You’re presenting a well-crafted product roadmap to a room of stakeholders and group members when a senior chief begins to take over the assembly. This particular person is asserting their very own judgments, suggesting alterations, and customarily shifting focus away out of your plan. Whereas these actions could come from a spot of excellent intentions and former expertise, the impact will be demoralizing. If not dealt with appropriately, this situation may have damaging penalties on the product roadmap.
When you’ve been a product supervisor for any size of time, you’ve possible discovered your self on this state of affairs, face-to-face with the HiPPO: the “highest-paid particular person’s opinion.” The opinions of a high-ranking or influential particular person within the group—who is commonly the particular person in a gathering with the best wage—are likely to take priority over the insights of different group members. With such authority, the HiPPO can have a big influence on the route of the product roadmap; thus, going up towards, and even disagreeing with, the HiPPO will be extraordinarily intimidating.
I’ve been constructing merchandise for greater than a decade and I nonetheless recurrently encounter the HiPPO. Over that point, nonetheless, I’ve developed methods to enact earlier than any product roadmap presentation to make sure stakeholder satisfaction and the most effective roadmap attainable.
Why HiPPOs Are Harmful
In a product growth context, the HiPPO’s influence will be harmful once they impose modifications based mostly on private expertise, instinct, or with out full information of the product or the vary of things that would have an effect on its success. Moreover, these modifications will not be in keeping with buyer wants or market traits, leading to merchandise which might be outdated, irrelevant, or fail to fulfill buyer expectations.
One other downside arises when the HiPPO is threat averse, preferring the relative security of ways they’ve seen work effectively prior to now. This could result in an absence of innovation or a stagnant product roadmap. It could actually additionally result in losing time and sources on initiatives that find yourself failing, being axed, or getting redirected down the road.
Typically, govt enter can lead to roadmaps which have much less room for creativity and experimentation. Agile product roadmaps ought to talk outcomes somewhat than the outputs that Waterfall roadmaps sometimes do, however the 2023 State of Product Administration Report discovered that 70% of roadmaps most affected by requests from govt management give attention to speaking outputs over outcomes.
Product roadmaps regularly influenced by the HiPPO can stifle creativity and harm the morale of the product group. That is doubtlessly probably the most detrimental influence of all, as a high-functioning group is significant to success.
Methods to Handle the HiPPO
Whereas HiPPOs pose many challenges, there are steps you may take to keep up management of your product and get buy-in from management.
Develop a Excessive-quality, Proof-based Roadmap
Step one is to make sure you have a product roadmap that works. This can be a crucial basis for countering any opposing views, as you may have full confidence that your roadmap is the fitting method to go.
A robust product roadmap ought to embrace a transparent imaginative and prescient and targets, in addition to a timeline for attaining them, with key milestones plotted. Determine the stakeholders concerned at every stage of the method. Select how you’ll measure success. Resolve which metrics to trace (e.g., buyer satisfaction, engagement, income). Use this knowledge to validate the standard of your future roadmaps.
For good product roadmap execution, determine how you’ll observe progress, evaluation and replace the roadmap, and take a look at and validate concepts. Quantitative knowledge from surveys, mixed with qualitative sentiment assortment from interviews and different interactions, presents compelling insights which might be onerous to refute. Knowledge from different sources, corresponding to market analysis and competitor evaluation, needs to be utilized too. You need to have the ability to reply to buyer suggestions and adapt to altering wants; you are able to do this by incorporating a suggestions loop into the roadmap.
Set up a Determination-making Course of
With the intention to keep management of your product roadmap, create a strong course of for decision-making. When you don’t have one already, develop a framework for gathering buyer knowledge and evaluating this info. This course of and its outcomes needs to be clearly documented and communicated to all stakeholders, together with the senior determine. Refer again to this evaluation to counter any opinions that don’t align along with your evidence-based roadmap.
Put collectively a group with representatives from all related departments, together with product administration, engineering, advertising, and buyer help. This group may have the authority to make collaborative choices based mostly on each knowledge and material experience at sure factors within the roadmap (though it’s best to take steps to make sure that having this group in place doesn’t decelerate your growth course of). Ought to the HiPPO intervene, this constant analysis will make sure the product stays on observe.
Talk Often With Stakeholders
Each stakeholder—together with the senior determine—is necessary in making a profitable product, however it’s essential to make sure that there’s a clear understanding of the product roadmap and every particular person’s position in it throughout all departments.
Set up one system for maintaining stakeholders knowledgeable of modifications to the roadmap, and one other system for gathering, evaluating, responding to, and incorporating their suggestions. When everybody feels heard, you’ll encounter fewer points alongside the journey.
Foster Belief within the Product Group
Belief shall be an important element in constructing constructive long-term relationships between the senior determine and the product group. Strengthen belief by celebrating evidence-based choices from group members that produce profitable outcomes. A technique that has labored effectively in my expertise is a month-to-month or quarterly award given to a person or group that tackled an issue having a detrimental influence on the product. This serves to exhibit the worth and experience of the group, which can afford higher autonomy from senior figures sooner or later. It additionally emphasizes the significance of data-driven decision-making.
Set Clear Expectations
Lastly, and maybe most significantly, previous to any roadmap discussions, develop a system in partnership with the senior determine and your product group to handle their involvement in decision-making. It is best to enable all events to really feel heard whereas setting clear expectations for his or her roles and duties. Everybody—together with senior figures—needs to be held accountable for his or her choices and enter and be anticipated to supply proof to help them. Remember to doc these processes formally and clearly for all group members. (This course of could even deter the senior determine from providing unfounded opinions.)
Meet with the senior determine in a one-on-one setting a day or two earlier than any massive displays, giving them a discussion board by which to specific their considerations and you a chance to handle these previous to the assembly. An intimate setting makes it simpler to have harder discussions with out the added stress of an viewers.
Product Roadmaps Are Pushed by Knowledge, Not Expertise
The success of a product roadmap depends on being pushed by knowledge somewhat than private expertise or instinct. The HiPPO can, due to this fact, have a big influence if their enter shouldn’t be dealt with effectively. Making use of the straightforward however efficient methods I’ve laid out right here can mitigate and forestall harm to the roadmap, product, and group. Having clear roles and bounds in place, constructing belief, and making evidence-based choices are crucial.
Strong, constant processes will show you how to and your group confidently design and execute product roadmaps which might be in keeping with buyer wants and market traits—and that can result in worthwhile merchandise. Suggestions from senior figures can undoubtedly be invaluable, however in relation to the product and its roadmap, you and your group ought to have the insights that matter most.