3. Adapt Requirements Approach and Select Tools 

There is no one-size-fits all product management methodology or tool, so adapting reference methodologies and tools for an organization’s people, types of projects, and culture is for effective growth. 

• Establish Communities: Build communities of practice within your organization to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration. This can include messenger groups, virtual lunch and learns, a coach on call, chatbots, and more.
• Align on Terminology: Ensure that there is a common understanding of key terms and concepts across the organization. Adapt language to suit the organization’s current known phrases.
• Introduce Techniques and Approaches: Educate your team on new techniques and approaches that align with your strategic goals. This typically involves formal training and demonstration by an expert.
• Facilitate Tool Selection: Assist teams in selecting the most suitable tools for their needs. This typically includes visualization tools for modeling requirements, requirements management tools, task or issue tracking tools, and document repositories. Often, these platforms are already licensed within an organization, so this can be a quick step if the tools in place are good enough.
• Generate PdM Buy-In: Ensure Product Managers (or Product Owners, Business Analysts, etc.) are on board with the new approaches and tools. The more they are included in learning the “why” of the stages and giving feedback, the more likely they will feel a part of creating this transformation.
• Set Up Methodology Repository: Create a repository for methodologies and best practices to provide a reference for your team. This is typically done within a wiki-style online tool or document repository. Think ahead about controls for who can modify it over time, as nothing will be set in stone forever.
• Build a Product Management Playbook: Develop a playbook that outlines standard practices, processes, and guidelines for product management. Think of this as the cookbook for product management. 

4. Pilot Changes 

Testing new approaches in real-world scenarios is crucial for validating their effectiveness. This is both useful to get feedback and iterate before driving further adoption and to generate additional champions within the organization for the methodologies. 

• Work on Pilot Projects: Implement the new techniques and tools in selected pilot projects. Set expectations with these teams to be trying new things and giving feedback to iterate.
• Coach Changes: Experts can provide coaching and support to ensure the successful adoption of new practices. These coaches often can be future coaches to scale the changes.
• Measure Results: Evaluate the outcomes of pilot projects to assess the effectiveness of the changes and identify areas for improvement. 

5. Grow Skills Continuously 

Ongoing development is key to sustaining a high-performing product team. 

•  Align on RACI: Define and align RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) for roles and responsibilities to clarify expectations about who does what as it relates to product management activities.  
• Update Hiring Practices: Revise hiring practices to attract talent with the right skills and mindset.
• Develop Career Paths: Create clear career paths for product team members to support their professional growth and retention.  
• Create a Career Skills Matrix: Develop a skills matrix that outlines the competencies required for various roles and levels within the product team. Ask us about this, we can share a lot more!
• Train on Techniques and Tools: Roll out training on new methodologies, tools, and soft skills to enhance team capabilities. There may be additional trainings added over time as the team develops and becomes comfortable with skills, to continue to build on those.
• Coach Skills in Practice: Offer ongoing coaching to help team members apply their skills effectively in their daily work.
• Facilitate Community Forums: Continue to use forums and discussion groups to encourage ongoing learning and knowledge sharing.
• Measure Results: Continuously assess the impact of skill development initiatives on team performance and adjust strategies as needed. 

Conclusion 

Growing the skill sets of your product team is a strategic investment that can drive significant value for your organization. By assessing your current capabilities, building a structured engagement roadmap, adapting approaches and tools, piloting changes, and focusing on continuous skill development, you can create a high-performing, product-thinking team poised to tackle complex challenges and deliver exceptional results. Embrace these steps to elevate your team’s capabilities and achieve your product goals.