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 individual is asserting their very own judgments, suggesting alterations, and usually shifting focus away out of your plan. Whereas these actions could come from a spot of excellent intentions and former expertise, the impact could be demoralizing. If not dealt with appropriately, this situation may also have unfavourable penalties on the product roadmap.

In case you’ve been a product supervisor for any size of time, you’ve seemingly discovered your self on this state of affairs, face-to-face with the HiPPO: the “highest-paid individual’s opinion.” The opinions of a high-ranking or influential individual within the group—who is usually the individual in a gathering with the best wage—are inclined to take priority over the insights of different group members. With such authority, the HiPPO can have a major affect on the route of the product roadmap; thus, going up in opposition to, and even disagreeing with, the HiPPO could be extraordinarily intimidating.

I’ve been constructing merchandise for greater than a decade and I nonetheless commonly encounter the HiPPO. Over that point, nevertheless, I’ve developed methods to enact earlier than any product roadmap presentation to make sure stakeholder satisfaction and one of the best roadmap doable.

Why HiPPOs Are Harmful

In a product improvement context, the HiPPO’s affect could 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 might have an effect on its success. Moreover, these modifications is probably not according to buyer wants or market tendencies, leading to merchandise which are outdated, irrelevant, or fail to fulfill buyer expectations.

One other drawback arises when the HiPPO is threat averse, preferring the relative security of techniques they’ve seen work properly prior to now. This may result in an absence of innovation or a stagnant product roadmap. It will probably additionally result in losing time and sources on tasks that find yourself failing, being axed, or getting redirected down the road.

Generally, govt enter may end up in roadmaps which have much less room for creativity and experimentation. Agile product roadmaps ought to talk outcomes quite than the outputs that Waterfall roadmaps usually do, however the 2023 State of Product Administration Report discovered that 70% of roadmaps most affected by requests from govt management deal with speaking outputs over outcomes.

Product roadmaps frequently influenced by the HiPPO can stifle creativity and harm the morale of the product group. That is probably probably the most detrimental affect of all, as a high-functioning group is important to success.

Methods to Handle the HiPPO

Whereas HiPPOs pose many challenges, there are steps you possibly can take to take care of 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 possibly can have full confidence that your roadmap is the suitable 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 information to validate the standard of your future roadmaps.

For good product roadmap execution, determine how you’ll observe progress, evaluate and replace the roadmap, and take a look at and validate concepts. Quantitative information from surveys, mixed with qualitative sentiment assortment from interviews and different interactions, presents compelling insights which are laborious to refute. Information from different sources, reminiscent of market analysis and competitor evaluation, must 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

So as to keep management of your product roadmap, create a strong course of for decision-making. In case you don’t have one already, develop a framework for gathering buyer information and evaluating this data. This course of and its outcomes must 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 marketing, and buyer assist. This group can have the authority to make collaborative choices based mostly on each information and subject material experience at sure factors within the roadmap (though you must take steps to make sure that having this group in place doesn’t decelerate your improvement course of). Ought to the HiPPO intervene, this constant analysis will make sure the product stays on observe.

Talk Usually With Stakeholders

Each stakeholder—together with the senior determine—is vital in making a profitable product, however it’s essential to make sure that there’s a clear understanding of the product roadmap and every individual’s position in it throughout all departments.

Set up one system for retaining 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 Workforce

Belief will probably be a significant 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 properly in my expertise is a month-to-month or quarterly award given to a person or group that tackled an issue having a detrimental affect on the product. This serves to reveal the worth and experience of the group, which can afford better 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’s best to permit all events to really feel heard whereas setting clear expectations for his or her roles and obligations. Everybody—together with senior figures—must be held accountable for his or her choices and enter and be anticipated to offer proof to assist them. You’ll want 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 giant shows, giving them a discussion board by which to specific their considerations and you a chance to deal with these previous to the assembly. An intimate surroundings makes it simpler to have tougher discussions with out the added stress of an viewers.

Product Roadmaps Are Pushed by Information, Not Expertise

The success of a product roadmap depends on being pushed by information quite than private expertise or instinct. The HiPPO can, due to this fact, have a major affect if their enter just isn’t dealt with properly. Making use of the easy 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 make it easier to and your group confidently design and execute product roadmaps which are according to buyer wants and market tendencies—and that may result in worthwhile merchandise. Suggestions from senior figures can undoubtedly be helpful, however in the case of the product and its roadmap, you and your group ought to have the insights that matter most.