By Lekshmy Sankar | 07-Aug-2018
I have managed projects, implemented projects as a customer, and shared in the successes and failures of projects. When I reflect on all of them, good and bad, the one relationship that I believe is essential to a successful project is the one between the project manager and the business owner. It is one that is delicate and honestly can be easy to damage.
I have many stories where I could share the sense of dread I felt going to project meetings because of the project manager. I once managed to get so worked up about the pace and results of a project that was underway that I went on a rant to my leadership about how the concept of project management is outdated and we need to stop hiring project managers. On the flip side, I have had amazing experiences with project managers who drove failing projects to success by bringing the team together and providing excellent communication.
When you are a product owner, you usually are dealing with multiple projects. Therefore, many times it's up to the project manager to build a relationship with the product owner because PMs that do not create those relationships are an easy target. They are usually the first ones to get blamed by all the stakeholders when the project starts going south.
These are my tips and tricks to help build better relationships with product owners and possibly avoid bearing the full brunt of criticism for project failure:
1. Talk to your product owner. You might be thinking 'duh' - but I can't tell you how many times I have been part of projects for software or hardware that I 'own' and the PM didn't bother reaching out. Everyone is busy, and I get it. But if you want to create a successful relationship that is beneficial to both of you, you need to take time to talk to the other person. Someone last week said to me 'communication is a two-way street' - and they are right, but a lot of times people don't know the work others are doing and that creates barriers to even starting a conversation.
2. Talk about expectations. Talk about scope, deliverables, and timeline and then tie it back into detail about what you expect from the product owner and their team. Don't expect the product owner to understand you're talking about their team immediately. Spell it out.
3. Rinse and repeat. We all have a lot of things going on. No one is going to remember a 30-minute meeting you had with them five weeks ago. Have a series of meetings with the stakeholders and then repeat yourself a couple of times, so people truly understand what you expect of them.
4. "It's not my job to know that." This is a pet peeve of mine. I can't stand project managers who refuse to understand anything about the product they are trying to deploy. I am not talking about understanding the ins and outs and start coding, but the bare basics should be a must. Also, stop saying that phrase - it's rude. A lot of times, we rely on the project managers to communicate about our products and be the face of the project - and that's a big deal. How can anyone trust the PM to successfully implement the product and create communication plans for business owners when you have no idea what the product is or does?
5. Escalate only when it's necessary. I worked with this PM, who I was honestly nervous to be around. I think out loud, so a lot of my ideas slip out without really being polished. This PM would somehow remember everything I said and would bring up these tidbits in meetings with people and start with 'Lekshmy said.' There would be no context to half of these 'Lekshmy saids.' She also loved to throw people under the bus for everything. If she assigned you something and you didn't get it done, the CIO would know about it the next hour. Let's just say that trust was a concept that severely lacked in this relationship. In turn, we gave the bare minimum to her more out of our own protection that any kind of spite. I am not saying escalating issues is wrong, but there should be some process where people can fix their issues before it goes directly to leadership. Use the chain of command to everyone's advantage instead of damaging relationships that are harder to fix in the long run.
At the end of the day, if you want the project to be successful, the accountability lies with both the project manager and the business owner. And that the first step starts is communication.
What are your tips for making projects successful?
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