The only constant is change – How to Handle it Effectively

You would think that bit of wisdom – “The only constant is change” – was penned by someone who really understands technology product management and marketing. It wasn’t. People have been dealing with constant change forever – and the Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus, author of the quote, knew it about 2,500 years ago!

When we’re envisioning, creating, and launching products, we are predicting what the buyers will pay for and the users will accept. We do our best to reduce risk by studying the market, involving users in design and tracking our progress along the path to launch; but as the team digs in and starts building new stuff, they learn more. They discover roadblocks. Design discovers that their plans will take far too long to implement – or engineering discovers that the intelligence they need to build will take longer than expected. There is always something changing.

Constant change is the core nature of the product beast. Despite the best-laid plans, you will always run into situations that require you to adjust the plan. One of the primary philosophies in the agile manifesto is to favor “Responding to change over following a plan”! The ability to adjust effectively is fundamental to a successful agile team – or to any product team, really.

Given that we will all have to adjust the plan on the fly, what are some simple steps you can use to make sure that you lead your organization to the right decisions on priority and approach?

• Stay calm. Consider this a normal part of life. When someone calls your attention to a problem in the field or an issue in development, slow down.
  
  
  1. Listen. Ask them to clarify, then resist the urge to jump in while they tell their story. Listen to find out how this problem was brought up, and to identify the information you’ll need to assess how broad the problem might be.
  2. Validate. Repeat back to them, to make sure you fully understand. If they haven’t already done it, ask them what details they know about the actual issue. Take notes, and keep validating that you heard them correctly. If they haven’t given it to you already, ask if they’d like to give you any ideas on solving the problem they raised.
     
     
• Consider who will be impacted. Before you rush to share what you just learned, take a quiet moment to consider and make notes about potential impacts on the people around you.
  
  
  1. Who will be affected by the problem? If this is a product in the field, will customer support be getting phone calls? Will Sales hear about it quickly? Will it reach the executive level?
  2. Who will be involved in finding and deploying a solution? Here, you’re making note of the people you’ll need to get involved to make a decision. Maybe this is a problem with a marketing campaign, and IT needs to be consulted. Perhaps it’s a change to a pre-launch product, and design, engineering, and quality assurance are closer to the problem.
     
     
• Listen to your people – then, own the decision. Start with the people who will be a part of the solution.
  
  
  1. Inform them. Share the information you have so far, ask them for their thoughts, and listen with curiosity. Take notes about their thoughts regarding solutions, timing, and risks. Listen to their ideas, making sure you understand correctly. If you can do this with everyone together, that’s great – but make sure that each individual has time to speak their thoughts.
  2. Align on a decision. After you listen to everyone who will have to work together for the solution, you are ready to suggest a decision of how adapt to this change. I like to get agreement from the team. Then, if necessary, we can discuss how to notify the people who will be affected by the problem and make a game plan of how to handle the change.
     
     

Change is inevitable. Don’t thrash against it! Instead, stay calm, listen to your team, and make a confident adjustment to your plan.