The Impact of Agile Product Management on Business Outcomes

Product owners create value for their customers, allowing them to capture some of it for themselves. However, this process is more challenging than it sounds because many business owners need more agility. They encounter obstacles that prevent them from achieving their goals.

To overcome these obstacles, countless business owners today are turning their focus to being product-led rather than project-led. They are investing in product management training to help remove some of the challenges and keep the value of their products front and center. The focus turns to outcomes using impact mapping rather than product ideas. 

The Importance of Outcome

Outcome metrics are essential because they let the business know that it has achieved its goals. It determines this by identifying measurable changes and behavior. The change in human behavior is what creates value. The use of the product brings about this change. How can impact mapping help bring about change? 

Impact Mapping

Impact mapping allows a team to work through various steps of the development process, focusing on each step independently. It brings together feature ideas and business impacts so everyone is on the same page. The team uses impact mapping to collect and organize insights and evidence they collect as part of the development process.

The team uses the mapping to monitor consumer information and clarify the product’s features or the product itself. Doing so allows the finished item to provide the desired value, and unnecessary features can be eliminated so they don’t become a distraction. This map can also ensure all stakeholders remain informed regarding the discovery process.

How Does Impact Mapping Work?

Impact mapping is a four-step process. Each step answers a different question related to product development: why, who, how, and what.

The why phase focuses on the overall strategic goal. Business leaders use an impact metric to state the why and determine whether this opportunity or initiative is worth pursuing. This impact metric may focus on the customer journey, lean data, or another area.

Next, the team looks at who can help them achieve the desired goal, what individuals can help change the impact metric, and how. Companies often focus on answering this question with the obvious individuals while ignoring those in the background who could greatly help the process. Stakeholders are a good example of someone who should be consulted at this stage.

The how phase of the process focuses on what the company needs to do to change the behavior of those involved in the who portion of the process. To do so, the team must identify current workflows and pain points. This information is needed to determine which behaviors are worth changing.

The final step involves determining what features will help create the desired change. This is where specific solutions are developed. Stakeholders should be involved in this part of the process, as they know what is needed to ensure the product provides the desired value. They can make recommendations on what works and where changes are still required.

Once the impact map is complete, the team determines whether each solution should be pursued. This validation involves examining qualitative and quantitative data. Upon reviewing this data, the team should be able to make informed decisions about how to proceed. It will know exactly what to do to ensure the product being developed will add value to users’ lives.