This document is a comprehensive guide for product managers, focusing on key skills such as stakeholder management, people management, and time management. It emphasizes the importance of effective communication and maintaining strong relationships with stakeholders to ensure successful product delivery. Practical tips and tools for managing expectations, prioritizing tasks, and fostering collaboration are provided throughout the text.

1. From
Stakeholder
to
Time
Management
A
Guide
for
Product
Managers
Becky
Yelland

2. BACKGROUND
• 13
years
of
delivery
&
team
management
experience
• 8
years
in
product
management
role,
4
senior
level
EXPERIENCE
• InteracGve
TV/Gaming
and
BeJng
• Broadcast
Media
• Personal
Media/Publishing
• SaaS/Mobile
in
Digital
MarkeGng
• Financial
Services/News

3. What
are
the
keys
to
being
a
successful
product
manager?
CommunicaGon
RelaGonships

4. You
are
only
as
good
as
your
last
delivery.....
If
your
team
look
good
–
YOU
look
good
Looking
busy
does
not
mean
you
are
being
producGve!

5. Product
Manager
Tool
Kits
for
success:
#1
–
Stakeholder
Management
#2
–
People
Management
#3
–
Time
Management

6. Stakeholder
Management
SH:
Engagement
Cycle
People
Management
SH:
Analysis
SH:
Managing
SH
•
Document
Needs:
Knowing
what
all
your
stakeholders
need
in
terms
of
reports/updates/informaGon
in
order
to
gain
and
retain
their
buy
in
•
Analyse
SH
influence/interest:
Do
a
RACI
or
similar
•
Manage
SH
expectaGons:
in
terms
of
what
will
be
delivered
and
when
and
how
thy
will
be
kept
informed
and
influence.
•
Review
and
Repeat:
don’t
sit
on
your
laurels
with
this
approach
conGnue
to
assess
if
it’s
working
for
the
product
team
and
for
all
your
SH
SH:
Top
Tips
IdenGfying
your
Stakeholders:
All
stakeholders
are
individuals
or
organizaGons
that
are
acGvely
involved
in
the
product,
or
whose
interests
may
be
affected
as
a
result
of
the
product
or
feature
launch.
•
Time
Management
IdenGfy
Stakeholders
Review
and
Repeat
Manage
Stakeholder
ExpectaGons
Document
Needs
Analyse
Stakeholder
Influence/
Interest

7. Stakeholder
Management
SH:
Engagement
Cycle
Why
do
Analysis?
People
Management
SH:
Managing
SH
SH:
Analysis
What
is
RACI
and
how
to
use
Time
Management
SH:
Top
Tips
Different
Stakeholders
WHY
DO
A
STAKEHOLDER
ANAYLSIS?
A
stakeholder
analysis
can
help
a
product
team
to
idenGfy:
• The
interests
of
all
stakeholders,
who
may
affect
or
be
affected
by
the
product
or
feature
• PotenGal
issues
that
could
disrupt
the
product
delivery
• Key
people
to
engage
during
rollout
• Individuals
and
groups
that
should
be
encouraged
to
parGcipate
in
different
stages
of
the
product
delivery
• CommunicaGon
planning
&
stakeholder
management
strategy
should
be
done
up
front
• Managing
negaGve
stakeholders
• Engaging
stakeholders
throughout
the
project
life
cycle
is
a
key
to
(but
not
a
guarantee
of)
success.
Low
Interest
High
Interest
Low
Power/
Influence
1
2
High
Power/
Influence
3
4
Key:
1. Monitor,
Minimal
Effort
2. Keep
Informed
3. Keep
SaGsfied
4. Key
Players,
Manage
Closely
Link
to
tools:
www.pragmaGcproducteer/stakeholder-­‐planning-­‐template

8. Stakeholder
Management
SH:
Engagement
Cycle
Why
do
Analysis?
People
Management
SH:
Managing
SH
SH:
Analysis
What
is
RACI
and
how
to
use
Time
Management
SH:
Top
Tips
Different
Stakeholders
RACI
DEFINITIONS:
R
–
Who
is
Responsible
The
person
who
is
assigned
to
do
the
work
A
–
Who
is
Accountable
The
person
who
makes
the
financial
decisions
and
has
ul6mate
ownership
P&L
owner
of
the
product
C
–
Who
is
Consulted
The
person
who
MUST
be
consulted
before
a
decision
is
made
or
an
ac6on
is
taken
I
–
Who
is
Informed
The
person
who
MUST
be
informed
before
a
decision
is
made
or
an
ac6on
is
taken
Role
Role
Task
R
A
Task
C
I

9. Stakeholder
Management
SH:
Engagement
Cycle
Why
do
Analysis?
People
Management
SH:
Top
Tips
SH:
Managing
SH
SH:
Analysis
What
is
RACI
and
how
to
use
Time
Management
Different
Stakeholders
WHERE
CAN
MY
STAKEHOLDERS
COME
FROM?
It
is
invaluable
to
know
who
ALL
your
Stakeholders
are
some
will
have
more
involvement
than
others:
• All
external
stakeholders
should
be
managed
as
much
as
possible
in
terms
of
their
expectaGons
• Customers
as
stakeholders
sGll
need
to
be
kept
informed/have
their
expectaGons
managed
• Vendors/Partners
that
will
be
impacted
by
your
new
product/
feature
also
need
to
be
kept
informed
or
be
involved
depending
on
their
relaGonship
with
your
company....
...and
so
on
Board
of
Directors
ExisGng
Customers
ProspecGve
Customers
Employees/
Internal
Customers
Industry
Experts
Professional
AssociaGons
Stakeholders
Partners/
Investors/
Shareholder
s
Strategic
Partners/
Suppliers
Regulatory
Bodies
CompeGtors
Other
Vendors

10. Stakeholder
Management
SH:
Engagement
Cycle
Managing
ExpectaGons
People
Management
SH:
Analysis
SH:
Managing
SH
Time
Management
SH:
Top
Tips
Supporters/Opponents
It
is
key
to
your
success
that
you
are
acGve
in
managing
your
stakeholders
expectaGons
&
ensuring
their
acGve
involvement
is
crucial
to
the
success
of
your
product
adopGon:
• It
is
indispensable
for
conGnuaGon
of
the
product
or
feature
launch
• It
gives
opportuniGes
to
individuals
or
groups
to
express
their
ideas/issues/concerns
• It
gives
all
Stakeholders
a
sense
of
accountability
and
enhances
their
responsibility
and
posiGvity
towards
the
product
• It
enables
effecGve
risk
assessments
• It
opens
up
excellent
communicaGon
channels
between
the
product
team
and
stakeholders
• Regular
reports/status
updates
and
meeGngs
are
crucial
to
ensure
SH
are
informed
and
always
have
the
latest
informaGon
relevant
to
them.
If
you
remember
one
thing
it
should
be
this:
COMMUNICATION
COMMUNICATION
COMMUNICATION

11. Stakeholder
Management
SH:
Engagement
Cycle
Managing
ExpectaGons
People
Management
SH:
Managing
SH
SH:
Analysis
Time
Management
SH:
Top
Tips
Supporters/Opponents
Managing
your
supporters
and
opponents
differently
is
important
to
get
right.
• For
each
type
of
stakeholder,
there
is
a
different
set
of
strategies
for
gathering
informaGon,
maximizing
support
and
minimizing
opposiGon
Very
Opposed
Very
SupporHve
Low
Power/
Influence
1
2
High
Power/
Influence
3
4
Key:
1. Ensure
they
do
not
become
acGve
opponents
2. Maintain
their
support
3. Do
what
you
can
to
lessen
their
potenGal
opposiGon
4. Mobilise
their
support,
use
them
as
champions
Note:
There
is
a
difference
between
an
opponent
and
a
blocker.
The
former
has
a
high
understanding
but
low
agreement
on
the
product
and
the
laher
has
low
understanding
and
low
agreement
There
also
exists
a
s

12. Stakeholder
Management
SH:
Engagement
Cycle
People
Management
SH:
Analysis
SH:
Managing
SH
Time
Management
SH:
Top
Tips
TIP
#1
When
planning
a
sign
off
meeGng
or
gate
meeGng
ensure
you
have
engaged
with
all
SH
individually
before
the
group
meeGng
so
there
are
NO
SURPRISES
for
any
of
the
SH,
get
their
individual
buy
in,
and
update
the
deck
according
to
their
input/advice/concerns
etc
TIP
#2
If
you
are
doing
a
presentaGon
at
a
gate
review
or
update,
consider
including
individual
SH
views
or
opinion
(or
sound
bites)
in
one
of
the
slides
–
see
this
work
it’s
magic!
TIP
#3
Create
regular
1:1
catch
ups
with
your
SH
to
inform
them
specifically
of
the
product
status
(this
should
be
on
top
of
regular
reports/emails
you
send
to
all
SH
If
you
do
these
your
SH
will
all
feel:
•
Engaged
•
Informed
•
&
part
of
the
process

13. Stakeholder
Management
PM:
Trust
&
Influencing
People
Management
PM:
Delivering
Time
Management
PM:
Top
Tips
TRUST
•
•
•
The
best
way
to
ensure
that
people
trust
you,
is
that
you
trust
them
Do
not
assume
if
you
are
product
owner
people
will
automaGcally
trust
that
you
know
best
–
you
need
to
work
hard
to
know
your
product
beher
than
anyone
else.
You
need
to
trust
others
to
do
the
job
they’ve
been
employed
to
do
INFLUENCING
•
•
In
your
product
teams,
as
product
owner
you
may
by
default
have
a
level
of
influence.
Never
misuse
this.
If
you
are
struggling
to
maintain
a
level
of
influence,
ask
yourself
why?
Have
you
wrihen
clear
specificaGons?
Have
you
built
up
and
are
you
maintaining
your
keyrelaGonships
adequately?

14. Stakeholder
Management
PM:
Trust
&
Influencing
People
Management
PM:
Delivering
Time
Management
PM:
Top
Tips
DRIVING
DRIVING
DRIVING
•
As
product
owner
you
need
to
be
the
one
driving
things
forward,
pushing
and
cajoling
where
necessary
to
keep
the
energy
going.
If
you
lose
the
energy
you
not
only
lose
the
control
but
risk
the
Gmely
delivery
of
the
product/feature
CONTROL
•
There
are
many
ways
you
can
maintain
control:
• WRITE
YOUR
OWN
SPECS/REQUIREMENTS
–
DO
NOT
be
tempted
to
let
your
dev
lead
do
these
for
you....
• The
Devil
is
in
the
detail
–
as
soon
as
you
lose
sight
of
the
detail
–
you
lose
an
element
of
control
• MeeGng
Minutes:
it
sounds
boring,
but
if
you
take
minutes/send
out
minutes
and
control
the
acGons
and
flow
of
informaGon
–
you
are
in
the
driving
seat
NB
–
Control
is
not
about
ownership
it’s
about
accountability
–
if
you
are
accountable
for
the
delivery
of
a
product
then
you
need
to
be
in
control
.....there
is
no
use
blaming
geJng
lost
on
the
back
seat
driver
you
are
both
the
navigator
and
the
one
driving
the
car!

15. Stakeholder
Management
PM:
Trust
&
Influencing
People
Management
PM:
Delivering
Time
Management
PM:
Top
Tips
TIP
#1
Be
on
Gme
to
meeGngs,
prepare
before
meeGngs,
take
minutes
and
send
out
notes/acGons
to
all
present
as
well
as
any
necessary
no
shows/stakeholders
TIP
#2
Take
the
Gme
to
know
your
product
beher
than
anyone
else,
both
in
terms
of
what
you
are
delivering,
what
your
compeGtors
are
delivering
and
what
your
customers
are
asking
for....
Your
influence
as
a
product
owner
should
be
from
ALL
perspecGves
that
maher
TIP
#3
Build
up
and
maintain
your
key
relaGonships
in
your
product
team
but
also
beyond.
Take
the
Gme
to
get
to
know
the
support
team,
sales
teams
the
people
on
the
front
line
–
get
invited
to
customer
meeGngs,
spend
the
Gme
looking
at
the
BUGs
and
ERs
coming
through
the
support
team

16. “If
you
can’t
explain
it
simply,
then
you
don’t
understand
it
well
enough”
Albert
Einstein
“The
secret
of
my
influence
has
always
been
that
it
remained
a
secret.”
Salvador
Dali
“It’s
not
that
I
am
so
smart,
it’s
just
I
stay
with
problems
longer.”
Albert
Einstein

17. Stakeholder
Management
TM:
Self
Mgt
TM:
MeeGng
Mgt
People
Management
TM:
PrioriGsaGon
Time
Management
TM:
Top
Tips
LISTS
LISTS
LISTS:
Write
everything
down
–
no
one
can
remember
everything!
•
Make
daily
to
do
lists
and
categorise
them:
Must
do
today,
do
today
if
have
Gme,
only
do
if
finish
everything
else
or
can
stay
late!
• Review
your
daily
to
do
list
at
the
start
of
the
day,
or
the
end
of
the
day
before.
TOOLS
FOR
THE
JOB:
•
Use
a
tool
for
all
your
acGons
is
a
great/free
online
tool
for
this.
•
You
can
also
consider
using
or
other
online
collaboraGon
tools
to
manage
your
Gme
and
your
product
teams
workload
•
Set
reminders
in
Outlook
or
your
email/meeGng
tool
to
ensure
you
don’t
miss
a
deadline
•
Block
Gme
out
in
your
day
to
complete
criGcal
tasks,
spec
wriGng,
SH
presentaGons
etc

18. Stakeholder
Management
TM:
Self
Mgt
TM:
MeeGng
Mgt
People
Management
TM:
PrioriGsaGon
Time
Management
TM:
Top
Tips
MEETINGS
FOR
MEETINGS
SAKE:
•
•
•
•
•
Consider
all
your
meeGngs
carefully.
Do
not
book
meeGngs
for
the
sake
of
having
a
meeGng
All
meeGngs
should
have
a
clearly
defined
purpose
and
agenda
Only
invite
essenGal
people
to
the
meeGng
If
you
need
a
decision
made
in
a
meeGng
make
sure
you
make
this
clear
in
the
invite
and
up
front
in
the
meeGng,
review
that
you
have
the
right
decision
makers
present
–
if
not
don’t
be
afraid
to
cut
the
meeGng
short
and
re
arrange
If
you
finish
early
then
call
end
to
the
meeGng
don’t
fill
the
full
Gme
allocated
as
a
maher
of
course
MEETING
LENGTH
IS
KEY:
•
•
•
Don’t
over
esGmate
Gme
needed
for
meeGngs
and
don’t
be
afraid
to
call
15
minute
meeGngs
Stand
up
meeGngs
are
a
great
way
to
cut
out
the
chit
chat
–
not
all
meeGngs
are
about
relaGonship
building
• If
you
do
not
have
a
stand
up
meeGng
room/area
in
your
office
then
create
one
by
the
water
cooler/printer/recepGon
area
etc
Start
the
meeGng
on
Gme,
and
try
not
to
play
catch
up
when
people
come
in
late
–
tell
them
anything
they
missed
will
be
in
the
meeGng
notes
including
any
of
their
acGons!
They
will
soon
learn
and
turn
up
on
Gme...

19. Stakeholder
Management
TM:
Self
Mgt
TM:
MeeGng
Mgt
People
Management
TM:
PrioriGsaGon
Time
Management
TM:
Top
Tips
PRIORITISE
YOUR
TIME:
•
•
Every
day
as
your
review
your
to
do
list
make
sure
you
prioriGse
your
tasks
in
accordance
with:
• Quick
Wins
–
High
Impact
• More
involved
tasks
–
High
Impact
• Quick
Wins
–
Mid
Impact
and
so
on....
(Impact
on
product
delivery
and
stakeholder
expectaGons....
Move
unfinished
tasks
to
the
top
of
the
next
days
queue
and
always
review
the
urgency
day
to
day.
TOOLS
FIT
FOR
PURPOSE:
•
•
Use
online
tools
to
prioriGse
your
work
load
e.g.
Use
Outlook
to
prioriGse
emails
you
need
to
respond
to.
• Create
rules
to
put
into
folders
or
colour
emails
from
stakeholders
differently
• Have
a
folder
‘Respond
to
Today’
make
all
emails
‘unread’
as
you
move
them
into
here
so
you
have
a
full
tally
visible
• A
‘Read
Later’
or
‘Respond
to
this
week’
for
less
urgent
tasks
can
also
help

20. Stakeholder
Management
TM:
Self
Mgt
TM:
MeeGng
Mgt
People
Management
TM:
PrioriGsaGon
Time
Management
TM:
Top
Tips
TIP
#1
Don’t
let
your
day
be
dictated
by
ad
hoc
requests
–
if
they
come
in
then
put
them
into
your
prioriGsed
list
along
with
everything
else....(so
easy
to
NOT
do
this!)
TIP
#2
Everything
in
Gme
management
will
go
off
kilter
if
your
stakeholder
management
is
not
best
pracGce.
If
you
have
not
managed
your
stakeholder
expectaGons
well
then
your
day/week/month
could
be
adversely
impact
and
spiral
out
of
your
control
if
you
have
to
jump
to
respond
to
unreasonable
requests
or
unplanned
work
TIP
#3
Don’t
be
afraid
to
say
no,
as
long
as
there
is
good
reason
people
will
understand
and
if
not
explain
what
you
are
doing
takes
priority
and
why

21. Any
QuesGons?
Thanks
Becky
Yelland
www.pragmaGcproducteer.com
becky@pragmaGcproducteer.com