What guidance can you share around communicating effectively with stakeholders, once you've determined you will not be including their product request into your roadmap?

I hate having to say "not now" to customers, so here's what I normally do: Lead with the “yes”: I start by highlighting what is coming, especially if there’s something that partially addresses their need. It helps shift the focus from what’s missing to what’s improving. Mitigate, don’t dismiss: If it’s a long-term investment area, I spend time walking through the roadmap, sharing how we’re thinking about the space, and offering workarounds where possible. The goal is to help them feel heard, eve ...Read More

When you decide not to prioritize a stakeholder's request in your roadmap, make sure to: Acknowledge and empathize - Recognize their effort and express understanding; they will likely be disappointed, and your empathy will go a long way Highlight prioritization process - Explain how decisions are made based on various factors (like cost to build and impact) and organization objectives. Provide a transparent explanation - Clearly explain the decision, and what factors went into the decision makin ...Read More

This can be an extremely difficult thing to do, depending on the personalities involved. When communicating that a stakeholder's request won't make it onto your roadmap, the approach you take can either strengthen the relationship or damage it. Even when saying “no” to someone, you can often build your relationship with them by helping them to understand your reasoning. This is how I typically approach this type of conversation: First, deliver the news directly and promptly. Once the decision is ...Read More

Even if you can't address all of your stakeholder's requests, as a product manager or product leader you want to keep a strong relationship here and ensure that they keep coming to you with their needs and ideas as these will help you have the biggest impact in the longer term.So, your communication here should keep that goal in mind, some simple steps you can take here: Proactively communicate with the stakeholder to tell them where their request landed - very few people ever close the loop and ...Read More

“Saying No” is a soft skill every PM will exercise through his/her career. How to say No is something you will continue to learn and evolve with experience.  Some guiding principles on when delivering bad news on prioritization: Make your stakeholder part of the decision making journey. Have them part of the early discussions. Give clear & concise reasoning for the decison. If the reasoning is other higher priorities, take time to explain the why either through data or anecdotal feedback. So ...Read More

When addressing stakeholders, it’s best to start with in-person or one-on-one conversations, as they often just want to be heard. During these discussions it is important to share what you are currently working on and clearly explain how it aligns with the broader business objectives. If you find that a stakeholder’s priorities are not aligned with these objectives, it may signal larger organizational challenges that you’ll need to navigate. If you are not going include the request then whenever ...Read More