In product management, the challenge isn’t coming up with ideas. It’s deciding which ones to prioritize and keeping the team focused when everything feels urgent.
When I first dipped my toes into product management, I thought the hardest part would be coming up with the best ideas. I was wrong. It turns out, everyone has ideas — really good ones, in fact. The real challenge is deciding which ones to prioritize, and more importantly, keeping the team focused on that priority when everything seems urgent.
Staying Focused on Impact
I remember one specific project where my team and I were tasked with delivering a critical feature within a tight deadline. The feature was meant to solve a massive user pain point, but alongside it, we had other requests piling up from stakeholders and departments. Everyone thought their needs were most urgent. It felt like everyone was pulling in a different direction.
“Here’s the thing about prioritization — it's not just about ranking tasks by how quickly you can complete them or which one sounds the most exciting. It’s about staying laser-focused on the impact.”
I borrowed something I learned early on: impact vs. effort. It sounds simple, but it’s amazing how clarifying it can be. When my team was at a standstill, unsure which tasks to attack first, we mapped everything across a grid: high impact, low effort on one end, and low impact, high effort on the other.
Aligning the Team with a Clear Focus
This exercise brought the entire team together. We were able to prioritize the user-centric feature that would make the most difference. Refactoring the code? Important, but not as pressing as launching a feature that directly impacted thousands of users.
The Importance of User-Centric Focus
When you’re aligning a product team, it's easy to get caught up in everyone’s demands. But keeping the team focused on what truly moves the needle—in terms of user satisfaction and business goals—is how you maintain alignment.
Learn More About Product Prioritization