4 templates for better stakeholder alignment on product plans

"Stakeholder alignment." It can be a loaded phrase — evoking visions of endless meetings and conflicting viewpoints. But it is not just a buzzword to chafe against. It is critical to your success as a product manager. You have to share product plans broadly across the organization and navigate feedback from company leaders, teammates, and customers. But knowing who to engage and when at each stage of the product development process is not easy.

Product managers filter a lot of noise. You have to tune in to your stakeholders' core needs and still make decisions that align with business objectives.

Some refer to this process as getting buy-in from stakeholders. But even that phrasing is not really accurate. It makes it sound like stakeholders either buy in or they don't — when the reality is that alignment is ongoing and more complex. The goal is not for everyone to reach consensus, but for people to understand the "why" behind strategic product decisions.

It is true that some stakeholders will have more sway than others at different stages. Leaders influence goals and initiatives and might be more vocal during big planning periods. Sales and support teams usually have lots to share related to use cases and feature enhancements. Customers, on the other hand, are a constant touchpoint whose feedback should fuel your decisions at every stage.

How can you factor in each stakeholder's unique perspective? You have to listen really well — discerning the actual need behind their feedback. And you have to tap them at the right time in the areas in which they can contribute the most value. Doing this kind of forward planning will help everyone feel invested in the product's direction and success.

Identify which stakeholders to engage — including when and how — using note and whiteboard templates in Aha! software.

Let's take a closer look at how you can do that using these four templates:

Stakeholder analysis template

Know what matters to stakeholders and why. This template gives you a central place to list stakeholders, categorize their interests, and gauge their influence. Use it to identify stakeholders' levels of participation at various stages in the product lifecycle.

Get a snapshot of people's roles, interests, and influence.

Stakeholder map template

Map out how you will stay connected to stakeholders using an influence-impact matrix. This way, you can anticipate people's needs and tailor your outreach to them.

Regularly review and update your map — especially at product development milestones.

Strategic roadmap template

Share early-stage product plans using this strategic roadmap template. Showcase goals and initiatives, then invite stakeholders to give feedback via inline comments on the whiteboard. And when it is time to build out more detailed plans, convert elements from the whiteboard into real work items on your product roadmap in Aha! Roadmaps.

Customize colors, time frames, and progress bars to fit your needs.

Customer interview template

Record what customers want. Use this interview template to organize thoughts and questions in advance of customer calls, and then document their answers in real time. You can also embed product screenshots and videos in it to give customers a preview of upcoming functionality.

Try running your interview notes through our AI writing assistant to summarize the main points.

Build enthusiasm around what you are planning so everyone can contribute to its success.

These are just a few of the templates we offer in the Aha! template library, so be sure to look for others that speak to you. Of course, we also make it possible to create your own templates — so the team can quickly access the perfect note or whiteboard for every situation.

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