Client communication will be one of the most difficult responsibilities you have as a product manager since it is ongoing and highly situation dependent. Throughout the course of your project, you'll both receive and share information with your client since you'll be the liaison between the client and engineers. As such, your communication skills may define how successful your project deliverable is. During this section, we'll discuss some of the things you should keep in mind when communicating with a client, but, at the end of the day, the best lessons come from actually working with clients (something you'll have the opportunity to do once you've completed the course!).
The relationship you'll have with your client is likely very different from previous relationships you might've had, especially if you have not worked in a traditional job before. Some may find it similar to a professor-student relationship, but unlike a professor-student relationship, your primary role will entail providing value to your client not the other way around. You'll need to understand how the client's requests relate to their high-level goals in order to anticipate their needs and devise a viable solution. For many of you, your clients may lack technical expertise and only have a vague idea of what they want, but be careful not to lower your guard because they'll certainly know what they don't want and what isn't useful. This may seem daunting but many issues can be solved by asking the right questions, understanding the whys behind things, and readjusting based on (frequent) feedback.
The first thing that you'll do once you're assigned to a project team is contact the client to set up an introductory meeting where you'll get to know each other and discuss the overall project goals. This initial meeting will serve as the foundation for the remainder of the project, so it's important that you come prepared. However, the following advice can be applied to any client or team meeting.
A private (or shared) meeting agenda is a great resource that you can use to guide the discussion and line up your thoughts. You should always go into your meetings with a goal or desired outcome in mind, so an agenda will keep you on track and help ensure that you cover all the relevant topics. Brainstorm pertinent questions by considering what information is preventing the team from moving forward currently and what information will improve your understanding of product/users/problem. Most importantly, you'll want to think about what information the client isn't telling you because it'll often reveal a key insight about the product you're designing.
Not all communication is synchronous. Oftentimes a simple email is good enough to get the information that you need. When you're requesting information from your client via email, you should be concise, but informative. A good practice is to say what you're working on, the information that you're requesting, and why that information is pertinent to what you're currently working on. This not only communicates to the client what you want, but it also emphasizes the importance and urgency of the request. This improves the likelihood that your client will respond sooner and with more comprehensive information, and it demonstrates to them that the team is eager to make progress.
While requesting and receiving information is an important part of your client relationship, you'll also need to keep them up-to-date on what is going on with the team and with the project. Remember that your client is relying on you for updates (and for piece of mind), so keeping them in the loop is a critical part of your role as a PM. You'll likely use a combination of synchronous and asynchronous communication to keep in contact with your client, but the same ideas apply. First off, you should always update your client on any major changes, accomplishments, or blockers since your client will likely need to offer their input and/or change directions. Secondly, you should schedule periodic updates with your client (weekly or biweekly), so you have a mutual understanding of when to expect information and a good time to bring up concerns. These meetings are a great time to discuss progress and smaller details in addition to major events.
Every so often you'll need to address an uncomfortable topic with your client. This could be anything from a communication issue to a performance issue to an engineer-project mismatch. Regardless of what the issue is, it's important to be honest and respectful while sharing your concerns and/or listening to what the client has to say. Always come into the meeting with an open mindset and, if you are the one bringing a complaint forward, be prepared to talk about how it has impacted the team and what the ideal solution would be. If your client is bringing a complaint forward, take the time to understand why the issue exists and what could be done to assuage it. Once you've determined a solution, implement it and check back in with the client to gauge whether the problem has been addressed properly.
Addressing uncomfortable topics is an important part of your role as a product manager at DAML. For this exercise, you should send an email to [email protected] sharing an issue that you've had or something that you'd like to change about the course/recruitment process. (Project matching priority to anyone who sets up a Zoom meeting to discuss!)