<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=309980020850282&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Demo
Login
Menu
Get started free
Watch Demo

Blog

Product People Product Management Governance

What is Product Trust

In a global connected world where so much is commodified, product trust is a key differentiator in today’s economy. Over the past 10 years, customer expectations about trust and access to information about a product have dramatically increased. At the recent Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the special report from the Edelman Trust Barometer, In Brands We Trust? found that only one-third of consumers (34%) trust most of the brands they buy or use. While everyone knows customers are loyal to products, companies and brands they trust – the practical steps to build that trust are not often clear.

In this article, we examine some of the trends in modern product governance and trust in 2021 and look at how product leaders can act strategically, whilst maintaining compliance and meeting the growing focus on ESG.

It's an exciting time to be a product leader.  In today's increasingly digital world, the challenge for product leaders lies in managing product growth and governing the growing information required to make decisions about compliance.   A new role to play in building that trust. Product teams will be expected to engage and report regularly on product health and signal business risks with their Boards and senior executives.  To succeed in today's climate product leaders and their teams need to start with the right lifecycle framework in place. 

Modern product governance enables smarter automation of the repetitive tasks within a product governance framework.  At its core is monitoring the lifecycle.  Monitoring flags potential risks within the product lifecycle and workflow triggers prompt product managers to mange and resolve specific matters as required.  The net result is improved product growth because of more focus on the the customer and more timely and strategic decisions.

In recent years we have seen how product mangers approach their product management evolve - and the spotlight shift to how your product is fit for purpose and providing fair value to your customers - throughout the lifecycle.

 

Defining modern product governance and how it drives trust?

Product governance refers to the active oversight of a product strategy across the lifecycle.  At its core product governance ensures continuing monitoring and improvement of the product.  product governance is ultimately a framework by which product teams balance performance with interests of customers and compliance.  It also maintains product trust - brand reputation which in turn leads to sustainable growth. 

Product governance enables transparency, accountability and improves the flow of information between product and compliance teams, right up to the Board.  Product oversight requires quick access to reliable data, active monitoring and collaboration across the business.  Modern governance platforms like Skyjed are enabling product leaders to have confidence in their decision-making by improving monitoring insights  across a lifecycle.

 

How to build Product Trust?

Best practice product governance doesn't stop at having a framework.  It is defined by how product teams take as structured approach to managing a lifecycle.  Product governance is no longer just tick the box exercise.  it involves having the procedures with clear picture of what best practice looks like:

1. Single point of accountability

Make the product team the single point of responsibility for the lifecycle of each product with connection across the entire organisation to break down silos – from managing the product and regulatory changes through-out the lifecycle.  This is important role to set strategy (vision, metrics and tactics) and monitor the lifecycle.

2. Product Design

Introduce additional steps in your product design process.  Create product design at ideation stage and include an assessment of legal and regulatory requirements.  Then as you move to Shaping stage set the design and distribution obligations.  This simple template is like a Lean Canvas. When you capture these requirements at the outset it makes it easier to monitor them.

3. Monitor & Review the Lifecycle outcomes

Most critically is a  continuous monitoring and review cycle. Its essential focus in any governance framework.  This includes setting the monitoring plan and triggers that may indicate that your product is not ideal fit for the target consumer.  Best practice is having a rolling annual schedule of product reviews and out-of-cycle threshold met product reviews.   

4. Report and improvement actions

Product governance doesn't stop at monitoring.  Continuous improvement means you have actions plans to address strategic and risk areas that come out of the product reviews.  Maintain consistent and disciplined reporting across all products with monthly product risk profiles and tracking of strategic and risk actions. 

5. Technology for Product oversight

To succeed in todays climate product leaders should focus on delivering product strategy across lifecycle and a platform to automate key steps.  New technology like Skyjed takes the frustration out of the ongoing monitoring and risk processes and simplify them to point that they become second nature.   Introduce automated product lifecycle governance to your team to reduce the cost and complexity of product monitoring.

6.  Integrate ESG monitoring using modern product governance

With the growing focus on ESG product leaders are well positioned to monitor and update Boards with a product lifecycle lens.  Companies that want to make progress with ESG need to monitor and have 'bottom-up' view across each product lifecycle.  ESG is finally a priority for a product lifecycle.  A centralised solution that brings all information from disparate systems into single source of truth is what makes it possible to set a product governance framework that includes ESG to monitor both performance and compliance at a product level with confidence.  

Things to look out for

A good product governance tool and framework can address the common gaps in existing product management processes. In a recent global product management survey, over 57% of respondents talked about their product management process effectiveness for ongoing products as outdated and not followed by most.

If you want to avoid common mistakes in product governance look out for these areas:

  1. Handover from agile team to operations
  2. Product managers changing roles without adequate knowledge transfer
  3. Only doing ad-hoc annual reviews of some products 
  4. Not having cross-functional collaboration to solve product challenges 

How Skyjed can help with Product Trust

Skyjed provides you with a best practice product lifecycle governance framework and product monitoring and review capability across your product lifecycle.  Skyjed enables  you to capture, review, take improvement action and share your product governance requirements in one place.  Select from a marketplace of product design and monitoring templates for managing a product and changing regulatory regimes like ESG, DDO, Modern Slavery, and MifiD II annual product reviews. 

  1. Product Design:
    Skyjed product framework enables you to identify and determine the target market for each of your products.
  2. Identify review triggers:
    The Skyjed product framework helps you to collaboratively identify and share triggers using a workflow builder which could prevent or indicate your product is not the best fit for a consumer. Learn more about strategic product triggers
  3. Record keeping:
    Skyjed’s sophisticated reporting system allows you to create and auto-generate regular reports on the state of your product health and governance.
  4. Trigger monitoring:
    Skyjed’s audit publishing allows for product monitoring and reviews which is essential for best practice product governance and  to ensure your product continues to meet the needs of your target market.

Skyjed's is an easy to use product management and governance software designed to give product managers confidence across the lifecycle.  By simplifying the day to day processes product leaders can be more strategic, effective and efficient..

You might also be interested in our other blog posts:

 So if you want to finalise your product lifecycle governance framework and consider a tool to automate the important functions get in touch. Request a proposal here

 About Skyjed

Skyjed is product lifecycle and governance platform. Skyjed’s Ai-powered end-to-end product platform bring together every data point across the entire product portfolio into a single source of product truth.  Skyjed was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Sydney, Australia. For more information visit Skyjed