Thanks for your great article.

Another vital consideration here is that any argument or debate takes place in a vacuum of insufficient factual data.

The best way to resolve conflict or even negate the need for the argument is to remove the need for opinion. This is done simply through diligently and comprehensively researching and providing all the relevant supporting facts and data required.

The less subjective the detail, the more readily it will be accepted, and the more (assuming it is the PM who presents it as a fact and not as their own ‘work’) professional credibility and respect one can earn, relatively easily.

Classic ports of call in terms of factual data should include all the standard-issue research points:
- market research on sizing, competition, CAGR, capability matrixes, recent wins, M&A activity, press coverage
- technical competitive assessment
- (truly) independent case studies
- direct customer input (surveys, “user events”, vertical events)
- direct (via support or account management) customer input
- plenty of other input sources are available depending on the business and the product and the market. There are professional courses, of course…

So once you are dealing with facts, opinions count less as many of the decisions will tend to “make themselves”.

Having said that you will never quite eradicate the more “organic” or “creative” elements, especially when some of the stakeholders have a non-process or non-technology background, and this is very likely, so you need ideally to get as much of the “requirement” from them up front in the process, and manage those needs through with visibility and status.

Finally, late changes in requirement should be embraced, not shunned. If we need to change direction, we need to. Don’t fight it; accept it. The PM is actually an agent of change (where change is a new “product”) – an alteration to an original plan is perfectly acceptable. All we need is a factual understanding of the ramifications and a decision (to change) based on a collective appreciation of this.

If my boss knows that by him saying to delay a release to support customer x, we are going to lose a deal with customer y, then he can make the call. If I don’t tell him about customer y, that’s not his fault, it’s mine.

Facts, visibility, management. PM 101… once you have taken the emotion away and replaced it with black and white facts, the conditions are much less favorable for the opinion virus to thrive…

Steve Johnson of Pragmatic Marketing starts his course off (or at least did) with the eye-opening edict…

“Your opinion, while interesting, is irrelevant”.

Quite.