1. Understand the Bigger Picture

Before you dive into specific goals, take a step back and understand the broader business context. Align your product goals with the company’s vision, mission, and objectives. Ask yourself:

• What are the company’s long-term goals?

• How does this product contribute to those goals?

• What market or customer needs are you solving?

By ensuring your goals align with the company’s strategy, you can create a solid foundation for prioritising work that matters.

2. Incorporate SMART Criteria

A widely used framework for setting achievable goals is the SMART method. Ensure your goals are:

• Specific: Clearly define the goal with enough detail that anyone can understand the objective. Ambiguity leads to confusion and misalignment.

• Measurable: Establish how progress will be tracked. Whether it’s product adoption, revenue, or customer satisfaction, measurable goals help you stay focused and evaluate success.

• Achievable: Evaluate your resources, team capacity, and timeline to ensure the goal is realistic. Set goals that stretch your team but remain attainable.

• Relevant: Your goals should directly contribute to the success of the product and the company’s vision. If a goal isn’t relevant, it’s not worth pursuing.

• Time-bound: Define a clear deadline or time frame. Open-ended goals can lead to delays and lack of accountability.

Example: Instead of saying, “Improve the product’s user experience,” try something like, “Increase user satisfaction scores by 15% in the next quarter through improved onboarding and reducing bug reports.”

3. Collaborate with Cross-Functional Teams

From experience, I feel this is one of the most important steps. As a PM, you work with teams across engineering, design, marketing, and sales. Collaborating with these teams early helps set goals that are realistic from both a technical and resource standpoint. Engage in discussions to:

• Understand technical constraints and feasibility.

• Align on timelines that the development team can realistically meet.

• Consider market dynamics that may impact marketing and sales efforts.

Open communication with cross-functional teams helps prevent overcommitting or setting goals that don’t reflect real-world capabilities. Setting goals without considering the team’s capacity will often make the team look like a failure

4. Leverage Data and Customer Insights

Data-driven goals are not only realistic but also provide a strong foundation for decision-making. Use analytics and customer feedback to understand your product’s performance, user behaviour, and pain points.

5. Break Goals into Manageable Milestones

Big, ambitious goals are essential, but they can be overwhelming for the team. To avoid this, break large goals into smaller, manageable milestones. Each milestone serves as a checkpoint and keeps the team motivated by providing frequent opportunities for progress tracking and celebration.

6. Balance Short-Term Wins with Long-Term Vision

While it’s important to deliver quick wins to show progress, you also need to keep an eye on the long-term vision of your product. Setting only short-term goals can lead to feature bloat or a product that doesn’t evolve with market needs. Similarly, focusing too much on long-term goals can lead to missed opportunities for quick improvements or market responsiveness. Balance your goals by:

• Setting tactical goals (short-term) that drive immediate value.

• Keeping strategic goals (long-term) aligned with the broader product vision.

This balance ensures that your team delivers value consistently while moving toward the larger vision.

7. Account for Risks and Uncertainties

This is one step that most PMs fail to consider while setting goals. Every product roadmap has risks and uncertainties — whether it’s technical challenges, market shifts, or unexpected resource constraints. Acknowledging these factors early on allows you to set realistic goals while building contingencies. Include buffer time for unexpected delays and always have a plan B in case things don’t go as expected.

8. Regularly Review and Adjust Goals

The product landscape is constantly evolving, and so should your goals. Regularly review progress against your goals and be willing to adjust them if necessary. Market conditions, customer feedback, or new company priorities can all impact the relevance of a goal. Schedule periodic check-ins with your team and stakeholders to:

• Assess whether goals are still realistic given current circumstances.

• Reprioritize work based on new developments.

• Celebrate progress and course-correct when needed.

Thank you for reading till the end. I’m Oluwatobi, a Product Manager and Designer. I’m dedicating myself to sharing what I’ve learned so far on this product management journey, hoping to help future and fellow product managers along the way. If you also have any PM tips for me, feel free to leave a comment below!

In the meantime, follow me on LinkedIn and Medium to stay tuned for upcoming articles. Chat with you soon!

Image credit: Freepik

A failed product or feature, especially in a startup striving to establish its market presence, can indeed feel like a major blow. However, as the product manager in charge, Don’t Panic! It is crucial to resist the urge to dwell solely on the failed outcome and instead focus on reflection. What went wrong? What needs to be done differently? What lessons can be learned moving forward? By addressing these questions, product managers can turn a disappointing outcome into a stepping stone toward eventual success.

Here are the steps you should take to address a failed launch:

1. Understand Failure:

Before diving into the aftermath of a failed product launch, it's crucial to understand why launches sometimes miss the mark. There are various reasons why a product might fail to meet the set goals upon release. It could be due to technical issues, inadequate market research, or simply failing to meet customer needs and expectations. It is important to analyse this together with all the teams involved in the product launch process. and get several feedback. Regardless of the cause, failure provides valuable insights into what went wrong and how to improve moving forward.

2. Embracing Failure as a Learning Opportunity:

While it's natural to feel disappointed in the aftermath of a failed product launch, it's essential to shift focus from dwelling on what went wrong to understanding why it happened. Personally, my words are “What’s the way forward now guys?” Encourage your team to conduct a thorough post-mortem analysis, brainstorming and examining every aspect of the product launch process. What were the key challenges encountered? Were there any warning signs that were overlooked? Was the launch rushed? By asking these questions, you can uncover valuable lessons that will inform future product development efforts.

3. Iterating and Refining:

One of the greatest advantages of experiencing a failed product launch is the opportunity it presents for iteration and refinement. Armed with insights gained from post-mortem analysis, product managers can work with their teams to make necessary adjustments and improvements to the product. This might involve refining the product features, addressing any technical issues that may have arisen or revising the marketing strategy. By embracing a mindset of continuous improvement, you can transform a failed product launch into a stepping stone towards success.

4. Communicating Transparently:

When a launched product fails, effective communication is paramount. Be transparent with your team, stakeholders, and customers about what went wrong and the steps you're taking to address the issues. This demonstrates accountability and builds trust, both internally and externally. Additionally, solicit feedback from customers and incorporate their insights into your product development process. By involving them in the journey, you not only foster a sense of ownership but also increase the likelihood of delivering a product that resonates with their needs.

5. Celebrating Progress:

Finally, it's essential to celebrate progress, no matter how minor it may seem. Recognise the efforts of your team in identifying and addressing the challenges that led to the failed product launch. By acknowledging their hard work and commitment to improvement, you foster a culture of resilience and innovation within your organisation.

Thank you for reading till the end. I'm Oluwatobi, a Product Manager and Designer. I'm dedicating myself to sharing what I've learned so far on this product management journey, hoping to help future and fellow product managers along the way. If you also have any PM tips for me, feel free to leave a comment below!

In the meantime, follow me on LinkedIn and Hashnode to stay tuned for upcoming articles. Chat with you soon!

Image credit: Freepik

For the Management

Your role as a PM involves translating the strategic vision and business goals set by the management into actionable plans. This means:

• Ensuring that the product aligns with the company’s overall strategy and objectives.

• Regularly updating management on progress, challenges, and successes. This requires transparency and clear communication.

Management relies on you to deliver a product that drives growth, meets market demands, and contributes to the company’s bottom line. All these need to be done within the timeline agreed upon. Your ability to communicate effectively with management and demonstrate how the product aligns with their vision is critical.

For the Team

On the flip side, you are also the advocate and leader of your product team. This entails:

• Providing the team with a clear product vision and well-defined goals to guide their work.

• Identifying and addressing any barriers that might impede the team’s progress, whether they are technical, logistical, or interpersonal.

• Creating an environment that encourages teamwork, innovation, and open communication.

Your team looks to you for direction, support, and motivation. You must ensure they have the resources, information, and encouragement they need to succeed.

How Then Can We Balance The Two

To be honest, I am also still a work in progress. Balancing the needs of management and the team is no small feat, but it is essential for a successful PM. Here are some strategies I’ve realised to manage this balance effectively:

1. Transparent Communication

With Management: Keep management informed with regular updates on the product’s progress, including both achievements and challenges. Be honest about what is realistic and what isn’t.

With the Team: Communicate the rationale behind management’s decisions and how they impact the product. This helps the team understand the bigger picture and stay motivated.

2. Prioritise Wisely

Align Goals: Ensure that the team’s goals are aligned with the company’s strategic objectives. This alignment makes it easier to justify decisions and prioritise tasks.

Flexibility: Be prepared to adjust priorities based on feedback from both management and the team. Flexibility is key to navigating changing demands and constraints.

3. Advocate for the Team

Advocate for the necessary resources, tools, and time the team needs to deliver quality work. This might involve negotiating with management to ensure the team isn’t overburdened.

Recognition and Support: Highlight the team’s achievements to management. Recognize their hard work and contributions, and ensure they feel valued and supported.

4. Manage Expectations

Realistic Timelines: Set realistic timelines and manage expectations on both sides. Avoid overpromising to management or setting unrealistic deadlines for the team. This is actually very important.

Clear Boundaries: Define clear boundaries for what can and cannot be done within a given timeframe or with available resources. This helps prevent burnout and maintains morale.

5. Foster a Collaborative Culture

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Encourage collaboration between different departments and functions. This not only helps in aligning goals but also in understanding different perspectives and constraints.

Empowerment: Empower your team to take ownership of their work and make decisions within their domain. This fosters a sense of responsibility and commitment.

Whew, you made it to the end! Thanks for hanging in there. I'm Oluwatobi, a Product Manager and Designer. This is actually my first attempt at writing PM wisdom, so I hope it wasn't too confusing. I'm dedicating myself to sharing what I've learned so far on this product management journey, hoping to help future and fellow product managers along the way. If you also have any PM tips for me, feel free to leave a comment below!

In the meantime, follow me on LinkedIn and Hashnode to stay tuned for upcoming articles. Chat with you soon! 😎

1. Problem Identification: Identifying the problem is the first step in the design thinking process. It ensures that designers focus on solving real issues rather than perceived ones. In this case, the team recognized key issues with the existing app such as user dissatisfaction, competition, and content relevance problems which guided the entire design process toward addressing these critical issues effectively. This thorough problem analysis is essential in the design thinking process.

2. User-Centred Approach: Design thinking emphasises empathy for the end-users. By conducting research into the habits and preferences of young users, the design team gained valuable insights. This user-centred approach ensures that the final solution caters to the actual needs and behaviours of the target audience, increasing the likelihood of its success.

3. Iterative Design: Iteration is a fundamental aspect of design thinking. Generating multiple concepts and testing them with different groups ensures that the final solution is refined and improved over time. It allows designers to learn from failures and adapt their approach based on user feedback, increasing the likelihood of success. The team generated multiple concepts and tested them with different groups to validate ideas. The iterative design process ensures that the final solution is both sustainable and viable.

Thank you for reading! 😊