My favourite thing as a Product Manager

One of my favourite things as a Product Manager, is to document my thoughts. It’s a never-ending learning process, and based on my experience being a good documenter allows clarity around what’s going on in your mind.

I remember in one of my conversations with my manager, I mocked how if it’s even important to write PRDs since developers don’t even read them.

This was early on in my PM career and I got solid advice. I don’t remember exactly what he said but if I had to paraphrase, it was something along the lines of

a spec doc isn’t meant for the developer. Yeah the developer goes through it to understand what you’re trying to build and lists down what to build and how things should work, but a strong document around what you’re trying to build is important for YOU as a product manager to have clarity.

This advice helps me to date. I’m constantly looking for ways in which I can make my documents better.

Not just PRDs. A note from a meeting with the devs. A slack message explaining something in detail. Writing help articles. The list goes on. I also follow this principle while jotting down personal notes / thoughts.

Having clarity helps.

From what I’ve observed it’s not even specific to my role. Great documenters tend to be great thinkers or maybe vice-versa.

Having solid clarity on what you’re writing, how you’re writing and also thinking about how the ones reading what you’ve written is - to dramatise it a little - a stimulating process. It helps you find the flaws within your thoughts.

If I write a spec, or a slack message, I make a note to add emojis, gifs, headings/subheadings, bullet points where needed just to make it a nicer reading experience for the person going through the text. It helps you convey your thoughts to the reader, but from a meta-view it also helps you address your own thoughts more articulately.