ISSUE #24 - MAY 23, 2024
When good docs go bad: Learning from a PM's misstep
A product manager's tale that demonstrates that crafting a good doc is as important as knowing the audience you're sharing it with.
One of the main tools we use to create alignment as product managers is documentation. As my manager often says:
"“As PMs, writing is our interface with the outside world. We need to pay careful attention when crafting our documents, because sharing a bad doc is just as damaging as releasing a bad product.”
A couple of weeks ago, I had an experience that reminded me it’s not just about creating a great document, but also knowing whom to share it with. It might sound basic, but sometimes we need a refresher on the fundamentals.
Let me share the story.
We were working on a major project that was our primary focus for the quarter. After several days of effort, I finalized the relevant PRD (Product Requirements Document). I was proud of this doc because of the detailed work I had put into it, believing it would help the team and stakeholders clearly understand the problem and align on the strategy and solutions.
After completing the document, I posted it in the relevant Slack channel for initial feedback, tagging all the key stakeholders, including a highly influential one who was closely following the project.
A few minutes later, this influential stakeholder asked me:
“What are PRDs and why do we need them?”
I didn’t panic. Instead, I thought:
“Great, this is an opportunity to explain the tools we use and promote product thinking within the organization.”
I wrote a short explanation about the purpose of PRDs, confident that this would settle the matter and we could move forward. But then I received another notification:
“We don’t need such docs. They’re all fluff. Just create a doc with five bullet points highlighting the main ideas. That will be enough for the team. If further alignment is necessary, we can discuss it in a meeting.”
My initial reaction was frustration. “How could someone think that?” I wondered. But after taking a step back, I realized the problem wasn’t the document itself, but my decision to share it with the wrong audience.
No matter how well-written or thoroughly researched your document is, if you share it with the wrong audience, it won’t matter. You need to understand what kind of information each reader needs, their focus, and the appropriate level of detail for each, based on their perspective.
It seems obvious, but we often forget this. In that situation, I thought, “Why should I create different versions of the document? It’s just duplication of work.” But the reality is people rarely filter out information themselves, so it’s our responsibility as facilitators of alignment discussions and creators of documents to tailor the level of detail and focus to what is relevant and useful for each reader.
A classic example highlights this difference: for the C-suite, you’ll want to create a more abstract document, focusing on a high-level overview and business results rather than specific solutions. For the product team, you need detailed information about the problems and solutions to ensure alignment within the team delivering them.
The structure and content of your documents should reflect each audience's different needs.
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ISSUE #24
When good docs go bad: Learning from a PM's misstep
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