• Research the market, competition, and trends
• Create user personas and ideal customer profiles (ICPs)
• Organize feature ideas
• Analyze user feedback
• Prioritize feature requests
• Brainstorm user experience optimization ideas
• Create project plans
• Write support documentation and product release materials
• And more

However, it often gives false information that defeats the tool’s purpose.

For example, you might ask ChatGPT to analyze a collection of customer chats and find feature requests. You can’t rely on this tool if it misses some or makes up non-existent feature requests.

Eight AI experts shared their ChatGPT misinformation stories with us. They also gave tips for preventing it. Spoiler – you should:

• Clarify your prompts
• Manually check the information it gives you
• Try specialized AI tools for product managers

We’re sharing six tips and ten prompts to train GPT to provide only accurate information. But first, let’s dig into ChatGPT and its limitations.

Understanding ChatGPT’s limitations

Let’s go back to the beginning. What’s ChatGPT in plain English?

OpenAI built an app called ChatGPT in 2022. They used AI (artificial intelligence) to teach their LLM (large language model) to answer your questions. Today, it can also write copy, create images, analyze and translate text, explain concepts, and more. OpenAI took a common chatbot and improved it. That’s the “chat” part of it.

“GPT” stands for generative pre-trained transformer. It offers a few AI models, including GPT-4, GPT-4o (for complex tasks), and GPT-4o mini (for simpler outputs).

When ChatGPT exploded, some product experts got pretty concerned about its accuracy.

“I fear that we are going to develop products based on completely made-up reports, and nobody (not even the accountable people) will know.”

Anonymous Reddit user on r/ProductManagement

Some experts have seen the negative outcomes of ChatGPT misinformation first-hand.

“Until you’ve sat aghast at the sight of a confident, detailed, but completely wrong answer, you will have no understanding of the skepticism you need to apply to the guidance it provides. Already losing track of the number of engineers I’ve seen apply ChatGPT advice that turns out to be terrible.”

Kevin Yank, principal architect, front end, Culture Amp

Companies like StackOverflow took this very seriously. In 2022, they temporarily banned ChatGPT-generated responses from users.

“The primary problem is that while the answers which ChatGPT produces have a high rate of being incorrect, they typically look like they might be good and the answers are very easy to produce.” 

Moderator at StackOverflow

ChatGPT has come a long way since its inception but still has some limitations. Here are the main ones you should know about.

1. Accuracy. ChatGPT may miss important details or misunderstand nuances in language. This may result in incorrect or misleading information.

• Example: ChatGPT might incorrectly interpret phrases like “I hate how much I love this feature” as negative sentiments. The word “hate” misleads the positive intent of the statement.

2. Outdated information. ChatGPT’s knowledge is based on data up to a specific cutoff date (between September 2021 and April 2023, depending on the model). It does not have access to real-time information or recent developments, which can result in outdated advice or references.

• Example: ChatGPT might not know about recent updates to competitors’ products or current market trends.

3. Potential bias. If you train ChatGPT on biased data, the responses will reflect that bias.

• Example: ChatGPT might prioritize certain features based on biased input data. For example, a feature request may contain urgency-based words like “critical” or “must-have.” While it could be critical for one user, this doesn’t always mean it’s the most impactful idea. This bias could skew product development decisions.

4. Originality and plagiarism. AI-generated content might unintentionally plagiarize existing content.

• Example: You use an AI tool to generate feature descriptions. The output closely mirrors descriptions from a competitor’s website. This unintentional plagiarism can lead to legal issues and damage the company’s credibility.

But is ChatGPT the only one to blame? Let’s dig a little deeper.

Common causes of ChatGPT misinformation

ChatGPT isn’t perfect. That’s why it’s not as close to replacing us as we think 🙂

“When AI is given a task, it’s supposed to generate a response based on real-world data. In some cases, however, AI will fabricate sources. That is, it’s ‘hallucinating.’ This can be references to certain books that don’t exist or news articles pretending to be from well-known websites like The Guardian.”

Oscar Gonzalez, tech news editor, Gizmodo

Why does ChatGPT hallucinate? There are a few potential reasons for AI-generated misinformation:

• ChatGPT may lack context. For example, suppose you ask it to develop a new product launch strategy. In that case, it will give you generic advice based on existing articles on this topic. It might also get some details about your particular product or company wrong.
• ChatGPT is trained on vast datasets, both real and fictional. It can give you an answer based on a fictional scenario found online without realizing it’s fictional.
• The output can be susceptible to the way you phrase the questions. Small changes in the input prompt can lead to different responses.

Before you put your tin-foil hats on and shut down ChatGPT forever, let’s try to solve these issues.

How to limit false information

You can still use ChatGPT and save a lot of time. Now that you know what to look out for, you can be a little more skeptical. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean you need to lose all faith and go back to your old ways. Here are six tips to help you limit misinformation from ChatGPT.

1. Craft clear and precise prompts

The better you ask the question, the more accurate of an answer you’ll get. So, get ultra-specific with your prompt. Include the following:

• Give ChatGPT an identity. Who do you want it to be?
  • Example: “You are a product manager at canny.io. Your job is to prioritize feature requests based on required effort and potential impact.”
• Give background information. Imagine you’re talking to someone who has no idea what you and your company do. To speed this up, include links or text from your site or help docs in the prompt.
  • Example: “Canny is a tool for product managers. It helps them analyze and manage user feedback.”
  • Here’s more about our tool [link].
• Give specifics. Do you need the output to be a certain length? Does it have to follow a specific writing style, tone, or format? Specify all that.
  • Example: “Please use simple language, plain English, and conversational tone. The audience for this content is internal only. I need everybody in my company to understand what I’m talking about. Avoid jargon and complex language.”
• Avoid anything that ChatGPT can misinterpret. Be as clear as possible in your prompt.
• Ask GPT to ask you questions.
  • Example: “Please ask clarifying questions if anything is unclear. Do you need any other information or context? Please ask.”
• Talk to GPT like you would to a real person. Use conversational language.
  • Example: “Why did you prioritize features in this order? Can you explain your thought process?”
• Ask for examples, proof, and citations with direct links. This will help you assess the accuracy of ChatGPT responses.
  • Example: “What evidence supports this statement [copy-paste part of GPT’s response]? Give me direct links to the source of this information.”
• Paraphrase your prompt. Sometimes, slight differences in your prompts will make a big difference.
  • Initial prompt: “Prioritize these features for me.”
  • Paraphrased prompt: “Rank these feature ideas based on how much effort they might potentially take.”
• Ask it to do one thing at a time. Then, ask for the next thing in the follow-up. It’s a chat, remember? 🙂
  • Prompt #1: “Rank these feature ideas based on how much effort they might potentially take.”
  • Prompt #2: “Thank you, this makes sense. Now add another ranking factor – the potential impact of this feature on our customers. Redo the ranking please.”
• Ask it to repeat parts of your original requests back to you. This will help you understand if ChatGPT is on the right track.
  • Example: “Can you tell me what I asked you to do in your own words? I want to make sure you understand exactly what I need you to do. Are my instructions clear?”

2. Try iterative prompting

As you chat with ChatGPT, you’ll start noticing where it goes off the rails. This is a perfect time to bring it back on track. Engineers call this iterative prompting. This is the process of asking ChatGPT for one thing only. Then, based on its response, either help it change direction or ask it to keep going.

“We don’t just have a single-stage process. We’re not going straight to the API and asking: ‘What is the feedback here?’ or ‘Is there a bug report in this?’ Instead, we have a multi-stage process. We ask one small question at a time and try to get the most accurate response possible. This is how we get higher fidelity and accuracy rates.”

Niall Dickin, engineer at Canny

3. Train ChatGPT on specific data

ChatGPT can give you wrong answers when it lacks context about your business.

“Say, for instance, you’re running a small business and use ChatGPT for business planning. How much would ChatGPT know about the dynamics of your business? If you’re integrating ChatGPT into your customer support service, how much would ChatGPT know about your company and product? If you use ChatGPT to create personalized documents, how much would ChatGPT know about you? The short answer? Very little.”

Maxwell Timothy, content and outreach specialist at Chatbase. 

ChatGPT relies on the data it can find online to answer your questions. Very often, the data it needs isn’t publicly available. Specifics about your product can hide in your help docs and internal wikis. You need to “feed” that data to ChatGPT to help it help you. There are a few ways of doing this.

Manually copy-paste

This isn’t the most efficient option, but it works. Manually copy-paste relevant information to your conversation with ChatGPT. Ask it to use this information to answer your questions.

Sample prompt:

“Analyze these Intercom conversations. Find feature requests in them [insert Intercom conversations’ transcript]. Compare them against our existing features [insert a list of features]. Give me a list of only feature requests that we don’t already have.”

Provide your own examples to clarify the prompt. Let’s say you’re asking ChatGPT to create a changelog entry. Copy-paste an existing changelog entry and ask ChatGPT to follow the same style, format, length, tone, etc.

“There’s this temptation to type in as little as possible and let the AI do its “magic.” And then we expect accurate responses back. We have to keep in mind: most AI tools have a pretty large “context window” – space to type in our prompt. These tools can consume a lot of data at once.”

Maxwell Timothy

Try feeding your data to ChatGPT in portions, though. Sometimes, large amounts of data at once lead to “hallucinations” as well.

Create custom GPTs yourself

OpenAI now allows you to create custom GPTs. Think of them as mini-programs you can train on specific tasks. For example, you can create separate GPTs for:

• Data analysis
• Feature request detecting
• Release note writing
• Client conversation breakdown
• And much more

Creating custom GPTs saves you time. You won’t need to explain what you need ChatGPT to do for you every time. You set it up once and reuse it forever.

Follow these steps to create a custom GPT.

1. Open https://chatgpt.com/
2. Find “Explore GPTs” on the left-hand side
3. Find “Create” in the top-right corner
4. You’ll end up on the “Create” tab. You can describe to ChatGPT what kind of GPT you’d like to create and share resources with it.
5. Alternatively, you can click on the “Configure tab” and customize your GPT there

Use tools to create custom GPTs

There are some great tools for creating custom GPTs. Jason West, CEO of FastBots.ai, walks you through creating one with CustomGPT.ai in this video.

Chatbase is another great option. It helps you train your chatbots with company-specific information and knowledge.

“Chatbase is the easiest way to train and deploy a chatbot with your data. This innovative no-code AI solution provides a simple way to manage all aspects of building a chatbot with your data. This includes training, configuration, and deployment.”

Maxwell Timothy

Chatbase uses the same technology that powers ChatGPT but optimizes it to make it even easier to use.

Try RAG (retrieval-augmented generation)

Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) is a more advanced way of reducing AI hallucinations. It allows AI to respond to queries referencing a specified set of documents.

“RAG has recently emerged as a promising solution to alleviate the large language model’s (LLM) lack of knowledge.”

At Canny, we’re currently working on our RAG pipeline. This means that we’re adding context to each prompt to train our AI on specific data. For example, we feed Autopilot help doc materials to help it distinguish between new and existing feature requests. Autopilot Feedback Discovery is becoming even more accurate because of this.

Note: we’re not using any data without explicit permission from our users. We only use customer data for that customer’s instance.

This has already significantly impacted the accuracy of our automated feature request extraction. Our goal is to make AI detect existing features for selected customers. This will prevent duplicate feature requests and save our users even more time.

“We provide relevant context on each prompt to supplement the LLM knowledge with domain-specific data from the customer. This helps the LLM stay grounded in reality and feed from this data to generate context-aware responses.”

Ramiro Olivera, engineer at Canny 

4. Recognize and correct errors

It’s easier to fix ChatGPT’s mistakes when you know what to look out for. Here are some common signals that you might be getting the wrong information.

• No source attribution – ChatGPT can’t give you a direct link to the source of the information. Sometimes, it’ll give you a link that leads to a 404 page. 
• Inconsistency with well-known facts.
• Overly broad statements.
• Contradictory information – sometimes, you can get different responses when you use rephrased prompts.
• Outdated references. It’s best to trust information that’s no more than five years old.
• Citations to non-credible sources.

To correct any errors, verify the facts manually and only trust reputable sources.

5. Verify facts manually

Yes, ChatGPT and all AI are here to replace manual work. But, as you can see, we’re not 100% there yet. Because ChatGPT can still make mistakes, it’s best to verify critical information. Checking it early will save you time in the future.

Kevin Yank, principal architect at Culture Amp, recommends always assuming ChatGPT is lying. This level of skepticism will help minimize errors.

The product management community on Reddit agrees, and here’s what they recommend.

1. Ask ChatGPT: “Are you sure about that?”
2. If you get a different response, go and check this information manually

Source: Reddit 

Bottom line: check all critical information

Sources for fact-checking

If you’re unsure about any information ChatGPT gives you, verify it. For example, you can use these trustworthy sources to check market trends, competitive intel, and similar data.

• Statista, Gartner, or Forrester for data, numbers, benchmarks
• eMarketer or McKinsey & Company for business and marketing trends and forecasts
• Wired, TechCrunch, or CNET for technology information
• Association of International Product Marketing and Management (AIPMM) for product management 
• Reddit and LinkedIn groups for industry-specific information
  • Don’t trust everything that any contributor posts. Ask the community if you’re not sure.

Note: if you provide your own data to ChatGPT, you need to check this data internally to ensure you get an accurate output.

Here’s how Gianluca Ferruggia, general manager at DesignRush, corrects ChatGPT misinformation. He shared a story from his recent product launch.

“We were coordinating a product launch using AI. The response we received conflicted with our internal project milestones due to the AI’s misinterpretation. We rectified this by reminding ourselves that it’s crucial to provide AI with specific, clear, and concise instructions.”

6. Use dedicated AI tools

ChatGPT made a massive leap in AI adoption and progress. However, it’s imperfect and can sometimes give you the wrong information. That’s why there are many specialized AI tools. Let’s look at a few of them.

AI for product managers: Canny Autopilot 

ChatGPT isn’t focused on product management.

To help product managers take advantage of AI, we created Autopilot. It’s a suite of AI-powered tools that helps product managers.

Autopilot’s Feedback Discovery feature detects customer feedback in:

• Customer conversations (Intercom, Zendesk, HelpScout)
• Sales calls (Gong)
• Public review sites (G2, Capterra, and eight more sources)

Then, Autopilot extracts that feedback and imports it into your Canny portal. Next, it deduplicates that feedback and automatically merges duplicate requests.

Autopilot can also:

• Reply to your users on your behalf, asking clarifying questions
• Summarize long comment threads

We’ve received very positive feedback from our Autopilot customers so far. Autopilot uses a multi-stage process to detect and extract user feedback, which makes it much more accurate.

“I thought, surely I can’t just turn it on, and it’ll do its magic. But that’s exactly what it’s doing. We’re seeing hundreds of support tickets turned into actionable insights…with very high accuracy.”

Matt Cromwell, senior director of customer experience at StellarWP 

AI for project managers: ClickUp

Product managers often share the load with project managers. Sometimes, product managers own project management as well. In both cases, a dedicated AI tool can help.

At Canny, we use ClickUp. It helps us manage tasks, collaborate, and track progress.

ClickUp Brain is an advanced AI assistant. It creates documents, brainstorms ideas, summarizes notes, and more. You can ask ClickUp Brain to:

• Read your internal documents and answer questions about your company
• Give a breakdown of what different teams are working on
• Reply to comments
• Write a task summary
• Create templates, labels, tasks, transcripts, and more

Unlike ChatGPT, ClickUp has internal information about your company and projects. It can use that data to help you in a very particular way. Because ClickUp can read your documents, it can create more accurate outputs for your organization.

AI for research: Segment by Twilio

Many teams often own research – product, sales, marketing, success, and others. Each team can automate parts of this process. Segment (from Twilio) is a great AI tool for this.

Twilio’s CustomerAI enhances LLMs with rich customer data. This helps product managers learn more about their customers. It can: 

• Generate custom audiences based on your text prompt
• Segment customers based on real-time data
• Provide detailed insights about each segment

Accurate information is key

ChatGPT or any AI technology can sometimes make mistakes. You can still use AI to save you time, but you need to question accuracy and critically assess AI-generated outputcontent.

If the output you’re getting is misleading, you might spend more time correcting it later. Worse, you might act on that misinformation. Look for common signs of AI misinformation and verify all facts.

If you want a tool that’s already doing this for you, try Autopilot! Stay tuned for more updates and improvements.

Eric Hoppe

Marketer and aspiring dog-sport competitor 🐕 Eric’s career features stints with innovative companies like Opera Software and Crowd Content. When he’s not telling the world how great Canny is, Eric's finding ways to get his dogson to be a more competitive frisbee dog.

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The post How to get ChatGPT to stop lying: 6 actionable tips for product managers first appeared on Canny Blog.

The post How to get ChatGPT to stop lying: 6 actionable tips for product managers appeared first on Canny Blog.

“I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.”

Bill Gates

Let’s apply this to product management. Some experts call this unconventional idea “a lazy product manager approach.” We’ll explore expert opinions and explain what this approach really means.

Achieve more in less time with less effort to stay “lazy”

Some would argue that laziness leads to efficiency. It’s a skill of doing more in less time. Lazy people’s motivation is to do less, so they find creative ways to achieve more while doing less. For some, it means avoiding unnecessary tasks. For others, it’s about automating repetitive tasks. AI might’ve become so widespread for this exact reason! For example, you can automate feedback collection and focus on more strategic and high-impact projects.

We interviewed Anu Kirk, former VP of product at Osso VR, for his perspective. Anu is all about productivity. He doesn’t want to waste his time on ideas with little impact and encourages all product managers to do the same.

We also asked other experts for their efficiency tips: Sarah Hum (co-founder of Canny) and Maarten Dalmijn, owner of Dalmijn Consulting.

Here are a few productivity ideas from them that will help you stay lazy.

Prevent scope creep

Anu’s first piece of advice is preventing scope creep.

Scope creep is also known as “feature creep” or “requirements creep.” It occurs when a project’s requirements increase over time. They literally creep up on you. Why? How? Didn’t you clarify at the beginning?

“[You must] have defined specifications to know what you’re going after. One of the things that really helped was planning in advance and deciding what “done” would be.”

Anu Kirk, former VP of product at Osso VR

Solution: set clear “done” criteria.

You also need to be strict while evaluating feature requests. 

Evaluate feature ideas

Always pick the most impactful features and projects. Try your best to avoid the “shiny object syndrome.” For example, just because everyone’s adding AI to their tools doesn’t mean you have to. Only do it if you know this will benefit your business and customers the most.

Overall, set a very high bar for new features. Ask yourself each time:

• Will this help move the needle in my business?
  • Is it aligned with our business direction or where we ultimately want to be?
• Will this solve problems for my users?
  • How many people will it benefit?
  • Are our users actually asking for it?
• Do our competitors have it?

Before choosing what to work on, take time to answer these questions.

“It has to be killer. It has to be essential. It has to be something that will really change the game.”

Anu Kirk

Remember: each new feature makes your product more complex.

“In some cases, it’s better to do nothing than to throw features into the product that pull you off your mission. This just wears you down and makes your product more complicated.”

Anu Kirk

Say “no”

You’ll probably have to say “no” a lot. Ideas may come from anywhere, and each could sound great (again, “the shiny object syndrome”). But saying “no” will free up your time for those highly impactful ideas.

If you commit to every feature request, you will quickly drown in work. So, learn how to decline ideas gently.

“Good product managers should capture all kinds of ideas. Whether they’re solid or wacky, throw them in the backlog. But you should set a really high bar for what you’re actually going to commit to working on. [That’s] because you probably already have twenty, fifty, a hundred other things to do. So just be careful of the work you take on it. Be lazy.”

Anu Kirk

Saying “no” is definitely not easy – we know it firsthand. Refusing or postponing feature development is especially hard when you’ve already promised something to a client or a lead. That’s why you should be very selective with your promises. Manage your users’ expectations, and only commit to those high-impact features.

“It’s very tempting to say ‘yes’ to building features for high-paying prospects. However, this takes away from time you could use for core product improvements and big bets. A good balance for us is allocating a small percentage of engineering time to those features. It helps us roadmap and be more critical about which features we commit to building.”

Sarah Hum

Manage risks

Before you commit to building new features, assess the risks. Anu suggests thinking of the following potential risks.

Estimate required effort

First, estimate the required effort (we’ll cover this more in the next section about prioritization). But for now, talk to your engineers. There are likely two broad scenarios here. 

1. This project is a new piece of technology you haven’t built before

Engineers say: “We can get this done in two to three sprints.”

Try to assess their confidence level here. If this estimate is wrong, these “two to three sprints” can quickly turn into months.

2. This project is similar to what your team has built before

Engineers say: “Piece of cake, we did something like this last month.”

This situation is much less risky, and your effort estimate will be more accurate.

Risks aren’t limited to the required effort, though.

Assess the overall impact on the product

Next, think of this new feature’s impact on the product overall.

“How deep into the product is this new feature touching? If it doesn’t work at all or breaks at some point, can we roll it back or pull it out? How much is it going to screw things up if it’s not working? Are we taking the engine out of the car and disassembling it? Or are we just wrenching on something that’s easily visible?”

Anu Kirk

This process should help eliminate potentially detrimental features and protect your core product.

Plan and prioritize

Now, you’ve evaluated all feature requests and refused those that don’t align with your big goals. You’ve eliminated more ideas based on their risk factors. You might still have a long list in your backlog, and you can’t do everything simultaneously.

“Every item on your product backlog is like a little monkey on your back that you have to feed bananas to keep alive. These little monkeys require constant attention and will distract you from what matters.”

Maarten Dalmijn

Before picking out items from that backlog, go back to the questions from the feature evaluation section. They will help you set clear goals and specifications for each feature. Those goals will guide you forward.

With goals in mind, turn to prioritization. When you plan your next quarter, you need to get even more selective with your ideas.

Prioritization tools

Anu Kirk’s journey in product management has seen a significant evolution in his task and project management. He stresses the critical importance of finding the right tools to stay efficient, organized, and, yes, a little lazy.

Q-cards → Google Suite → Trello

Anu started managing projects with simple Q-cards. As technology advanced, he transitioned first to Google Suite and eventually to Trello.

“[Trello is] visually appealing and clean, which definitely helps. It is also simple, flexible, and powerful enough to do everything you need. You can easily attach images, make checklists, paste in documents, and add collaborators. It also supports HTML. I discovered it about ten years ago and immediately thought –  this is what I’ve been looking for. I’ve been using it for work and personal projects ever since.”

Anu Kirk

Another visual tool Anu really likes is Balsamiq. It helps build simple wireframes to communicate your vision quickly. Once you visualize a feature, it’s easier to decide whether or not to prioritize it.

Weekly planner notebooks, ClickUp, and Canny

Sometimes, writing things out by hand is the best solution. Studies show that writing on paper increases brain activity when later recalling that information. Our co-founder Sarah Hum loves her weekly planner notebook. Having tasks written down on paper makes it “official” – now you have to do it. If something isn’t a priority, it doesn’t make it to the planner.

Sarah and the rest of our team use Canny’s prioritization to surface those high-impact features. Our custom formula uses a weighted score method. We determine each feature’s impact and required effort. Impact includes user votes, ARPU (annual revenue per user), priority, and more.

We determine effort by how many hours each project will take. Then, we divide that impact by effort and get our score.

This exercise automatically gives us a prioritized list of feature ideas. We didn’t have to calculate anything ourselves – another great way to stay “lazy.”

Read more about our prioritization here. And if you need help getting started with prioritization, check out our free templates.

Finally, we push tasks to ClickUp (our ClickUp integration makes it super easy). ClickUp helps every team member stay on track and see the progress of each task. We create separate views for different purposes. For example, here’s what our product space looks like (with a filter for product marketing).

Timebox and schedule

Parkinson’s Law states that “work expands to fill the time available for completion.” But this is the opposite of our goal – efficiency and productivity.

Timeboxing is one technique for combating Parkinson’s Law. You set an allotted time to work on a task and evaluate your progress afterward. This gives you valuable control over your schedule.

The Pomodoro method is similar – you also block off time for work. But you alternate focused work and rest. Here’s how:

1. Pick a task
2. Set a timer for 25 minutes
3. Only work on that task for 25 minutes – no distractions!
4. Take a 5-minute break
5. Do this four times
6. Take a longer break (15-30 minutes)

“On days I don’t have meetings, I like the structure Pomodoro adds to my day. I break my tasks down into milestones to achieve by the end of each session. It’s also flexible depending on what works best for you. I do 50 minutes of focus followed by 10-minute breaks.”

Sarah Hum

These breaks help your mind relax. Every half an hour, you get to be “lazy”, but you’re actually improving your efficiency.

The beauty of these methods lies in their versatility. You can test a few and find what works for you. Then, you can even apply them to other aspects of your life. That’s what Anu Kirk does  – he applies his “lazy” approach to songwriting.

“When I create one of my records from scratch, I set either a time target that I’m trying to hit (like 35 minutes minimum) or ten songs, for example. I also set a definition of a completed song in advance.

Now I have my “done” criteria and can start building a schedule. I think: if I’m going to do this, I’ll mostly do it on the weekends. So, on average, I have to make two and a half songs every weekend to hit my deadline. I use things like Trello to write out the tasks that I need to do: I have to make a drum part for this one song, or I have to make an EQ adjustment, or I want to retract this one guitar part.

I work through it, treating this as a backlog. I keep asking myself – what’s the most critical issue I must solve today? Am I making progress? What’s my burndown looking like? Is this good enough to ship? It doesn’t have to be perfect. I just have to get it to a place where it meets the criteria and move on.

That’s the discipline of thinking about this enormous project and figuring out how to break it into manageable chunks. Then, I can estimate how much time or work it will take.”

Anu Kirk

User testing ideas to gather quick and useful feedback

Product management doesn’t stop at picking what to build next. The key to building amazing products is feedback.

Punk rock user testing

When people hear “collect feedback,” they often imagine expensive focus groups, lengthy surveys, and complex customer interviews. But you can start much simpler.

“You can do what I call ‘punk rock user testing.’ Gather five people from your company and show them the wireframe you created. Even if one of the five people has a problem with your prototype or design, that’s a significant signal. And if two or more have a problem, you need to deal with this.

The important thing is – don’t do just one round of very expensive testing. Testing once is almost as useful as testing zero times because you just have one data point.”

Anu Kirk

One round of user testing can only yield so much. Instead of trying to get it right on the first try, commit to continuous testing. Punk rock user testing lets you test frequently because it’s not as expensive as other testing methods. Here’s how often Anu does this.

“It’s sort of a sprint in and of itself. Every other Friday, we spend half the day testing the product. Sometimes, we recruit users off the internet to do it. Other times, we ask the newest people at the company to do it. But frequent testing is the key. You can get better at it because you’re testing more. We get better at what we do more.”

Anu Kirk

Beta testing

Many SaaS companies recruit beta testers. Those users commit to thoroughly testing your product and giving you honest and continuous feedback. The appeal is usually early access to a new product.

If you use a feedback tool like Canny, you can quickly find beta testers. That’s what Appcues does.

“Finding beta testers is so much easier now. I just go to a specific Canny post, export the list of voters, and email them. This is much better than trying to go through all notes in each Salesforce account, for example.”

Joey Muething, product manager at Appcues

The goal here is the constant stream of data. It’ll help you see if your product is getting better or worse as you progress.

Communication and collaboration

Communication skills are essential for many jobs, and product management is no exception. If you don’t like unnecessary meetings or long Slack threads, you should focus on effective communication.

“I think the best product managers are people who know how to be powerful and persuasive in multiple forms of communication. You should know how to write well, with clarity and precision.

You should also be a good public speaker (or at least be able to fake confidence). Product management involves talking to people; you must be comfortable with that. I can teach someone how to be a product manager, but I can’t teach them how not to be a jerk.”

Anu Kirk

Good communication skills in product management boil down to:

• Getting your message across regardless of the medium – written, spoken, etc. People generally don’t second-guess what you’re trying to say.
• Setting and managing expectations. There are no surprises – you deliver precisely what you promised.
• Being agreeable. This doesn’t mean saying “yes” or agreeing to everything. Instead, it’s about being compassionate and open to new ideas.
• Empowering the team. Foster a culture of openness and embracing failure. If your team is afraid to fail, they’ll hold back their ideas.
• Showing empathy towards users and team members. It’s easy to become harsh when focusing on only picking the best ideas. Remind yourself that your users and teammates deserve to be heard and valued.

How does this all relate to the lazy product manager approach? When you strive for efficiency, you want to minimize misunderstandings and unnecessary communication. You get your point across quickly, and nobody has questions about it. You use that free time to execute.

Getting to stakeholder inclusion

Maarten Dalmijn experienced communication gaps and developed his own approach to filling them. He describes this as moving from a “ticking time bomb” to stakeholder inclusion.” Here’s how he made this transition:

“I started as a ticking time bomb. I didn’t know what I was doing and wanted to please people. I was flooded with requests, didn’t keep promises, and disappointed many people.

I became annoyed with all the broken promises, so I swung the other way: I promised as little as possible. My default stance was to say “no.” Stakeholder sabotage was imminent.

To mend relationships, I tried to give them what they wanted and listen more. Stakeholder-driven development back-fired as we’d ultimately not be working on the most valuable things.

Instead of seeing stakeholders as adversaries, I began to work together and collaborate on the product vision, strategy, and roadmap. There was stakeholder inclusion, and if we had to make tough decisions, everyone understood why.”

When you communicate effectively right away, you stop wasting time on clarification. You get to communicate less, save time, and stay “lazy.” 

Good news: you don’t have to go through each stage of this painful process. Aim for stakeholder inclusion from the beginning. This will save you time and allow you to stay “lazy.”

Iterative approach: continuous testing and feedback

This might seem counterintuitive.

Building a huge feature without iterating is still a big undertaking. But the chances of building something users don’t want are much higher.

Iterating over and over again sounds like a lot of work – the opposite of “lazy”. Skipping this step would result in more work, though.

Consider the alternative. If you don’t keep asking your users what’s good and bad about your product, it’ll become outdated. Even if it’s great when you first build it, it’ll eventually need updates. User needs and preferences will change. And you’ll only know about it if you ask them.

Their responses (user feedback) can sometimes throw you off, though.

“How are you listening to your customers and making sure you’re actually affecting a huge amount of customers or revenue versus just listening to the loudest customer in the room?

Sometimes, the loudest customer in the room is the CEO or your boss. And most of the time, your boss or the CEO isn’t really the customer.”

Anu Kirk

Tools like Canny can help you combat that “loudest voice in the room.” You can weigh those voices differently. For example, you can attach ARR numbers to each feature request. This will help you focus on the highest revenue impact. You can also look at how many upvotes each feature request is getting. That quantity may be more objective than hearing the same request from the same customer repeatedly.

You can also segment your users and focus only on your most important customers.

Listening to customer feedback helps you iterate. Instead of building broader features, you can identify specific pain points to tackle.

Be strategic to stay lazy and achieve more

Using the “lazy product manager approach” means removing unnecessary work. It’s how top product managers create amazing products and stay sane.

Experts like Anu Kirk, Sarah Hum, and Maarten Dalmijn spent years perfecting this approach. Now, you can also use it to achieve more in less time.

To recap, here’s how you can be a lazy efficient product manager:

• Define what “done” means → prevent scope creep 
• Strictly evaluate feature ideas
• Get comfortable saying “no,” but do so with empathy
• Manage risks
• Plan and prioritize
• Timebox and schedule
• Communicate well and get to “stakeholder inclusion”
• Always collect feedback and iterate

“Remember – it’s not lazy that you want to free your mind for the important matters.”

Ahmed ElZomor, product manager at Breadfast

Eric Hoppe

Marketer and aspiring dog-sport competitor 🐕 Eric’s career features stints with innovative companies like Opera Software and Crowd Content. When he’s not telling the world how great Canny is, Eric's finding ways to get his dogson to be a more competitive frisbee dog.

All Posts - Website · Twitter - LinkedIn

The post How to master productivity with a lazy product manager approach: 12 ideas first appeared on Canny Blog.

The post How to master productivity with a lazy product manager approach: 12 ideas appeared first on Canny Blog.

There are lots of options out there. Some are simple, some are complex, but all are aimed at helping you succeed.

We’ll examine different product management tools and discuss their pros and cons. We’ll also consult some product experts to give you a well-rounded list of options.

This guide is your quick way to understand which tool fits your needs best.

What is product management software and why do you need it

Product management software helps you manage the life of your entire product – from the first idea to putting it out in the world. Beyond that, product management tools help you keep your product up-to-date, improve it, and iterate on it.

Why is this so important? Let’s break it down.

HIT OKRS

OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) are your goals. Product management software helps you make informed product decisions. You can quickly see how each activity contributes to your OKRs. When you base every product decision on user feedback, you end up hitting your OKRs.

BE ORGANIZED

It’s easier to stay on top of things when everything about your product is in one spot. Imagine having a neat desk with everything labeled and within reach. That’s what this software does but for your product.

IMPROVE TEAM COLLABORATION

When everyone on your team can see and share information quickly, working together gets a lot smoother.

Product management software is your go-to for staying on track, being efficient, and working well with your product team. It’s a must-have in your product management toolkit. But how do you pick a tool that’ll work for you?

SAVE TIME

This means less time spent on repetitive work and more time on the creative side. Imagine having a fast-forward button for the less exciting tasks.

Want to stay on top of product news? Check out our list of the top product management blogs. 

What makes the best product management software

When picking product management software, look out for these things. They’ll make a difference and save you from switching between various tools.

EASE OF USE AND USER-FRIENDLINESS

The best software feels easy to use. This means you can spend more time doing your job and less time figuring out how the software works.

FEATURES

Look for tools with the right features. These tools do exactly what you need, like:

• Gather user feedback
• Sort and prioritize features
• Segment users
• Build a product roadmap
• Share your roadmap with stakeholders
• Manage tasks
• Track progress

Consider your team’s current process and what you might want in the future. 

SCALABILITY

Good software grows with you. It should work well for small to large product teams and give you room to scale. If you adopt a new tool and outgrow it a year later, it’s not ideal. It’s best to start with a robust tool right away. Switching costs are painful.

TRANSPARENCY

The ability to build in public and collaborate with users is critical. This means you can share your progress and get feedback easily.

Internally, transparency is huge too. Your whole organization needs to be aligned on your goals, progress, and results. Well-designed PM software helps you achieve that.

CRITICAL INTEGRATIONS

Your chosen tool should play well with others. Integrations with tools you already use is helpful in several ways:

• Beneficial data sharing between tools
• Helpful notifications for visibility across your team
• Less switching between apps

Of course, these integrations should be well-developed and actually useful.

PRICING

Finally, the cost matters. The best software offers good value for your money. Ideally, you can see a direct ROI (return on investment) from your tools. That might be in the form of more sales, less churn, or time saved.

Cheaper tools will seem appealing, but they’re probably cheap for a reason. Maybe they don’t do everything that you need. So you’ll end up getting another tool and paying extra anyway.

When comparing prices, make sure you know what each tool and package includes. Some tools will have different tiers so you can start smaller and grow.

Best product management software

Let’s go over the top tools for product managers.

CANNY

Canny is an excellent choice for product managers. It’s a feedback-focused and community-driven tool that helps you inform your roadmap.

Here’s a closer look at Canny’s strengths and areas for improvement.

PROS

Feedback-focused and community-built

Canny shines in gathering and managing user feedback. It gives you a direct line to your users, letting you build products that truly meet their needs.

Complete tool for product management

Canny covers many aspects of product management and offers a wide range of features. They include:

• Feedback collection and management
• Community building and engagement
• Feedback prioritization
• User segmentation
• Product roadmapping
• Update announcements and closing the loop

“One feature I was surprised to find is prioritization based on MRR (monthly recurring revenue). This lets me see how many paying customers are requesting a certain feature.”

Stefania Martinello, product manager at Akiflow

Simple and straightforward design

Many users say that Canny is user-friendly. It’s easy to navigate, making your work smoother and more efficient.

“At Canny, our goal is to build a product that is a joy to use. We aim to bring users to their “aha moment” as quickly as possible, with minimal distractions. In other words, we try to make it super simple to use. Our customers seem to resonate with our design approach.”

Sarah Hum, co-founder of Canny

“I love the product design. I love the single sign-on solution. I love the fact that it’s hosted on our domain. And it’s simple. It just works; no headache. It’s just easy to set up, and it saves time.”

Philippe Lehoux, CEO of Missive

“It just works. The UX/UI is simple, people have no questions about using it. It’s the kind of product that I really love.”

Aurélien Georget,  CPO at Strapi

Committed to customer success

Canny helps more than just product teams. Customer success, for example, benefits from Canny too.

“The sales and customer success teams redirect our prospective customers to our Canny roadmap. This lets them see what’s coming next.”

Aurélien Georget,  CPO at Strapi

Canny’s focus on customer success is a significant plus. It provides support and resources to help you make the most of the tool. Imagine having a supportive coach by your side. And support isn’t limited by plans – anyone can get help and answers to their questions.

Check out Canny’s Discord community for additional support.

Public API

Canny offers flexibility and customization through the public API.

“You should have access to your data. We hope you’ll try Canny and stick around forever, but we won’t penalize you if you decide it’s not the right fit for your team.”

Andrew Rasmussen, co-founder of Canny

Without a public API, you can’t use your data elsewhere. This means it’s much harder to:

• Switch to another tool
• Pull data into another tool (e.g. for product analytics)
• Build something custom into your UI

In Canny, your data belongs to you.

Price

Canny offers four pricing options to serve companies of all sizes. Their most comprehensive plan is on the premium side.

Canny’s Business plan works best for teams who want full control over their product management. This plan includes:

• White labeling
• Security reviews
• Salesforce and Hubspot integrations
• And more

Canny’s Growth plan includes unlimited integrations and other custom features like:
 

• Custom access boards
• AI automations
• User segmentation
• Admin roles

This plan fits teams that have lots of feedback to manage and need more customization.

For companies just getting started with feedback and don’t need advanced functionality, Canny has a Starter plan. It’s more affordable while still packed with useful features for product managers. You can set up a custom domain, prioritize your roadmap, and coordinate with internal comments.

Canny also offers a generous and completely Free plan with no strings attached. Many teams (small and large) enjoy building products with Canny’s Free plan and find it sufficient.

CONS

Let’s look at some of Canny’s areas for improvement.

Widget limitations

The Canny admin view doesn’t offer a dark theme option yet.

Analytics

Canny could be even better if it provided more reporting and analytics capabilities. This feature request is pretty popular, and the Canny team is actively working on adding more reporting and analytics.

Limited integrations on some plans

Although the Free and Starter plan comes with generous features, integrations are limited. If you are a business with a large tech stack, then you’ll need to subscribe to the pricier plan for unlimited integrations.

Only Canny’s Growth and Business plans offer unlimited integrations. Select integrations are only available on the Business Plan.

UserVoice

UserVoice is another player in the product management software arena. Here’s how it stacks up.

Pros

Customer feedback and feature request management

UserVoice excels at managing customer feedback and product feature requests. It’s like having a dedicated assistant who listens to your users and tracks their needs.

User-centered product development

This tool puts users at the heart of product development. It helps ensure that the products you develop resonate well with your target audience.

Cons

Feature bloat

UserVoice comes with a lot of features, which can be overwhelming. It’s like having a tool with too many buttons – sometimes less is more.

Outdated UI

The user interface feels a bit behind the times. It’s like using an old phone when everyone else has the latest model. It works, but it’s not as sleek or enjoyable.

Price

The pricing can be a barrier for some. It starts at $699/month (billed annually) and goes up.

Support issues

There have been concerns about the level of support provided. Getting help shouldn’t be challenging, but sometimes it feels like trying to find a guide in a huge forest.

Time-consuming

If you take on a new tool, you’re hoping it will save you time. In UserVoice’s case, sometimes it’s not true. Some of the features seem underdeveloped, which results in some manual work.

AHA!

Aha! is a robust tool with lots of separate products. Aha! Ideas is focused on feedback, and Aha! Roadmaps are just for roadmaps. They offer additional tools to help you manage your products.

PROS

Roadmapping and strategy alignment features

Aha! is particularly strong in roadmapping. It helps align your product strategy with your business goals. It’s like having a clear map for your product’s journey.

Strategic planning and team alignment

This tool excels in strategic planning, ensuring that your team’s efforts are well-coordinated and focused on the product vision.

CONS

Feature bloat

Similar to UserVoice, Aha! also suffers from feature bloat. It packs many features that may not be necessary for all users.

Outdated UI

The user interface is not the most modern, which can impact the user experience. It’s like having an old but reliable car – functional but lacking modern features.

Price

The pricing model of Aha! can be a hurdle, especially for smaller teams or startups. It’s akin to a premium product that may not fit everyone’s budget. Additionally, Aha! Products are broken into separate solutions. So, if you want both feedback and roadmaps, you’ll have to pay for them separately.

Support issues

Some users have noted challenges with the level of support offered by Aha!, which could be a concern for teams needing frequent assistance.

PRODUCTBOARD

Productboard is a well-known tool in the space. Let’s explore what it has to offer.

PROS

Product management, roadmapping, prioritization

Productboard is strong in core areas like product management, roadmapping, and product prioritization. It helps you be organized around your product’s lifecycle.

User experience and application in different scenarios

The tool is adaptable, providing a good user experience across various scenarios. It fits different product management styles and needs.

CONS

Not focused on feedback

Unlike Canny, Productboard doesn’t emphasize user feedback as much. This might be a limitation for those who prioritize direct user input.

Limited access to data

Users might find access to data restricted, which can be a hindrance when detailed insights are needed. The lack of a public API is one of the biggest risks of going with ProductBoard. Choosing a tool that “locks in” your data is inherently risky. You won’t be able to use the data you gather and input anywhere else. You can only access it within ProductBoard.

Feature bloat

Productboard also faces the issue of having too many features, which can be overwhelming and reduce the ease of use.

Price

The pricing structure of Productboard might be a concern for some, especially smaller teams or startups with limited budgets. Productboard charges per maker per month, which could quickly add up and get confusing.

PENDO

Pendo is another strong player in the product management software space. Let’s examine its benefits and limitations.

PROS

In-app analytics, user feedback, and guidance capabilities

Pendo stands out for its in-app analytics and guidance. It helps you understand and guide user behavior within your product.

User engagement and product experience

This tool effectively enhances user engagement and overall product experience, offering insights into how users interact with your product.

CONS

Not focused on feedback

Pendo is not primarily focused on gathering product feedback. This can be a drawback for teams looking to deeply understand customer opinions.

Feature bloat

Like many comprehensive tools, Pendo offers a wide range of features, which can sometimes overwhelm and affect usability.

Clunky UI

Pendo’s user interface might not be as intuitive or modern as desired, potentially impacting the user experience.

Support challenges

There have been concerns about the level and effectiveness of support provided by Pendo. This could be a significant factor for teams requiring regular assistance.

Project management software with product management components

While not specifically designed for product management, some project management tools can be useful. Some companies combine the roles of a project manager and a product owner. In these cases, project management tools might be appropriate.

These tools bring a different angle to product management, blending project and product-related tasks. This can be a great option, especially if you don’t have the budget for another tool right now. Let’s take a quick look at them.

CLICKUP

ClickUp is a versatile tool. It combines project and product management features.  

ClickUp offers task management, time tracking, customizable workspaces, cool automations, and more. You can even build a roadmap within ClickUp! This tool also helps with team collaboration.

Unfortunately, ClickUp can get a bit overwhelming, especially for product managers. When your focus is on the product, project management functions can be distracting. This tool also requires a bit of learning to fully utilize its capabilities.

JIRA BY ATLASSIAN

Jira software is known for its issue-tracking and project-management capabilities. It also provides valuable insights into user experiences. It’s more geared towards project tracking but can be adapted for product management needs. Still, it’s not built for product management, so it’ll limit what you can do for your product.

TRELLO

Trello’s task management system uses boards and cards. They offer simplicity and a strong visual design. It’s great for organizing tasks but doesn’t encompass all aspects of product management.

ASANA

Asana is focused on collaboration and workflow management. It’s the most effective for team-oriented projects. You can use Asana for product management, especially in product planning and task management. However, you’ll face limitations because it’s primarily project management software.

MONDAY.COM

Monday is known for its customization and automation options. You can adapt it for product management purposes, though it’s primarily a project management tool.

Each of these tools provides a unique approach to managing product-related tasks. 

However, they may not cover all the specific needs of product management as comprehensively as dedicated product management software. Remember this if you choose to do product management in a project management tool.

How to choose the best product management tool

There are many tools to choose from and many things to consider. You don’t want to commit to a tool only to discover that it doesn’t quite work. That’s why you should be very careful with your selection process. Here are a few things to look out for when choosing a product management tool.

UNDERSTAND YOUR NEEDS

Start by clearly defining what you’re looking for. Are you more focused on roadmapping, feedback collection, or task management? Or maybe all of the above? What are some must-haves versus nice-to-haves? And which teams will use the tool? Consider their needs too. Last but not least, what are the customer needs? And what tool will serve their needs best?

Understanding your key objectives will guide your search.

SET SELECTION CRITERIA

List the essential features based on your needs. These might include a user interface, reporting capabilities, or specific integrations.

RESEARCH AND COMPARE OPTIONS

Investigate various tools. Read reviews, watch demos, and see how each aligns with your criteria.

TRY TOOLS FOR FREE

Many tools offer free trials. Use this opportunity to get hands-on experience. How does it feel to navigate the tool? Is it intuitive?

Canny offers a Free plan that doesn’t expire. There’s also a trial of the Growth plan. This gives you a great opportunity to get some hands-on experience with the tool.

ASSESS INTEGRATIONS

Check if the tool can seamlessly integrate with other software you use. This could include CRM systems, communication tools, or analytics platforms. As mentioned before, make sure the integrations are built well and actually useful. Ask for a live demo of them or try them out for yourself.

CHECK UX/UI

User experience is crucial. A tool with a clunky or confusing interface can hinder productivity. So, test the tool and note how easy and intuitive it feels.

DETERMINE SCALABILITY

Consider if the tool can grow with your team. Can it handle more users, projects, or product data over time?

EVALUATE SUPPORT OPTIONS

Good customer support can be a lifesaver, especially in critical moments. Look into their support channels and response times.

ASSESS COST VS VALUE

Finally, consider if the tool’s cost is justified by its value. Does it save time, provide unique insights, or improve product quality?

Want some extra product content? Check out our list of the top product management certifications.

Conclusion: the best product management software

Selecting the right product management tool is a journey. It demands careful consideration of your specific needs, goals, and team dynamics.

Canny emerges as a strong contender with its user-feedback focus and intuitive design. Canny can help you build better products, connect with your users, and improve team collaboration.

“Anyone who spends any time looking at other tools — and we did — is just being daft. You’d be crazy not to go for Canny.”

Nick Barraclough, Partner Success Manager at Figured

Remember – the best tool is one that not only aligns with your immediate requirements but also scales with your aspirations and challenges.

Armed with the right software, you can expedite product growth. So give Canny a try today!

Eric Hoppe

Marketer and aspiring dog-sport competitor 🐕 Eric’s career features stints with innovative companies like Opera Software and Crowd Content. When he’s not telling the world how great Canny is, Eric's finding ways to get his dogson to be a more competitive frisbee dog.

All Posts - Website · Twitter - LinkedIn

The post Best product management software for 2024: pros and cons of each tool first appeared on Canny Blog.

The post Best product management software for 2024: pros and cons of each tool appeared first on Canny Blog.

Nope.

You need a map – a plan that guides each step towards your goal.

In life, our goals are like that peak. Without planning, they seem daunting and out of reach.

This is where SMART goals come into play!

Curious about what SMART stands for? Want to learn how it evolved over time? How about its application in different contexts or understanding common misconceptions surrounding it?

A cliffhanger no more! We’ve got all these answers packed inside waiting just for you!

Understanding the SMART goal acronym

Seeking a strategy to help bring clarity and direction to your goals? Look no further than the SMART goal framework. The SMART acronym stands for:

S – Specific: Goals should be well-defined and clear. If it’s vague or general, it won’t give you enough direction.

M – Measurable: You need an indicator of progress. This makes tracking your advancement straightforward and helps maintain motivation.

A – Achievable: The goal must be attainable, not impossible. It has to challenge you but still remain within reach.

R – Relevant: A relevant goal matters to you and aligns with other related objectives. It typically answers questions about why the purpose is important.

T – Time-bound: Your target needs a deadline because open-ended goals tend to fall by the wayside.

Setting SMART goals can guide your decision-making process. It helps prioritize tasks effectively and keeps morale high. You function better when you work on the most important tasks. And you feel better if you’re actually hitting their goals.

Being SMART about how we set our targets makes all the difference between achieving them…or not.

Examples of effective SMART goals

Let’s take a look at some examples to show what SMART goals are all about.

Example 1: increase user onboarding completion rate

Goal: Increase user onboarding completion rate by 20% over the next quarter.

S – Specific:

The goal targets a specific area for improvement — increasing onboarding completion by 20%.

M – Measurable: Progress can be tracked through percentage increase in completion rates.

A – Achievable: A 20% increase, while challenging, should be achievable. With targeted efforts like improving onboarding UI or providing additional support resources.

R – Relevant: The goal aligns with broader business objectives of improving customer satisfaction.

T – Time-bound: The time frame set for achieving this target is one quarter (three months).

ALSO — want to know how to boost user onboarding + feature adoption? Check out our user feedback platform and never wonder what customers want.

Example 2 – reduce customer churn rate

Goal: Reduce customer churn rate from current 5% to below 4% within six months.

S – Specific: This smart objective clearly identifies reducing customer churn as its focus.

M – Measurable: We can measure progress by tracking changes in our churn statistics.

A – Achievable: This may require implementing new strategies. For example, introducing loyalty programs or enhancing post-sales services. But, it’s an attainable aim within 6 months of work.

R – Relevant: Reducing churn is vital for maintaining a healthy MRR in SaaS businesses.

T – Time-bound: The goal has to be achieved within six months.

Example 3 – improve product feature usage

Goal: Increase usage of feature X by 30% over the next two quarters.

S – Specific: The goal is clear and specifies that it aims at increasing usage of a particular product feature.

M – Measurable: We can track progress through user engagement metrics specific to this feature.

A – Achievable: Two quarters gives the team ample time to test things that could boost usage.

R – Relevant: It ties into broader goals like improving overall product adoption.

T – Time-bound: A time frame of two quarters is set for achieving this target.

Now that we’ve looked at what SMART goals are, let’s look at where they came from.

Origin and evolution of the SMART goal acronym

The SMART goal acronym has an interesting history that dates back to the early 1980s. It was first explained in a paper titled “There’s a S.M.A.R.T way to write management’s goals and objectives” penned by George T. Doran.

Doran’s version laid out five criteria for effective goals:

1. Specific
2. Measurable
3. Assignable (later changed to Achievable)
4. Realistic
5. Time-related

It’s close to the definition we just shared, but not exactly the same.

A modern twist on an old classic

But over time the interpretation of these letters has evolved.

For example, Project Smart suggests using Attainable instead of Assignable. It also recommends using Relevant rather than Realistic. This makes goals more personal and pertinent.

An ongoing journey towards clarity

The evolution continues with different industries adapting it according their specific needs.

Smartsheet uses this framework but modifies “Realistic” with “Relevant.” This emphasizes alignment with broader business aims.

You might find that slightly modifying SMART could make it more applicable to your use case too.

Practical application of SMART goals

The SMART goal framework provides an actionable guide. And, it applies in all walks of life.

Let’s explore how you can apply it in various contexts.

In project management

Project managers usually leverage SMART goals. These help ensure projects are well-defined from start till end. For example: “Implement new CRM system across all departments within six months.” It brings focus, direction and allows better tracking of progress.

In business planning

Broader business planning benefits from SMART goals too. If you’re aiming for sales growth, make sure that the objective is clear. “Increase online sales by 20% in the next quarter” is measurable and time-limited. This helps align teams around common objectives.

In personal development

For personal growth, SMART goals give clarity to your ambitions. Want to learn a new language? Make the goal:

• Specific (I want to learn Spanish)
• Measurable (reach B1 level)
• Achievable (dedicate 30 minutes each day for practice)
• Relevant (to enhance my travel experiences)
• Time-bound (it usually takes about 400-600 hours to become fluent in Spanish)

These are just a few examples of SMART goal applications. It can help in most situations, though.

Benefits of using the SMART goal framework

SMART goals can be an useful for both your individual and professional life. Here are their key benefits:

1. Clarity: With SMART goals, you have clear, defined targets. No guesswork involved – you know exactly what needs to be achieved.

2. Focus: Concentrate on one specific outcome at a time. This reduces distractions and booss productivity.

3. Motivation: Achievable and relevant goals make sure you’re excited about the task ahead. This fuels motivation for long-term success.

4. Accountability: The ‘T’ in SMART stands for ‘Time-bound.’ This means each goal has an attached timeline, making progress measurable over periods. This ensures better accountability and fosters self-discipline as deadlines loom closer.

5. Progress: Because you’re tracking your goals over time, you can see how you’re progressing.

Common misconceptions about SMART goals

The world of goal setting is no stranger to misconceptions. The SMART goal framework isn’t exempt from this.

A common myth is that SMART goals are restrictive, boxing you into a rigid structure. But in reality, they help define clear objectives for greater productivity.

An equally prevalent misconception: ‘SMART’ stands only for business or academic settings. As we mentioned, it’s adaptable across various contexts – personal growth included.

You might also hear some say that using SMART goals ensures instant success. While it’s a potent tool to enhance focus and clarity, there’s no substitute for hard work and perseverance.

Last but not least: “Aren’t all goals smart?” Not quite. Without Specificity or Measurability (two pillars of the acronym), many so-called ‘goals’ may end up as vague wishes instead.

For example, “drive engagment” isn’t a SMART goal. It’s not specific because it doesn’t mention specify what engagement is. It also isn’t measurable, doesn’t have any timeframe attached. 

So next time you come across these myths about SMART goals, let them know what’s what.

Challenges in implementing SMART goals

Even though the SMART goal framework is a robust tool, it’s not without its challenges. Let’s look at these now.

Misinterpretation of terms

The first hurdle can be understanding and applying the terms accurately. For instance, what qualifies as ‘Specific’ or ‘Measurable’? These questions often lead to ambiguity.

Lack of flexibility

A common critique is that SMART goals don’t allow for flexibility. Let’s say you’re working on innovative projects with unpredictable outcomes. Sticking rigidly to specific objectives may stifle creativity.

Inadequate resources

Sometimes setting attainable and realistic goals gets tough when resources are limited. This can cause frustration among teams who want to achieve more but feel constrained by resource availability.

Neglecting non-quantifiable aspects

Focusing solely on measurable aspects might make us overlook non-quantifiable yet critical elements. That could include things like team morale or customer satisfaction.

Implementing SMART goals does present some obstacles. However, awareness about these issues combined with a bit of ingenuity can help you overcome them.

Critiques and alternatives to the SMART goal framework

While SMART goals have been a mainstay in goal-setting, they aren’t without criticism.

Some argue that this framework may limit creativity or lead to overly simplistic objectives. They feel it can prioritize measurable results over meaningful impact.

To tackle these concerns, you might consider alternative methods of setting goals.

The CLEAR method

An emerging favorite is the CLEAR method.

This approach encourages us to set goals that are:

• Collaborative
• Limited in scope and time
• Emotional (connecting with our passions)
• Appreciable (breakable into smaller tasks)
• Refinable (flexible for changes)

The SMART method doesn’t focus much on the collaborative, emotional, or appreciable factors. Using CLEAR lets you focus on those. If your project calls for it, CLEAR might be a more effective tool for you.

The FAST approach

Another promising strategy is the FAST approach.

FAST emphasizes open sharing of objectives within teams. It promotes goals that are:

• Frequently discussed
• Ambitious in scope
• Set collaboratively
• Transparently tracked

Both alternatives provide good options for a more dynamic and collaborative approach.

Smart goal setting — your path to success

The SMART goal acronym isn’t just a bunch letters. It’s your guide to success. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound – that’s how we define our peaks.

Mastering the art of SMART goals can make all difference in your climb towards success. Give them a try today! 

Eric Hoppe

Marketer and aspiring dog-sport competitor 🐕 Eric’s career features stints with innovative companies like Opera Software and Crowd Content. When he’s not telling the world how great Canny is, Eric's finding ways to get his dogson to be a more competitive frisbee dog.

All Posts - Website · Twitter - LinkedIn

The post Exploring the SMART goal acronym and how to set effective goals first appeared on Canny Blog.

The post Exploring the SMART goal acronym and how to set effective goals appeared first on Canny Blog.

This is kinda like developing software without user stories. You know the ingredients: code, design elements, and functionality features. But which ones are needed exactly? Where do these components fit into the equation?

User stories help answer these questions. They clear guidance on what needs to be done.

Let’s explore how user stories can help you build user-centric products.

Understanding user stories in Agile development

User stories are an essential tool within the Agile development methodology. They provide a straightforward approach to express how to build features users’ perspectives.

But what exactly is a user story?

A user story is typically expressed in one sentence and focuses on:

1. Who will use the new capability (the user)
2. What they need it for (the goal)
3. Why it’s important (the benefit)

 The user story format is concise and delivers value to users effectively.

User stories break down epics into smaller, more actionable tasks. This lets your team be flexible in building the most pressing user stories that make up an epic. 

How do you develop a user story to guide you? There’s an easy formula.

The magic formula: as an [actor], I want [action], so that [benefit]

This formula represents the heart of any good user story. It helps developers understand the ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘why’ of a story. They avoid getting too involved in technical details too soon.

“As an online shopper, I want to filter products by size, so that I can quickly find clothes that fit me.”

This example demonstrates all three elements:

1. Actor (online shopper)
2. Action (filter products by size)
3. Benefit  (‘quickly find clothes’)

The aim here isn’t detailing every aspect of implementation. Rather, it helps guide those discussions later on. Typically this happens during backlog grooming or sprint planning sessions.

Keep reading to see some examples of this formula in action.

Paving way for better conversations

More than mere tools for requirements gathering, user stories foster collaboration. They’re written from end-users’ perspectives. This sparks more user-centric conversations among team members about product features.

They start conversations between developers and stakeholders. That could include product owners, business analysts, and even end-users. They help teams understand the value each piece of work delivers. This drives prioritization in backlog refinement sessions.

Putting users at the heart of development

User stories help you build products that truly resonate with their audience. It’s all about making the users’ needs a priority, so they get an experience tailored to them. That’s a big reason why user stories are such a powerful tool in Agile development.

Key takeaway: 

User stories give a clear direction to your team. They focus on the user’s goals and benefits they’re looking for. This approach fosters collaboration and keeps everyone in sync with users’ expectations. They ultimately lead to more successful products.

User research — the key to better user stories

Understanding your users is crucial. 

To write effective user stories, conducting thorough user research is key. It allows you to gain insight into users’ behaviors, needs, motivations and challenges. These are all essential elements in crafting meaningful and impactful user stories.

You’re looking for rich qualitative data to inform your product development process.

A good starting point for gathering this information could be surveys or interviews. You want to ask open-ended questions. You want to understand users’ goals, pain points, and more.

You can also look to user feedback to learn about your users. If you’re using a product management software with user feedback tools (like Canny), you likely have a wealth of feedback to learn from. 

You can also review your customer support tools for more feedback. Chat logs, support tickets, call transcripts – they all have valuable user data you can learn from. 

Benefits of using user stories

User stories serve as a bridge between the technical team and stakeholders. They offer several benefits that help streamline product development.

Better communication and understanding

User stories are a simple way for teams to discuss features from users’ perspectives. They help everyone involved understand the value each feature brings to the user. That makes it easier to prioritize tasks effectively.

Fostering customer-centric thinking

They also encourage teams to think about features from the customer’s viewpoint. It’s not just about what a system should do but why it matters to users. This is a fundamental shift towards more customer-centric thinking.

Resource – How to start making your business customer focused

Promoting collaboration

Creating user stories is typically a collaborative process involving both developers and stakeholders. This interaction promotes shared understanding and reduces misunderstandings, making your agile journey smoother.

Maintaining focus on business value

A well-written user story emphasizes business value by defining ‘who’, ‘what’, and ‘why’. With this focus, teams can align their efforts with business goals. This leads to better ROI on product development initiatives.

Note: using user stories definitely has its perks. But, they’re most effective when combined with other Agile practices. That includes things like iterative delivery, story mapping, and regular feedback cycles.

Anatomy of a user story

We already introduced the user story formula above. Let’s break it down.

A user story is like the blueprint for a product feature. It’s brief, yet insightful, capturing the essence of what users need in just a few sentences.

Key components

User stories have three main parts: as an “actor”, I want to ‘action’, so that ‘benefit’. The ‘actor’ represents who wants the feature – typically your user or customer. The ‘action’ is the thing they’re wanting to accomplish, and the rationale for that can be seen in the ‘benefit’.

Think about it this way. If you’re a hungry person (actor), you’d eat cookies (action) because you’re craving sweets (benefit). So simple but it paints such a clear picture.

The importance of simplicity: the INVEST principle

In crafting user stories, simplicity reigns supreme. 

A key way to do that by splitting user stories effectively. This ensures they remain manageable and deliverable within one sprint.

A good way to remember this is through Bill Wake’s INVEST principle. It stands for Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimatable, Small and Testable.

Independent: Each story should be self-contained so there is no dependency on another story.

Negotiable: Until they are part of an iteration, items can always be changed or rewritten.

Valuable: The story needs to be valuable for the user on its own. 

Estimatable: It needs to have some estimate of how much effort it will require. 

Small: User stories should be achievable in a reasonable amount of time. 

Testable: Once built, the user should be able to test that their goal can be accomplished. 

Acceptance criteria: defining done

Last but not least are acceptance criteria. These act like checkpoints verifying if the completed work meets all requirements.

Using acceptance criteria helps teams understand when a user story is ‘done’. It clarifies the requirements, eliminates ambiguity and fosters shared understanding among team members. Remember, clarity breeds success in Agile development.

Here’s what acceptance criteria would look like for a user story focused on online shopping:

1. Browse products: The customer should be able to view all available products. That includes their details like images, descriptions, and prices. This is similar to walking through aisles in a physical store.
2. Select items: The customers must have the option to add desired products into a virtual ‘shopping cart’. They should also be able to change quantities or remove items from this cart if needed.
3. Purchase process: Customers need a clear and straightforward process for checking out and paying. This includes entering shipping information and choosing among various payment methods.
4. Email confirmation: After paying, customers receive an email confirmation with their order summary and delivery date.

These expectations ensure everyone understands what needs to be done before this user story is complete.

The anatomy of a user story might seem basic. But, each component plays an integral part in successful Agile development. After all, as they say in Hollywood – there’s no small parts, only small actors.

Key takeaway: 

Picture a user story as your feature’s blueprint – short yet rich. It comprises three elements: ‘actor’, ‘action’, and ‘benefit’. This simple format helps capture what users need from the product, why they want it, and who needs it. Always keep stories independent, negotiable, valuable, estimable, small, and testable for clear understanding. Be sure to include acceptance criteria with each story. 

Creating effective user stories

Writing effective user stories can be challenging. Let’s apply the formula and break it down into smaller chunks.

The role of ‘as a…’

Start by identifying the actor / user, often represented as “As a [user type]”. This helps you maintain focus on who will use your product and their needs. For example, “As an online shopper” or “As an app developer.”

Focusing on the ‘I want…’

Next is expressing what the user wants to do with your product: “I want [some feature].” Be specific about this need or goal. A well-defined goal might look like this:

“I want to compare prices across different vendors.”

Nailing down ‘so that…’

Finally, explain the why — the benefit — expressed as “so that…”

Here’s where you make clear what problem you’re solving for users. For instance, “So that I can get the best deal.”

An example user story

Pulling all these elements together could result in something like:

“As an online shopper, I want to compare prices across different vendors so that I can get the best deal.”

It identifies who (online shoppers), what (compare prices), and why (get the best deals).

Making sure your user stories are effective

To ensure effectiveness of your user stories remember three key points:

1. Your story should always center around end-user benefits
2. Avoid technical jargon – keep it simple and straightforward
3. User stories aren’t set in stone. They’re designed to evolve based on customer feedback and changes in business goals.

Writing effective user stories is a skill that improves with practice.

Key takeaway: 

Creating compelling user stories in Agile development involves a three-step process: identify the user with “As a…”, express their needs with “I want…”, and explain the benefits with “So that…”. Remember to keep it simple, focused on end-user benefits, and open to evolution over time.

Common pitfalls in writing user stories

There are several traps that can hinder your progress in writing user stories. Let’s explore the most frequent issues and how to steer clear of them.

Pitfall 1: vagueness

User stories need clarity for effective implementation. Avoid writing vague descriptions like “As a user, I want better functionality.” Instead, be specific. For example, “as a content writer, I want an auto-save feature so that my work doesn’t get lost.”

Pitfall 2: overcomplication

Brevity is the soul of wit, and also of good user stories. Overloading a story with too many details can confuse developers. Keep it simple; focus on one action per story.

Agile Alliance has some great examples to help you keep things concise yet impactful.

Pitfall 3: neglecting the end user perspective

The whole point of a user story is to reflect what users need from their perspective, not yours. Don’t let tech jargon creep in; remember who your audience really is.

Pitfall 4: forgetting acceptance criteria

Acceptance criteria helps everyone understands when the user story’s goal is met. Without these parameters clearly defined, development could veer off course. Make sure to include these in your user stories.

Pitfall 5: neglecting regular reviews

Don’t let your user stories gather dust. Conduct regular reviews to ensure they remain relevant and useful. Update them as necessary based on customer feedback or changing market trends.

Let’s not forget– our ultimate aim here is to craft something exceptional.

Key takeaway: 

When writing user stories, avoid pitfalls like vagueness and overcomplication. Stay specific and concise while focusing on the end-user perspective. Don’t forget to set clear acceptance criteria. Conduct regular reviews for relevance based on customer feedback or market trends.

Real-world examples of user stories

A user story puts a face on the product’s end-user. It makes it easier for teams to empathize and build with users’ needs in mind. Let’s look at some examples that illustrate this concept.

The music lover

User: As an avid music lover,

I want: To create personalized playlists,

So that: I can listen to my favorite songs anytime.

This example showcases how simple yet effective a user story can be. The development team gets clear insight into what they need to deliver – a feature allowing users to make custom playlists.

The busy mom

User: As a busy mom,

I want: To quickly find healthy recipes,

So that: I can prepare nutritious meals for my family efficiently.

This gives the development team direction on providing easily accessible healthy recipe options. It meets the real-life requirements of their target audience.

The freelance writer

User: As a freelance writer,

I want: To check my grammar,

So that: I can produce error-free articles.

Another example where understanding the user’s perspective helps develop tailored features. Here, high-quality grammar checking tools are key. These insights let product managers develop truly responsive solutions.

These examples highlight just how useful user stories can be in product development. Remember to kick off your project with a user story – it could make all the difference.

Comparing user stories with use cases and scenarios

If you’ve dipped your toes into Agile development, you’ll have encountered user stories. But how do they compare with use cases and scenarios? Let’s explore that. 

User stories vs. use cases

A user story is a brief, simple description of a feature told from the perspective of an end-user. It focuses on their needs. It provides valuable context that helps develop solutions that resonate with users.

In contrast, a use case offers more detail. It defines interactions between actors (users or systems) and the system under design. User stories foster empathy by putting developers in users’ shoes. In contrast, use cases help clarify functional requirements to avoid ambiguity during implementation.

A user story focuses on what users need from a product rather than how it should be implemented. It’s written from the end-user’s perspective in natural language that reflects user requirements. For example:

“As a Canny user, I want to easily categorize feedback so that I can prioritize my tasks effectively.”

This simple statement outlines who the user is (a Canny user). It also details what they want (to categorize feedback), and why they need it (to prioritize tasks). The format encourages teams to focus on delivering value to users instead of getting caught up in technical details.

Use cases provide more detailed descriptions about interactions between ‘actors’ and systems. They include preconditions, postconditions, basic flow events, alternative flows, and exceptions. Here’s an example:

“A product manager logs into Canny’s platform. If login is successful, he/she then accesses dashboard where he/she can view categorized feedback. Feedback is sorted by priority.”

The use case provides explicit detail about how interaction with the system takes place. This helps developers understand exactly what functionality must be built into the system.

User stories vs. scenarios

Scenarios, like user stories, emphasize human elements — emotions and goals. But, they delve deeper into real-world contexts where software might be used.

This practical focus makes scenarios perfect tools for envisioning complex situations. They complement, rather than compete, with concise but high-level user stories.

Here’s an example:

“John logs into his account on ShopSmart’s website. He navigates to Men’s Clothing -> Shirts. He sees an option ‘Filter By Size’. He clicks it and selects ‘Medium’. The page refreshes showing only medium-sized shirts.”

The user story for this could be:

“As an online shopper, I want to filter products by size so that I can quickly find items that fit me.”

The scenario gives us insight into John’s journey while he tries to complete his task. The corresponding user story simply states John’s end-goal. It doesn’t detail how he achieves it.

Both serve as vital communication tools in product management. But, they operate at different levels of detail. User stories help us understand what our users need. Scenarios provide a detailed view of how they might interact with the product to fulfill those needs.

These concepts may seem similar at first glance, serving overlapping purposes. But, they each bring unique value to Agile development practices. Understanding when and why to use each provides effective communication among team members.

Advanced user story techniques

Taking your Agile development to the next level requires more than just a basic understanding of user stories. Let’s delve into some sophisticated approaches that can give you a competitive advantage.

User story mapping for better visualization

An excellent tool for visualizing the workflow from a user perspective is user story mapping. It helps product teams better plan their development path. Essentially, you map out your user stories in a visual path. Then, you specify the tasks and activities required for each story.

Epic user stories: dealing with complexity

Sometimes features are too complex to fit into one single user story – that’s where epics comes in handy. Epics help break down these larger pieces into smaller chunks. Think of them epics as a collection of user stories. They help maintain focus on delivering value incrementally.

Here’s an example

“As an online shopper, I want search functionality so I can quickly find what I need.”

This might become multiple stories under an epic called “Search Functionality”. This technique allows teams to manage complexity without losing sight of their goals.

User stories help you build better products

A well-crafted user story gives clear directions to follow in building user-centric products. They guarantee all parties are are aligned and the customer’s needs are satisfied.

If you want to get valuable user insights for your user stories, get a free Canny account. You’ll automatically capture valuable user feedback that can inform your user stories. 

Eric Hoppe

Marketer and aspiring dog-sport competitor 🐕 Eric’s career features stints with innovative companies like Opera Software and Crowd Content. When he’s not telling the world how great Canny is, Eric's finding ways to get his dogson to be a more competitive frisbee dog.

All Posts - Website · Twitter - LinkedIn

The post Understanding user stories and how they help in product management first appeared on Canny Blog.

The post Understanding user stories and how they help in product management appeared first on Canny Blog.

One of the most important steps is to have an innovation strategy. And, you need to know how to act on it.

That’s what you get with an innovation roadmap.

It might seem like innovation is hard to plan. Brilliant breakthrough products like the first smartphone might seem like a stroke of genius. In reality, many innovative products are carefully researched and planned. They don’t just happen.

The innovation roadmap helps you map your path towards growth and innovation. It also helps you navigate competitive pressures and market changes.

This post will guide you on this journey to innovation. We’ll explore the core elements of an effective innovation roadmap. We’ll also look at different types of innovations and how they drive business growth.

Many companies struggle to foster a clear focus on their innovation goals. By following innovation roadmapping best practices, you can overcome that.

Let’s dive in.

Understanding the innovation roadmap

An innovation roadmap is a plan that outlines how you’ll innovate. It plans projects that your innovation team thinks will deliver new, unique value.

This can help you gain a competitive advantage.

It’s more than just a timeline. It’s about planning how you’ll deliver value to your customers.

Innovation roadmaps guide businesses towards market leadership, setting strategic goals along the way. They help companies navigate through complex environments with confidence and precision. And like in any journey, buy-in from all stakeholders is crucial for success.

The core elements of an innovation roadmap

A good innovation roadmap has several key components:

1. Vision
2. Objectives
3. Initiatives
4. Timeframes
5. Milestones
6. Dependencies
7. Resources

The vision sets out where you want to go – your ultimate goal or destination.

Objectives are what you need to accomplish on your way there. These should be specific and measurable.

Initiatives are projects or actions to meet those objectives. These could be feature requests, internal ideas, or bug reports. 

Each initiative should have a timeframe specified. Often, you’ll specify whether it’s a short-term, medium-term, or long-term initiative. This helps you set clear expectations and timelines for meeting your objectives. 

Milestones highlight key events in your roadmap. Often, milestones could be completing a specific initiative or group of initiatives.

You’ll want to identify dependencies. Some initiatives need to be finished before others can start. Identifying these lets you prioritize critical initiatives and build sequentially. 

Each initiative’s resource requirements should be specified. These could include staff time, budget, software, etc. This is critical so you can prioritize your resources effectively. 

Including all these elements in your roadmap helps you stay focused and on track.

The role of stakeholders in innovation roadmapping

Roadmapping can’t occur in isolation. You need participation from everyone involved. That includes stakeholders. They have vested interests and insights into various aspects of the business. Stakeholder buy-in helps your roadmap be a living document guiding your strategy. Without it, your roadmap may sit untouched on someone’s hard drive.

Companies with high stakeholder involvement have a higher chance of innovation success. So, consider regular touchpoints to update stakeholders about progress against goals.

Interested in other types of roadmaps? Check out our pieces on business roadmaps, technology roadmaps and marketing roadmaps. 

Adaptability fosters innovation

Embarking on the innovation journey is thrilling, filled with possible discoveries and breakthroughs. Let’s make sure we’re holding the best map. Remember – our path may change, but as long as we focus on our goal, we can overcome any challenges.

Types of innovation

As you build your innovation roadmap, it’s useful to keep in mind what type of innovation you’re working on. Let’s discuss and illustrate some common types of innovation. 

Product innovation

This type involves introducing new products or enhancing existing ones. Think about how Apple revolutionized the mobile industry with its iPhone. It’s a classic example of product innovation. But, it’s not just about creating something new. You have to make sure that ‘new’ offers significant value to customers.

Process innovation

Process innovations focus more on improving efficiency within an organization’s operations. The assembly line invented by Henry Ford is a shining example. It was unheard of that each worker would only work on one part of the process. But, it worked. It dramatically increased production speed while reducing costs.

Business model innovation

Business model innovations tackle changes in company structures and strategies. Companies like Uber and Airbnb didn’t invent anything novel. Both taxis and hotels existed long before these innovators. They just transformed traditional business models, leading to breakthrough innovations.

Service innovation

Service innovation focuses on improvements made towards customer services. Amazon Prime’s one-day delivery system is a great example. Customers loved getting their shipments in a day instead of several days. It boosted customer satisfaction with its innovation. And Amazon isn’t stopping there – they’re now offering 1-hour delivery!

Disruptive innovation

This is what most people think of when they hear “innovation”. A real breakthrough, something that no one has seen before.

Clayton Christensen introduced this concept in his 1997 book “The Innovator’s Dilemma.” It talks about innovation that creates a new market and value network. Eventually, it disrupts it. This disruption often replaces established market-leading firms and products.

Typically, products in this category start in a niche market. They often offer a unique competitive advantage and improve rapidly.

Netflix is a popular example in this category. It started by mailing DVDs. It transitioned to online streaming, eventually disrupting traditional cable TV.

Radical innovation

Radical innovation is also known as breakthrough or transformative innovation. Products in this category significantly differ from what currently exists on the market. These innovations often introduce entirely new paradigms. They can reshape industries or even create entirely new ones.

Radically innovative products involve a high level of risk (and potential reward). They take longer to develop and require lots of knowledge and capabilities. Most importantly, they present a fundamental change.

Electric cars are a great example of this category. The concept of electric vehicles (EVs) isn’t new. However, advancements in battery technology have positioned EVs as a radical innovation.

Incremental innovation

Incremental innovation is a series of small improvements or upgrades. You can apply incrememntal innovation to existing products, services, processes, or methods. Incremental innovation is the opposite of radical or disruptive innovation. It doesn’t typically involve significant breakthroughs or entirely new approaches. Rather, it plays the long game. It’s also lower risk than other types of innovation.

An example could be a software update that fixes bugs. It’s not a massive change, but it’s still important and valuable.

Architectural innovation

Architectural innovation reconfigures existing product’s components in a new way. The core design concepts and main components remain largely unchanged. This type of innovation changes the relationship between the pieces of the problem. It does that without changing the pieces themselves.

Here’s an example. Web hosting shifted from centralized servers to distributed cloud-based servers.

As you were reading this, one or two types and categories of innovation might’ve resonated with you the most. If so, keep them in mind as you continue reading.

Building your innovation roadmap

Now that you know what to include in your roadmap, you can start building it.

An innovation roadmap is a visual representation of your innovation journey. It charts the course from ideation to implementation. Here’s a step-by-step guide to building your innovation roadmap:

1. Define your goals:

• Start with the end in mind. What do you hope to achieve with your innovations? Entering a new market? Improving customer experience? Increasing operational efficiency? Whatever your aims, make sure you have clear objectives.

2. Gather insights:

• Dive deep into market research, customer feedback, and industry trends. Understand the gaps in the market and the needs of your customers.

3. Brainstorm ideas:

• Bring together a diverse team and encourage free thinking. Use techniques like design thinking or SWOT analysis to generate a plethora of ideas.

4. Prioritize initiatives:

• Not all ideas are created equal. Evaluate each one based on its potential impact, feasibility, and alignment with your goals. Check out our post on product prioritization to see how to best do this.

5. Allocate resources:

• Determine the budget, staff time, and time required for each initiative. Make sure you have the necessary resources to bring your ideas to life.

6. Set milestones:

• Break down the innovation process into manageable chunks. Set clear milestones with deadlines to keep the team on track.

7. Visualize the roadmap:

• Use tools or software to create a visual representation of your roadmap. This will help in communicating the plan to stakeholders and keeping everyone aligned. You can get Canny’s roadmapping software for free. 

8. Gather feedback and iterate:

• Once your roadmap is in place, share it with a broader audience. Gather feedback, make necessary adjustments, and ensure it remains a living document.

9. Monitor progress:

• Regularly review your roadmap. Track progress against milestones, celebrate successes, and address any roadblocks.

10. Evolve and update:

• The innovation journey is dynamic. As market conditions change and new insights emerge, revisit and update your roadmap to stay relevant.

Building an innovation roadmap is a collaborative and iterative process. It provides clarity, direction for your team. And, it ensures that your innovative ideas translate into tangible results.

Chart a course for innovation

Innovation certainly isn’t a breeze. But, with an innovation roadmap, you can give yourself a great shot at successfully innovating. 

Remember – they’re not just useful for creating products. They also help innovate processes, business models, and services too. 

The innovation management process is key to successful business growth. And, innovation roadmaps are one of the best tools to help that process. 

Eric Hoppe

Marketer and aspiring dog-sport competitor 🐕 Eric’s career features stints with innovative companies like Opera Software and Crowd Content. When he’s not telling the world how great Canny is, Eric's finding ways to get his dogson to be a more competitive frisbee dog.

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The post What is an innovation roadmap? How does it support your innovation strategy? first appeared on Canny Blog.

The post What is an innovation roadmap? How does it support your innovation strategy? appeared first on Canny Blog.

This guide can help you manage tech decisions and keep your business on course. We’ll explain exactly what tech roadmaps are and how they’re used. You’ll see how to both plan and execute these roadmaps. Plus, get insights on integrating product development for smoother sailing ahead.

Aligning technology initiatives with business goals helps your company succeed. And, tech roadmaps are a great way to do that.

Curious yet? Hang tight as we embark on this journey together!

What is a technology roadmap?

A technology roadmap is a strategic document that communicates the plan for technology initiatives. They’re sometimes known as IT or technical roadmaps.

Technology initiatives could include:

1. Onboarding new software
2. Setting up hosting 
3. Creating databases
4. Building physical infrastructure
5. Integrating different systems together
6. And many more

Tech roadmaps help organizations understand and visualize their technological needs over time. It matches company goals with specific technology solutions. Ultimately, it ensures you have the technology needed to drive innovation and growth.

Purpose and benefits

There are many benefits of building a tech roadmap:

1. It aligns tech investments with the business roadmap and priorities
2. It helps anticipate future tech needs.
3. It improves communication about tech plans to your whole organization.
4. It helps promote efficient resource allocations

What does that look like?

As the name suggests, it looks like a list of new tech you want to set up.

Often this will be a visual roadmap that shows what tech is coming and when. Many tech teams use tools like GitHub or Canny to visualize roadmaps. Other teams still manage their roadmaps in spreadsheets, though. Airtable or Google sheets are popular examples.

In either case, it’s important to have a good understanding of each planned technology. That includes its importance, other projects it impacts, its stakeholders, and more. We’ll cover that in more detail soon.

The beauty of a technology roadmap lies in its flexibility. Every organization can tailor one to suit its specific requirements. Here are a few examples of tech roadmaps you might see:

Key elements and components

Let’s take a quick look at the key elements that make up a technology roadmap.

Vision and strategy

The vision is the overarching goal your team wants to achieve. Your tech roadmamp needs to deliver the technology necessary to do that.

For example, your vision could be to build the web’s best stock photography site. 

Strategic objectives support your vision. They are usually specific technology projects required to achieve the vision.

What would a strategic objective supporting the stock photography site example be? Well, your team might need to set up hosting on Amazon Web Services. They would also need their development environments set up. 

Timeframes

You’ll want to specify what timeframes your roadmap covers. These are some common ones:

1. Short-term: immediate technology projects planned for the next few months to a year.
2. Medium-term: projects and initiatives planned for the next one to three years.
3. Long-term: tech initiatives that are planned for three years and beyond.

Technology initiatives

These are the projects, solutions, or technologies that the organization plans to implement.

This can include software upgrades, infrastructure changes, research and development projects, etc.

Milestones

Milestones are key events that mark significant progress towards implementing a technology initiative. This could include completion of project phases, successful testing, or deployment.

Dependencies

These are relationships between different technology initiatives. They indicate which projects rely on the completion of others.

Resources

There are human, financial, and technological resources required for each initiative.

Examples include project teams’ time, budgets, hardware, software, and other assets.

Risks and challenges

There are potential issues that might hinder the successful implementation of technology initiatives. Your tech roadmap should identify and explain them. Then, develop strategies for mitigating those risks.

Stakeholders

These are the key individuals or groups who have an interest in the technology roadmap.

This can include internal teams, leadership, customers, partners, and vendors. You should specify which groups have access to the tech roadmap and how you’ll communicate it.

Review and update mechanism

You need a process to regularly review and update the technology roadmap. You’ll update based on changing business needs, technological advancements, and feedback from stakeholders.

Note: these elements provide a general framework. The specific content and structure of a technology roadmap can vary based on the organization’s needs, industry, and the complexity of its technology landscape.

These elements work together to guide where your technology should go over time.

Now, let’s put those elements to work and actually plan out your roadmap.

Planning a technology roadmap

Building a robust tech roadmap is like plotting your journey on a GPS. It needs careful planning, foresight, and adjustment to ensure you reach your destination.

Let’s look at the steps you need to take.

Identify key stakeholders

Your first step should be to identify who will use the tech or product. These are your key stakeholders. They could be anyone from customers, employees, investors, or even regulatory bodies.

Define goals and objectives

The next task at hand is setting clear goals and objectives that align with business goals. This acts as the guiding light throughout the development process.

For example, you might have a goal of setting up all tech infrastructure for a new website your team is launching. Your roadmap would focus on achieving that goal. 

Evaluate technology alternatives

A critical part of this plan involves evaluating different technologies. You’ll want to identify your requirements for each project. Then, you can evaluate vendors based on your requirements and budget.

Determine necessary resources

Knowing which technologies you want to implement, you need to look at what each requires. Most will have human, financial, and technological requirements. It’s important to know what can be reasonably accomplished with your team’s bandwidth, budget, etc. 

Identify dependencies

It’s very likely that some technologies rely on others being implemented first. Identify those dependencies. Make sure you account for them when planning your roadmap. 

Create realistic timelines

Rome wasn’t built in a day. And neither can any decent piece of technology. Set realistic timelines for every phase of development. Consider potential roadblocks along the way.

It’s tempting to set aspirational goals. But make sure that you’re not leading yourself and your team to a burnout.

Prioritizing projects

Chances are you’ll have no shortage of technology to implement. That’s why prioritization is critical. You’ll want to develop a prioritization formula based on your team’s priorities. This lets you objectively evaluate each technology. You’ll see which are highest-priority.

Typically you’d schedule highest-priority projects first. But, you may need to adjust your roadmap based on dependencies.

Add items to your roadmap

Finally, you’ll add projects to your roadmap. Start with your high-priority projects first. Make sure it has the key elements we mentioned above.

There are many ways to present your roadmap. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out our roadmap templates.

Executing the technology roadmap

We just explored planning your roadmap. Let’s take a look at how you can execute on it.

Setting up your roadmap

You need to store your roadmap in a central location. All your stakeholders should have access to it, and be able to share their input.

Roadmaps built in spreadsheets used to be commonplace. They kind of work, but aren’tt really built for it. 

Many project management tools have some basic roadmap functionality. They can work well, but often lack roadmap specific functionality you’d expect. 

Tools like Canny’s roadmap builder are purpose-built for roadmapping. You can:

1. Add tech projects to your roadmap
2. Discuss them with stakeholders
3. Prioritize projects based on your unqiue criteria
4. Keep everyone updated

You can get a free account to check it out!

Assigning tasks and responsibilities

It’s crucial to clearly assign tasks when executing a technology roadmap. This makes sure everyone knows their role, helping avoid confusion and delays. That means your roadmap should integrate with your project management system.

Tools like Jira, ClickUp and Asana are great for this. Canny integrates with all these tools. So, your roadmap and project management system work together.

While project management is a huge topic, here’s one tip. When assigning tasks tied to roadmap items, be aware of how much time each task takes. You’ll want to ensure your team’s time estimates line up with your roadmap’s timelines.

Once the work is assigned you need to stay on top of it. Make sure you’re hitting your deliverables so your technology roadmap stays on track.

Engaging and communicating with stakeholders

Keeping stakeholders engaged is key for smooth execution of a tech roadmap. Regular updates on progress can make sure they stay involved.

In Canny, anyone following a project gets email updates whenever there’s progress. You can also publish release notes when you ship projects. These also notify interested stakeholders.

Monitoring and tracking progress

To ensure your plan stays on track, make sure you’re regularly monitoring progress. Are initiatives being completed according to the timeline? Have there been any delays that require you to reschedule things? Are any initiatives blocked and need outside support?

You’ll want to make sure you’re on top of questions like these. Your project management system should update you as your team progresses. So, make sure you’re up to date and adjusting as needed. 

Connecting with your product roadmap

Your technology roadmap isn’t a stand-alone tool. It should sync perfectly with your product roadmap. Your technology roadmap provides the foundation your product roadmap needs to succeed. 

Check out Canny’s product roadmap software to easily build and manage your roadmaps. 

Links between technology and product development

Tech initiatives must align with product goals. Let’s say you’re planning to enhance user experience on your app. Your tech team may need to prioritize projects around backend optimizations.

This means your technology and product roadmaps should align. Many items on the tech roadmap could be dependencies on the product roadmap.

Collaboration between the product manager and technology leader

The product manager (PM) and technology leader have distinct roles. But, their collaboration ensures alignment of tech plans with business objectives. Regular meetings or check-ins can help both stay informed about progress, obstacles, and changes in direction.

Establishing strategic direction for product and technology

This shared vision sets the path forward. The PM has deep understanding of customer needs. The tech lead’s expertise provides the infrastructure needed to solve those. They create a balanced approach towards achieving business goals while ensuring technical feasibility.

Why a technology roadmap is a great idea

Technology roadmaps can give you the upper hand in strategic planning. These tools are not just about plotting tech initiatives. They also align tech projects with business objectives and long-term goals.

Embracing technology roadmapping allows organizations to be nimble. They can anticipate changes, make informed decisions, and adapt swiftly to shifting trends.

Using technology roadmaps could be the deciding factor in staying ahead with innovation. Make sure yours is up to date so you can support your team’s growth. 

Eric Hoppe

Marketer and aspiring dog-sport competitor 🐕 Eric’s career features stints with innovative companies like Opera Software and Crowd Content. When he’s not telling the world how great Canny is, Eric's finding ways to get his dogson to be a more competitive frisbee dog.

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The post What is a technology roadmap + how do you build one that works? first appeared on Canny Blog.

The post What is a technology roadmap + how do you build one that works? appeared first on Canny Blog.

You’re drawn to two apple stands side by side. 

Both offer juicy red apples, but one has a sign: “Picked this morning from our local organic farm.”
The choice becomes easy.

This is the power of a compelling value proposition. It helps your offering get noticed in the swarmed market.

But what if you’re not selling apples? How do you craft a compelling value proposition for your business or brand offering? And how can it drive sales and increase conversion rates?

Let’s uncover these answers and more.

A quick value proposition definition

A value proposition is a powerful tool that underpins marketing strategy. But what exactly does that mean?

A value proposition is a compelling reason for a potential customer to choose your product or service. It helps potential customers quickly understand what you offer. It also gives them a reason to choose you over competitors.

This isn’t just about listing the features of what you’re selling. Instead, it’s about demonstrating how these features address your customers’ needs and wants.

A good value proposition connects company offerings and customer desires in one simple statement.

Here are a few famous examples to illustrate:

• Uber – “Tap the app, get a ride.”
• Slack – “Where work happens.”
• Zoom – “Bringing the world together, one meeting at a time.”

These value propositions are effective because they are clear and concise. They communicate the unique benefits that the companies offer to their customers.

Want to deliver exceptional value to your customers? Check out Canny’s customer feedback management tools. 

The power of clarity

At its heart, a great value proposition offers clarity. It answers questions like ‘What do I get if I purchase this product?’ without ambiguity or complexity.

To make sure it resonates with customers, choose every word carefully. It must reflect not only the tangible benefits, but also the emotional ones. You know, the ones that give a feel-good factor to drive sales.

Focused on customer experience

An effective value proposition always keeps an eye on customer experience. If we look at Harvard Business School as an example, they don’t simply offer courses. They promise transformative education that prepares students for leadership roles.

Making it visible

Let’s not forget how crucial visibility is. Your unique value proposition needs to shine in every corner of your marketing efforts. From the product design drawing board straight through to your social media platforms.

Crafting your value proposition statement

Crafting your proposition starts by identifying pain points among your ideal customers. What problem are they looking to solve? How does using your product fill those gaps better than other available solutions?

This is useful when building your product. It helps steer your product development to a product-market fit.

It’s also important for your marketing campaigns. They need to address these key points clearly. When people read them, there should be no unanswered questions left. Your job is to convince them to opt for you versus the competition.

Aligning your benefits with customer pain points helps you build a competitive advantage.

Crafting your value proposition doesn’t need to be overly complex. It should just be a short sentence that shares the value your company offers.

The core elements: benefit and differentiation

A compelling value proposition clearly communicates two things:

1. What benefits are we offering?
2. How does our offering stand out from the competition?

Here’s a basic example. If everyone at the market sells apples, oranges would be an interesting alternative. They would appeal to those needing something different.

Try to find a similar differentiator for your product. In an apple orchard, try to be an orange.

Finding your unique selling point (USP)

Your USP is at the heart of an effective value proposition. It’s what sets you apart from competitors in your market space.

To identify yours, consider what problems your company solves. How does it improve people’s lives? Maybe even look at common pain points within the industry to see how you address them better than others.

Making it resonate with your target audience

Ensuring it resonates with your audience is essential to crafting your value proposition. Understand their needs, wants, and how they perceive value.

Knowing your target customer’s pain points helps shape your offering to speak directly to them. This guides how you build and market your product.

To optimize your message further, consider who exactly will be reading or hearing it. You wouldn’t speak to an executive buyer the same way as a teenager looking for cool sneakers. So, don’t write a one-size-fits-all copy.

A great way to visualize this is by creating a value proposition canvas.

Using a value proposition canvas

A value proposition canvas is a tool that helps you visualize the key aspects of a product’s value proposition. It helps you understand how your products or services meet the needs of your target customers. It also explains why they should choose you over competitors.

The canvas consists of two main sections: customer profile and value map. The customer profile outlines:

• Who your customer is
• What jobs do they need to get done
• Their pains (problems)
• Their gains (benefits)

On the other hand, the value map describes how your product addresses those jobs, relieves pains, and creates gains for them.

Essentially, it ensures alignment between what you’re offering and what your customers seek.

There’s one specific case when this becomes particularly useful. That’s when you plan new features or improve ones within Canny (our user feedback management tool). This value proposition canvas helps you focus on elements that deliver real value to users.

It can also uncover opportunities to innovate within your offerings. At the same time, you’ll stay relevant to our audience’s changing needs.

Focusing on benefits over features

Focusing too much on features over benefits is a common mistake. Remember – it’s not just about what your product does. It’s about how it can help or fix a common pain point for the customer.

Your marketing campaigns need to highlight these benefits clearly.

Communicating your value proposition

The last step is communicating your value prop across all marketing materials and channels. Remember, consistency is key when you’re aiming to create strong brand recognition.

Your value proposition should shine brightly at every possible touchpoint with potential customers. Website, email marketing, social media accounts, and advertisements should reflect your value proposition.

Customers should instantly know what makes buying from YOU worthwhile wherever they see your brand. Your aim here is not just for people to see your company. They should also know how uniquely equipped you are to solve their pain points.

Testing and refining your value proposition

Developing a solid value proposition doesn’t end at creation. It’s an ongoing process. It requires testing, refining, and understanding your customers’ buying behaviors.

A/B testing: the path to perfection

A vital step in this journey is A/B testing. You’ll want to test two versions of your value prop to see which yields the best results.

This helps you identify what resonates with your potential customers and what drives them away. Be sure to test based on data-driven decisions rather than assumptions or hunches.

The role of customer support

Your customer support team plays a crucial role too. They’re the front line for gathering feedback from real users about how well your product fills their needs. This information directly relates to the strength of your value proposition.

Tuning into these conversations helps uncover areas where you need improvements. This way, you can enhance your user experience and conversion rate optimization.

Leveraging customer feedback for constant improvement

An optimized value proposition isn’t static. It evolves based on feedback and changing market dynamics. This makes customer feedback invaluable.

Canny can help here by allowing you to manage user feedback efficiently. A feedback board centralizes customer feedback from all sources. 

This lets you quickly identify how people feel about your product and how well it aligns with your value proposition.

This real-time insight makes it easy to quickly iterate on your value proposition.

Understanding buying behaviors

Last but not least, getting a grip on buying behaviors is critical. Knowing why people choose your product over competitors helps you improve your unique selling point. The same is true of knowing why they don’t choose your product.

Your sales team is a wealth of knowledge here. They can tell you why they’re closing or losing deals. That info helps you identify how well your value proposition aligns with customers. If it’s missing the mark, you might want to adjust.

Creating a powerful proposition statement is a great first step in marketing your product. But, you need to maintain its relevance through continuous refinement.

5 types of value propositions

Understanding and effectively communicating your value proposition is crucial. Let’s look at five types of value propositions that help you do that.

All benefits

This approach lists every possible advantage a customer gets from your product. This method may seem overwhelming at first glance. However, it provides an exhaustive overview which may appeal to customers with diverse needs.

Example: Spotify – music for everyone 

Spotify provides access to millions of songs for free. They also offer the option to upgrade to a premium account for an ad-free experience and additional features. It’s about making music accessible to everyone, everywhere.

“Music for everyone.”

This value proposition makes it clear that everyone can use their service, regardless of budget. 

Favorable points of difference

This type emphasizes what sets your offering apart from others in the market. It might be superior quality, innovative features, or exceptional customer service. The key here is not just stating these differences. You also need to show how they translate into tangible benefits for consumers.

Example: Airbnb – belong anywhere

Airbnb turned the travel industry upside down using a simple sentence.

“Belong anywhere.”

This statement gives off vibes of comfort and acceptance. This appeals to customers who value unique experiences over standard hotel stays when traveling.

These examples highlight the power of a compelling proposition in setting your brand apart. 

Take the time to contemplate what makes your product distinctive and attractive.

Resonating focus

This takes one compelling benefit and makes it the centerpiece of communication efforts. It’s most effective when you identify an attribute that resonates with your target audience’s needs.

Example: Slack – where work happens

In our busy world, simplicity often trumps all else. This is where Slack shines. Their straightforward proposition

“Where work happens.”

It instantly resonates with target buyers seeking more efficient communication channels in their workspace.

Quantified value

If you can quantify the advantages your products provide,  use this approach. Things like cost savings over time or increased productivity percentages are good examples. They lend credibility to claims about your product’s effectiveness. This helps prospects understand exactly what they stand to gain through adoption.

Example: Tesla – electric vehicles redefined

Tesla’s approach focuses on quantifiable benefits. They highlight how customers can save on fuel costs, reduce maintenance expenses, and contribute to environmental sustainability.

“Electric vehicles redefined.”

They hone in on those benefits by showcasing figures like:

• The number of miles you can drive per charge
• The money saved on gas and maintenance over time

This way, Tesla makes a compelling case for their cars’ long-term value and efficiency.

Targeted segment propositions

Last are targeted segment propositions. Here, you tailor the messaging specifically for a particular audience group. It recognizes that different segments may value various aspects of your product differently. This method seeks to speak directly to their unique needs or challenges.

Example: Nike – empowering women in sports

Nike’s targeted campaigns for female athletes are a prime example of this approach. They create products and marketing narratives that specifically address women’s needs, challenges, and aspirations in sports.

“Dream crazier.”

Campaigns like “Dream Crazier” highlight stories of female athletes breaking barriers. This deeply resonates with women who face similar challenges.

Each type of value proposition has its own strengths. The best one for you depends on your product, target market, and competitive landscape.

Value propositions – helping your customers choose you

Thanks for joining us in exploring value propositions. We hope you picked up some pointers that will help you connect with your customers.

If you’d like to get a pulse on how your customers connect with your product, get a free Canny account. It lets you centralize all customer feedback in one place. That helps you understand your customers and build powerful value propositions. 

Eric Hoppe

Marketer and aspiring dog-sport competitor 🐕 Eric’s career features stints with innovative companies like Opera Software and Crowd Content. When he’s not telling the world how great Canny is, Eric's finding ways to get his dogson to be a more competitive frisbee dog.

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The post Defining value propositions + how to write them effectively first appeared on Canny Blog.

The post Defining value propositions + how to write them effectively appeared first on Canny Blog.

Now think about software development.

In the rush to deliver features fast and meet deadlines, teams often cut corners. That could include code quality, design or testing processes. It’s like adding shaky levels to our card tower. This is what we call ‘technical debt’.

While manageable at first glance, over time it becomes overwhelming. The weight of poor decisions threatens to collapse your entire project. Like that delicate house of cards.

We’re about to explore what causes these coding debts and the different types they come in.

Understanding technical debt

Just like financial debt, technical debt is something you’d want to avoid. But what exactly is it in the context of software development?

Technical debt is the extra work that piles up when you take shortcuts. It’s common during initial development stages.

Developers often take shortcuts to meet deadlines or to quickly fulfill requirements. At some point, that work needs to be completed.

A simple metaphor

Let’s compare taking shortcuts and quick fixes in coding to buying a house with a mortgage. You get the house now but pay for it over time with interest.

Likewise, by taking shortcuts and quick fixes in coding you accumulate ‘debt’. It’s kind of like borrowing. This will need fixing later (repayment). Usually, at higher costs due to accrued complexities (interest).

A deeper dive

Ward Cunningham coined the term “technical debt.” He used it as a metaphor to explain why faster isn’t always better in software development.

He explains how rushing through code or design can lead to suboptimal solutions. These eventually need refactoring, thus accumulating ‘debt’ that needs paying back later.

This concept serves as a critical reminder for teams about long-term thinking. Careful planning in the product development processes helps to avoid technical debt.

Causes of technical debt

Comparing technical debt to financial debt is an easy way to conceptualize it. Like buying a house on credit, sometimes you have to borrow to quickly deliver software.

There are many reasons why you’d have to do that.

The first cause is business pressure. When you urgently need a new feature, developers might skip best practices. They often create quick-fix solutions. This approach can pile up ‘interest’ that needs repayment later.

Lack of process or documentation also contributes. Without clear guidelines or adequate documentation, teams may unintentionally add technical debt. Repeating past mistakes can quickly make technical debt pile up.

An often overlooked source is necessary trade-offs. Sometimes creating an imperfect solution now allows for valuable learning and improvement later. But remember – this kind of strategic decision should be intentional and controlled.

Finally, low-quality code caused by lack of skill or understanding is a factor. This highlights why ongoing developer education is so important.

Type of technical debt

Steve McConnell proposed two broad categories in 2017: intentional and unintentional technical debt. Intentional debt refers to strategic decisions made consciously. Unitentional debt results from subpar work or lack of foresight.

Martin Fowler expanded on this by introducing his “Technical Debt Quadrant.” This further classifies technical debt. It looks at intent (deliberate or inadvertent) and context (prudent or reckless). This quadrant offers a more nuanced understanding but still leaves some aspects unaddressed.

The Software Engineering Institute’s paper on technical debt expanded even further. Published in 2014, Towards an Ontology of Terms on Technical Debt explores 13 types of debt. Let’s look at them now.

The 13 types of technical debt

There are many types of debt you can rack up. Each type has its unique characteristics and challenges.

Architecture debt

This type occurs when system design principles are compromised for faster delivery. This leads to a poorly structured system that may be difficult to maintain or scale.

Build debt

This is a result of inadequate build and release processes. It often manifests as frequent integration issues and long deployment times.

Code debt

This is when developers take shortcuts or use subpar coding practices. Usually, this is done to meet deadlines. Think of it as a hastily done DIY project; sure, you’ve got your shelf up quickly. But, the wonky alignment may cause issues down the line.

Defect debt

This arises when known defects aren’t addressed promptly due to other priorities. This causes an accumulation over time.

Design debt

Caused by compromising on user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design aspects. This can lead to lower customer satisfaction levels later on.

Documentation debt

Lack of adequate documentation is an often overlooked type of debt. It makes it hard for team members or external contributors to understand how things work. This slows down progress in the long run. It happens when teams overlook creating comprehensive documentation for their software projects. This is akin to assembling IKEA furniture without a manual.

Infrastructure debt

This refers to poor decisions about infrastructure setup like servers or databases. It could affect performance and scalability.

People debt 

This refers to the lack of skilled personnel or inadequate training. It often leads to slower progress and lower quality output.

Process debt 

Inefficient processes that slow down development cycles and lead to wasted effort.

Requirement debt

This arises when there’s a lack of clarity in requirements. It leads to wrong assumptions and rework.

Service debt

This happens when third-party services used in your product are not managed properly. This often causes reliability issues.

Test debt

Last but not least, there’s test debt. This is inadequate testing due to insufficient time or resources. Often it’s the result of neglecting test automation. This can lead to longer testing cycles as the codebase grows. It’s akin to skipping vehicle inspections before a long road trip. It can lead you into uncharted territory with potential breakdowns.

Impact of technical debt

Rushing software development might get your product to market faster. But just like monetary debts need to be repaid with interest over time, so does technical debt.

The immediate impact is clear. You save time and resources in the short run by cutting corners or opting for quick-fix solutions. But, these savings come at a price later on when it’s time to pay back that ‘loan’.

You may have an application running smoothly today. But, beneath the surface lies accumulated code issues waiting to explode tomorrow. And often, they will.

Neglected debt accumulates interest

The more you neglect this technical debt, the higher ‘interest’ piles up. It often decreases productivity and increases maintenance costs.

Decreased productivity over time

Your team’s efficiency can take a hit. Developers spend more time fixing bugs than working on new features or improvements. It also impacts morale; nobody enjoys slogging through messy code bases.

Affect on product quality & maintenance

Technical debt directly impacts product quality. It can cause systems to become unstable, unreliable, difficult to maintain and extend. This not only affects your team’s productivity. It also hampers user experience, leading towards loss of customers.

Budgetary implications

There are financial implications too. The time spent fixing issues arising from poor-quality code is costly. Instead, you could develop new features or improve existing ones. (like driving business growth for example). Managing technical debt effectively should be an integral part of budget planning.

Influence on team morale

Last but not least, technical debt can negatively impact team morale. Constantly fixing issues rather than working on new projects can be demotivating. It’s important to strike a balance between delivering fast and maintaining code quality.

Technical debt isn’t necessarily bad

Don’t view technical debt solely as something negative. Consider seeing it as an integral part of strategic decision-making within product development. When managed properly it allows you to push out new features faster. How do you manage it properly? Regular debt paydowns are a great tactic. Sometimes that’s necessary to meet deadlines and immediate customer needs.

So, is technical debt bad? The answer isn’t black or white. Like financial debt, it’s not inherently bad if managed wisely. But, don’t let it pile up without addressing the underlying issues. It could lead to serious problems down the line.

Strategies for managing debt

Addressing technical debt needs a well-thought-out strategy. It’s not about quick fixes, but steady and consistent efforts.

Maintain good documentation

Good documentation can save you from unnecessary confusion later on. It acts as a roadmap, letting developers know where potential issues might lie.

Prioritize refactoring

Refactoring should be an ongoing task in your project lifecycle. This involves rewriting parts of code to improve its quality without changing functionality. You nip the problem at its bud before it grows into unmanageable proportions.

Incorporate code reviews

Routine code reviews ensure that new changes don’t introduce more debts. They also help identify areas needing refactoring.

Create a tech debt list

A tech debt list gives an overview of all known debts in your project – big or small. You can use this list to plan and prioritize which debts need attention first. You should look at their impact on the broader product development process.

Preventing technical debt

To stop technical debt from piling up, a balanced approach to development is key.

The first strategy is maintaining quality code practices.

Martin Fowler’s principle of continuous refactoring helps keep the code clean and manageable. Focus on consistently refining and improving your codebase. This prevents bad design decisions or quick fixes from accumulating into serious debt.

Next comes Maintaining Documentation.

Maintaining a clear understanding of the codebase is essential. Having it become muddled and opaque can be detrimental. Regularly updating documentation lets new team members get on board quickly. This prevents adding to your project’s technical debt.

Last but not least: Frequent Testing.

An effective testing framework plays a vital role in keeping technical debt at bay. Automated assessments furnish immediate info about what is successful. And more significantly, what isn’t.

Balancing speed with quality

In software development, there are times when speed takes precedence over quality. That’s okay as long as it doesn’t become habitual.

Try to balance rapid delivery and high-quality output. It ensures that shortcuts taken today won’t lead to more time-consuming repairs tomorrow.

Promoting collaboration between developers and product managers

In managing tech-debt effectively, communication between developers and product managers is essential. Shared understanding of project goals minimizes chances for misunderstanding or oversights. These often lead to future problems. An ounce of prevention here saves pounds of cure later.

Tools for identifying and managing technical debt

It’s essential to have tools that can help spot and manage technical debt. Let’s look at some tools to help you identify and manage technical debt.

SonarQube is a well-known static code analysis tool. It’s great at detecting potential issues like bugs or code smells. It lets developers see where their coding may lead to future problems.

Another good tool is ReSharper. This handy tool highlights errors as you type and suggests quick fixes. You’ll catch those sneaky debts before they even become an issue.

Then there’s JFrog Xray. With deep recursive scanning, it gives visibility into your software components’ vulnerabilities.

With these weapons in hand, managing technical debt becomes less daunting. So give them a try. Your future self (and your product) will thank you for it.

The role of team culture

When it comes to managing technical debt, your team’s culture plays a significant role.

First off, communication is key. A team that communicates effectively can better understand and tackle complex issues.

Atlassian suggests that open dialogue about coding and design decisions helps prevent misunderstandings. This helps avoid codebase complications.

Nurturing an Agile mindset

An agile mindset goes hand-in-hand with reducing tech debt. This approach encourages continuous improvement which helps keep the code clean and maintainable.

Promoting responsibility

Taking responsibility for your work has a profound impact on managing technical debts. Make developers feel accountable for their codes’ quality. They’ll be more likely to avoid shortcuts that may lead to problems down the line.

Leveraging peer reviews

A healthy peer review practice can catch potential issues early on. By constructively critiquing each other’s work, teams help each other deliver high-quality output. They also avoid costly future rework due to overlooked bugs or inefficient solutions.

Fostering learning opportunities

Innovation often brings risks of accruing tech debts. But, by fostering learning opportunities, these challenges become stepping stones towards mastery.

Remember – cultivating a supportive environment makes dealing with tech debts less daunting.

FAQs

What is technical debt?

Technical debt is the future cost of reworking or fixing quick-and-dirty code solutions. These are often implemented for immediate progress. But, they eventually need to be addressed.

What is an example of technical debt?

An example could be skipping code documentation to speed up delivery. This may lead to confusion and time wastage when others need to understand that code later on.

Is technical debt good or bad?

In moderation, it’s not necessarily bad. Sometimes a project needs fast results. But if unchecked, it can become detrimental. It can impact productivity and cause major setbacks in the long run.

Why is technical debt a problem?

If can slow down teams, increase bug risks, and affect product quality over time. This ultimately makes further changes more expensive and complex.

Wrapping it up

So, what is technical debt? It’s the shaky layers in your software project. Those quick fixes and cut corners that accumulate over time.

We’ve dug into its causes, both intentional and unintentional. We’ve uncovered its types: code debt, design debt, documentation debt, and test debt.

We learned how it impacts projects immediately and long-term. But we also explored ways to manage it with smart strategies and tools.

Remember — preventing technical debt starts at the team level. The culture you foster can make or break your efforts against this silent project killer.

In the end you need to actively work to reduce its effect on your product. 

Eric Hoppe

Marketer and aspiring dog-sport competitor 🐕 Eric’s career features stints with innovative companies like Opera Software and Crowd Content. When he’s not telling the world how great Canny is, Eric's finding ways to get his dogson to be a more competitive frisbee dog.

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