Release Day: Lessons Learned
After successfully introducing a new payment method, the following morning brought unexpected challenges with sending receipts to customers.
Release days can be both exciting and nerve-wracking.
This is how last week’s Protege Pulse started where I provided an authentic, anxiety-filled glimpse into a product manager's life during a product launch.
TL;DR
Summary of last week’s newsletter….After successfully introducing a new payment method, the following morning brought unexpected challenges with sending receipts to customers. Through rapid coordination with development, analytics, and QA teams, and maintaining transparent communication with stakeholders, the issue was diagnosed and a hotfix was scheduled. The resolution not only fixed the problem but also led to increased repeat users and a higher average order value.
This experience underscores the importance of quick decision-making, effective team collaboration, and proactive stakeholder communication in product management.
As we look back on this launch…
.. several key lessons emerge about the significance of thorough testing, having a clear communication plan, and being prepared for unexpected issues.
Let’s review the lessons learned…
Insights and Lessons Learned
1. Importance of Detailed Testing:
Testing is crucial for identifying potential issues before release. Ensure all edge cases, environments, and scenarios are tested thoroughly. Include unit tests, integration tests, and user acceptance tests (UAT). Utilize both automated and manual testing strategies across different devices and operating systems to guarantee comprehensive coverage. As a product manager, you may be the one having to test some of these edge cases if QA’s timeline didn’t include these initially and now it’s going to add another few days. Maybe you can’t spare those few days, so as long as you have the trust of your team and immediate leadership that your testing will be adequate (prove to them it will), then jump in and handle it.
2. Effective Communication:
Clear and timely communication with all stakeholders, including co-creators, development teams, and vendors, is essential during a product launch and while in hypercare. Make sure to plan for hypercare for any projects that have an associated risk with them that if it went down, it could harm customer experience. This example included a new payment method, and when dealing with people’s money, the risk is high.
Be transparent and available during hypercare situations where there is an issue. Regularly update stakeholders through predefined channels such as daily stand-ups, status emails, and TEAMs/Slack channels to ensure everyone understands the release status and any issues.
3. Data-Driven Decision Making:
Making decisions based on data helps in understanding the impact of new features and identifying areas that need immediate attention.
Regularly monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and customer feedback to inform decision-making and prioritize tasks effectively.
Implement real-time analytics dashboards and schedule weekly reviews of metrics with your team to stay proactive. While this may be something you iterate too, be able to at least manually create these analytic dashboards for the main signals your leadership, co-creators, and you would care to be aware of.
4. Proactive Customer Communication:
Addressing customer concerns promptly and as transparent as possible can mitigate negative experiences and maintain trust.
Prepare customer-facing messages in advance and update them as needed to keep customers informed about issues and resolutions.
Use multiple communication channels such as email, in-app notifications, and social media to reach a broader audience effectively. Plan for back and forth discussion if needed.
5. Flexibility in Problem Solving:
Being flexible and having multiple contingency plans can help in effectively addressing unexpected issues. This should be project agnostic, but be sure to preview them and review with the team prior to launch.
Develop and document various response strategies for potential problems to ensure quick and efficient resolution when issues arise. Conduct regular scenario planning and drills with your team to stay prepared for different types of challenges. This can be as simple as a confluence page titled “what if this happens…” - I’d also include everyone’s contact information if they could be helpful in the given scenario.
6. Product Management is Complex:
Product management is challenging and requires balancing multiple responsibilities, including coordinating with various teams, managing stakeholder expectations, and ensuring a seamless customer experience.
It's not just writing epics and user stories. Embrace the complexity and be prepared for constant learning and adaptation to handle the diverse and dynamic nature of product management.
Foster a culture of continuous improvement and learning within your team, encouraging feedback and professional development.
I really enjoyed the candid script-like writing style. If you prefer more of that style, comment below to let me know!
Until next week,
Jason
