How to estimate responsibly in product - Neil Vass (Engineering Manager, The Co-op, BBC)

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Jun 26, 2024

Engineering Manager Neil Vass discusses responsible estimation in product management, covering pitfalls like setting overly optimistic goals. They explore biases in estimation, improving estimation skills, and decision-making games like guessing the weight of a pound coin. The episode emphasizes widening estimation ranges for accuracy, feedback, and building trust within teams for successful estimations.

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Intro

00:00 • 3min

Exploring Estimation in Product Management

02:56 • 15min

Challenges and biases in estimation in product development

17:32 • 3min

Improving Estimation Skills

20:23 • 5min

Exploring the Weight of a One-Pound Coin and Decision-Making Games

25:25 • 2min

Responsible Estimation in Decision Making

27:33 • 11min

Discussing Listener Improvement and Productivity

38:19 • 2min

Listen to our conversation with Neil Vass, Engineering Manager at Co-op. We unravel the intricacies of making estimations in product and discuss the fine balance between setting attainable goals and avoiding undue stress on your team.

In our discussion, we address the common pitfalls in estimation, from the pressure to deliver overly optimistic figures to the misuse of estimates as bargaining chips rather than planning tools.

Featured Links: Follow Neil on LinkedIn | Neil's website | Neil's 'Minimum Viable Estimation - Part 4' feature | Neil's 'Minimum Viable Estimation - Part 5' feature | 'Estimating Complexity' - Liz Keogh episode on The Product Experience | Buy 'How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business' book by Douglas W. Hubbard

Our Hosts
Lily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.

Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.