15% off membership for Easter! Learn more. Close

How do you know when to cut corners to get a product out the door?

Asked at Google
8.9k views
category Behavioral companygoogle companyMeta (Facebook)
& 3 other companies
Asked at
& 3 other companies
eye 8.9k views eye 8.9k views
Answers (2)
crownAccess expert answers by becoming a member

You'll get access to over 3,000 product manager interview questions and answers

badge Platinum PM

While roadmap & project planning should take care and have mitigation plans for known externalities, sometimes because of unforseen events, there comes a time when corners have to be cut to meet the goals. In my opinion, corners can be cut for :-

  1. Quality
  2. Scope
  3. Time
  4. People/Resources
 
There should never be any compromise on quality and hence cutting corners on 'Quality' should never be thought of.  In the remaining 3, atleast one should be changeable to make the product happen in case any replanning is required.
 
 
Can quality be compromised ?Can Time be increased ?Can Scope be reduced ?Can people be added ?Comment
NNNNNot possible to roll-out the product/feature
NNNYAdd people, don't cut corners. Make sure to account for when new people would be productive.
NNYN
Cut Corners & Reduce Scope. Remove a feature whose RICE score is minimum. Such situations arise when :-
  1. Effort estimated is not in line with actuals
  2. Unknown Challenge or Surprise Arose
  3. External factors like competitive actions
NNYYAdd people and reduce scope to meet the timelines.
NYNNDon't cut corners and move date of launch forward
NYNYDo both to maintain balance.
NYYN 
NYYY 
 
So as you can see, cutting corners is only needed in case the project is time pressure and it is not possible to add more people. This can happen due to :-
  1. Bad Planning - Efforts Estimated are not in line for actuals
  2. People Related Issues - Key people leave in between
  3. Competitive actions - Need to launch something before competition and you are sure the product after the scope being cut still out performs the competitor
  4. External Changes - Some big external change (Political, Social, Economical) which enforces the launch to happen before a date or else business utility is greatly diminished.
 
Access expert answers by becoming a member
6 likes   |  
Get unlimited access for $12/month
Get access to 2,346 pm interview questions and answers to give yourself a strong edge against other candidates that are interviewing for the same position
Get access to over 238 hours of video material containing an interview prep course, recorded mock interviews by expert PMs, group practice sessions, and QAs with expert PMs
Boost your confidence in PM interviews by attending peer to peer mock interview practices, group practices, and QA sessions with expert PMs
badge Silver PM

There's always an urgency to get a product out the door. Still the important times are when:

  1. You need some data to prove the hypothesis.
  2. The team has already taken more than 3 times the time it was initially supposed to be.
  3. When you get a contrasting road-map and need to see which path to undertake.
  4. When the time of the year is about to come which may get the most sales.
  5. When you've created sufficient channels to distribute the product.
  6. When you've analysed the shortcomings in the features of the competitor and you're sure that your new product can solve those problems very fast.
  7. When the features sufficient for MVP has been developed and tested thoroughly.
Access expert answers by becoming a member
0 likes   |  
1 Feedback
Thanks, very helpfull!
0
Get unlimited access for $12/month
Get access to 2,346 pm interview questions and answers to give yourself a strong edge against other candidates that are interviewing for the same position
Get access to over 238 hours of video material containing an interview prep course, recorded mock interviews by expert PMs, group practice sessions, and QAs with expert PMs
Boost your confidence in PM interviews by attending peer to peer mock interview practices, group practices, and QA sessions with expert PMs
Get unlimited access for $12/month
Get access to 2,346 pm interview questions and answers to give yourself a strong edge against other candidates that are interviewing for the same position
Get access to over 238 hours of video material containing an interview prep course, recorded mock interviews by expert PMs, group practice sessions, and QAs with expert PMs
Boost your confidence in PM interviews by attending peer to peer mock interview practices, group practices, and QA sessions with expert PMs