Introduction to Feature Management in Product Development

Product managers play a crucial role in defining and creating innovative products. A key aspect of their work involves managing features in process—features that are being researched, developed, and refined. This article explores best practices for managing these features, including the tools and techniques used by product managers in the tech industry.

Tools for Efficient Feature Management

There are various tools and techniques used by product managers to efficiently manage features in process. These tools help keep projects on track and provide a transparent view of tasks and progress. Let's look at some commonly used tools and their benefits.

Asana

As a two-person team, we at Enablix use Asana to manage our projects and features. Asana is a free project management tool that offers a range of features to help us organize and track tasks. While it was not specifically designed for agile methodologies, it has proven to be effective for us by enabling us to follow a consistent process and maintain discipline in managing our features and delivery.

Our workflow in Asana follows a simple yet effective structure:

Planned In Progress Testing Push To Production Production Testing Update Knowledge Base Monitor Backlog

For example, we default to asynchronous communication and document tasks in detail. This practice helps reduce ambiguity and confusion. Asana provides tools to record changes and updates, which are essential for maintaining clarity and consistency.

Excel and Google Sheets

While tools like Asana are highly effective, they are not a one-size-fits-all solution. In the early stages of requirements gathering, product managers often rely on more versatile tools like Excel and Google Sheets. These tools are particularly useful for high-level list management, sorting, filtering, and categorizing data.

For instance, early-stage requirements gathering involves compiling and refining information. Excel is great for creating quick and dirty lists and performing high-level data manipulation. However, it is not suitable for capturing and managing full requirements and context, as it lacks the collaborative features and tracking mechanisms found in more advanced project management tools.

Jira

For refined requirement management and tracking, Jira is a powerful choice. Jira is a software development lifecycle management tool that allows teams to manage tasks, stories, and user stories with ease. It integrates seamlessly with other tools, ensuring a comprehensive management system. For example, Jira can be used to break down complex features into manageable units of work, facilitating better collaboration among the Dev, QA, and UX teams.

Managing Features in the Early Stages

Early-stage feature management is about collecting and refining information before it is handed over to the development team. This involves a series of steps, including:

Requirements Gathering: During the initial research phase, product managers collect and refine information to understand the problems they need to solve and the customer/user/market perspective. This phase is crucial for depth and context, not just high-level problem statements or PowerPoint presentations.

Commentary and Documentation: Product managers write detailed notes and scenarios to ensure there is no ambiguity. Documentation is key to reducing stress and increasing clarity.

Collaboration: Information that needs to be shared with the development, quality assurance, and UX teams is often presented in a meeting or web conferencing session. This ensures that everyone is on the same page and can work collaboratively.

Distillation: After gathering and refining information, product managers distill the requirements into specific, actionable items that can be consumed by the development team. This ensures that the features are clearly defined and ready for implementation.

Conclusion

Effective feature management is crucial for successful product development. By using a combination of tools like Asana, Excel, Jira, and Google Sheets, product managers can maintain transparency, manage tasks efficiently, and ensure that each feature is well-defined and refined before it reaches development. While certain tools may be more suited to specific stages of the process, a flexible approach can lead to better outcomes and a more streamlined development process.

Keywords: product management, feature management, Jira, Asana, Excel