Effective Communication in Product Management: Unlocking Success with the SCR Framework
As a product manager, you’re constantly faced with situations that require effective communication. From 1-on-1s to team meetings, presentations, and stakeholder updates, your ability to convey your thoughts, pitch ideas, and explain challenges is crucial to your impact and position within the company. That’s why “strong communication skills” are a top requirement in every product management job posting.
The Power of Clear Communication
Mastering communication skills is one of the fastest ways to fast-track your progress and position in the company. But what does it really mean to communicate effectively? The SCR framework, developed by McKinsey & Company, provides a structured approach to delivering strategic communications. This model consists of three main parts: Situation, Complication, and Resolution.
Breaking Down the SCR Framework
Situation: Start by describing the current state of things, providing context and focusing on facts. Avoid giving opinions or interpretations, and explain the origins of the situation in a few words. The goal is to increase the chances of receiving helpful suggestions and recommendations.
Complication: Address the impact of the situation, explaining its relevance and consequences. Don’t assume everyone understands the situation similarly. Present a clear picture of why the problem is relevant and how it affects what the people you talk to care about. Focus on facts and data to support your argument.
Resolution: Shift towards presenting the resolutions, which can be either a summary of actions or future actions. Be clear about what you need from others, whether it’s approval, opinions, or help. Clearly state your expectations to avoid wasting time and gathering unwanted input.
Real-World Examples of the SCR Framework in Action
Let’s explore two examples of how the SCR framework can be applied in product management:
- Bug Issue: Imagine you need to update stakeholders on a production issue that was resolved. Your communication could look like this: “We made a backend configuration change last Thursday, which resulted in production issues. An hour later, we noticed purchases weren’t coming through, resulting in a $3,000 new sales revenue loss each hour. We rolled back the change and contacted customer support to explain the situation. We estimate the new sales revenue loss at $4,200 and have a post-mortem planned to understand why this happened and how we can prevent it in the future.”
- Pitch Idea: Suppose you want to pitch an idea to build product onboarding in the next quarter. Your pitch could be structured like this: “Our current activation funnel is underperforming, with our key activation metric stuck at 40%. We believe adding an onboarding section to the product would bring the activation closer to our target. We want to commit to four sprints in the upcoming quarter to explore, develop, and test this hypothesis. We believe the direction change in Q3 is justified, and we’d like to hear your opinion on that.”
Unlocking Success with the SCR Framework
The SCR framework is not about forcing communication into a rigid structure. Rather, it provides a high-level structure to your messages, focusing on the most important details and avoiding unnecessary words. By embracing the SCR principles, you can:
- Start with context and a fact-oriented description of the situation
- Clearly lay out why the situation is important and how it affects what people care about
- Wrap up with the proposed resolution and clearly lay out what’s expected from others
By practicing the quality of your communication, you’ll improve your career and performance as a product manager dramatically.