialized expertise in core product management, market research and branding, events, public relations, and key account management.

In her free time, Shikha loves painting, spending time with her loved ones, and visiting new scenic places.

Tanuj SaxenaTanuj Saxena

Tanuj is a Master of Computer Science with 16+ years of experience in technology, boasting a mix of core R&D and professional services.

Before Caizin, Tanuj co-founded an FSM analytics company and scaled the SaaS-based product’s technology using a cloud-first approach. He is passionate about building products, whether tech or non-tech. 

The gadget lover also loves going on long trips with his family.

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