For LinkedIn Tell your network what it is about : Does your product development process get bogged down by bureaucratic checkpoints that take significant effort to create but return little value and feel like a waste of time? Learn how to transform your program checkpoints from ineffectual status updates to powerful decision-making tools. In this article, we share our insights on making checkpoints truly effective.
In the dynamic world of product development, we all know the importance of staying in sync, coordinating efforts, and moving forward together smartly and effectively. For complex product development programs, most companies deploy a checkpoint process, assessing the progress of development through its phases from initial idea to successful completion. But how can these checkpoints be used most effectively? What is a good checkpoint, really? And how do you avoid the common pitfalls that turn them into time-wasting exercises?
Beyond the Status Update: Defining a Truly Effective Checkpoint
Too often checkpoints are viewed as glorified status reports, a check-off-the-box ordeal to review what’s been done and whether checkpoint deliverables were met. But an effective checkpoint is much more than that – it acts as a holistic integration event for the entire organization and becomes a critical decision point within a program’s lifecycle. It includes:
- Act as an Integration Point and Assess Progress: Evaluate where you are against your predefined objectives, activities, and deliverables. Assess not only today’s status, but also the overall progression of the development. Has the development progressed in the right way? Have the right set of activities been done and are they maturing effectively? Were the intermediate milestones met on time, or instead was there a false crescendo of activity at the last minute just to meet the checkpoint deadline?
- Validate Assumptions: Revisit the assumptions that underpin your plan. Are they still valid? Perhaps a key market research finding has changed, requiring a pivot in product features.
- Identify and Mitigate Risks: Uncover potential roadblocks and define proactive mitigation strategies. This applies across the entire scope of activities, not just the actual product design. For example, this could include identifying potential supply chain disruptions or anticipating future regulatory hurdles.
- Make Course Corrections: Decide whether to proceed as planned, adjust the scope, reallocate resources, or even, in extreme cases, pivot the program direction. If user testing reveals a critical flaw in the product design, a course correction might involve revisiting the design phase.
What a Checkpoint Isn’t
Equally important is understanding what a checkpoint isn’t:
• A problem-solving session: checkpoints aren’t brainstorming meetings. The focus is on assessment and decision-making, not solving problems on the spot. Identify the issues, assign owners, and schedule separate problem-solving sessions. If the marketing team hasn’t received documentation from the engineering team, this shouldn’t be solved during the checkpoint. Instead identify the issue, assign an owner, and schedule a separate problem-solving session.
• A deep dive into execution details: avoid getting bogged down in the minutiae of individual tasks. Keep the focus on the overall program objectives and key deliverables. We don’t need to know the nitty-gritty on the code; the checkpoint should focus on the test results for each iteration.
• An opportunity for micromanagement: Trust your team! Checkpoints are about providing strategic oversight, not dictating how individuals should do their jobs.
The anatomy of a high-impact checkpoint
So, what makes a checkpoint truly effective? It starts with a program manager knowledgeable about the product lifecycle and the purpose of each checkpoint. Too often, we see spontaneous discussions emerge during checkpoints that should have occurred previously or aren’t appropriate until a later checkpoint. Here’s a breakdown:
• Understanding the product development process: knowing the product development process and the role of each checkpoint is critical.
• Clear and focused purpose: define the specific objectives of the checkpoint upfront. What key decisions need to be made? For example, a checkpoint at the end of the design phase should focus on validating the design specifications and ensuring they meet market requirements.
• Structured, fit-for-purpose relevant agenda: follow a defined agenda that focuses on the most critical areas and is fit for purpose – this is not bureaucratic, “check-the-box” style. The agenda should ensure that the intermediate steppingstones are leading the project to the right place
• Relevant data-driven content: ensure the checkpoint content is concise, data-driven, and pertinent to the decisions that need to be made. This includes progress reports, risk assessments, and key performance indicators (KPIs). Show the results from the design tests so that team can decide what is the next step
• Defined exit criteria: establish clear criteria for a successful checkpoint. What needs to be accomplished before moving to the next phase? Are the product specifications finalized? Has the prototype been approved?
• Decisive action and accountability: most importantly, make decisions. Document the outcomes and assign clear action items with owners and deadlines.
Empowering the program team (without leadership intervention)
Effective checkpoints are driven by the Program Team. The program manager facilitates the process, ensuring the right information is available and decisions are made. Remember:
• Focus on program expertise: the team’s subject matter experts are crucial for accurate assessment.
• Empower decision-making: decisions should be made at the Program Team level whenever possible, avoiding unnecessary escalation.
Conclusion: checkpoints as catalysts for success
When executed well, checkpoints can be powerful integration events that effectively pull the entire Program Team and their organizations forward at the right pace to catalyse program success. They help ensure that the intermediate steppingstones are leading the project to the right place. They provide the structure, visibility, and decision-making framework needed to navigate complex projects and achieve strategic goals. By focusing on clear purpose, relevant content, and decisive action, you can transform checkpoints from routine meetings into valuable opportunities for progress and innovation.
In our next article, we will share counterproductive leadership behaviors we have experienced during program checkpoints, and discuss more effective behaviors to become a checkpoint champion.
What are your experiences with program checkpoints, especially in product development? Share your tips and challenges in the comments below!
Co-written by Dan CAPUTO / Patricia LHOTE DE NEEFF
