As a Product leader, it is not enough to build a product with the right mix of design, code and copy to solve users’ problems. It is vital to understand your stakeholders, and engage and communicate with them in the appropriate forums at the right times. Creating a stakeholder map is a way to help you make sense of this complexity.

When we’re talking about discovering the right ways to solve the needs of our users and customers, I think of it much like surfing. We don’t know exactly what the next wave will be like, so we need to be ready and nimble enough to change direction on a frequent basis. We need to encourage our cross-functional product teams to experiment — not only with their ways of working — but as importantly, towards measurable product outcomes.

Cross-functional product teams who are truly focused on outcomes think as a whole team, from user problem to outcome measurement. I’ve written already about the importance of taking a Dual Track Agile approach — you cannot do this without your fourth amigo.

Your UX Designers and Product Manager are talking to users on a regular basis. However, when you talk to your teams, they still feel like they’re just churning out features— there to just execute. When you talk to your designers, they’re saying their beautiful designs don’t look the same in production, and didn’t meet the specs. What’s happening?