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How do product managers prepare backlog and team for a vacation?

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What do you prepare before you go on vacation? Do you have your backlog all prepped and stories all groomed? Who is your backup when you are away? Anything else that needs to be in place so you don’t get back to a disaster?

Our response

Author: Joe Tannorella
Rocket Role Team
I think it's super important to communicate with your peers... Going on vacation can identify bottlenecks in processes which is actually a good thing.

For instance, it might highlight whether or not your team is too reliant on you to refine every ticket to every level of detail. In my experience, this would be an antipattern that needs solving irrespective of your trip, but your trip might bring it to the forefront.

So using the example above, you could use your trip as an excuse to trial a new way of working for a process that you may otherwise find difficult to try (or not have the confidence to propose, or whatever it might be).

Something I always found useful personally, and advised my team to do, was to list everything they'd be prioritising if they were in work.

Then group items into the things which absolutely must happen, and those which can wait until you get back.

If you're being brutal with prioritisation, communicating effectively, and delegating effectively in your normal day-to-day, you may find that the "must do" list is short (depending on vacation length! :)).

Other things to consider doing:

Make stakeholders aware of who to contact in your absence

Try to not release anything super important while you're off (yes the world won't stop spinning, but just try to release big chunky things before or after your trip)

Ask your team what they need while you're away. What is important to them? What would be a disaster if it happened while you're away?

Took some of the suggestions from https://www.rocketrole.io/ as I left my co-founder recently. It's super useful for last-minute prep, quick upskilling on topics like this, etc. and generally managing your product career to upskill on a regular basis.

We also asked some experts...

Advice from thousands of podcasts episodes, including:
Here's what they had to say:

🏖️ Prepare for Vacation Like a Pro
Before going on vacation, it's crucial to communicate with your team and set clear expectations. You can use this time to identify bottlenecks in the process and try new ways of working. Prioritize your tasks into "must-do" and "can-wait" categories. This will help your team understand what needs to be done in your absence.

Try this: List everything you'd be prioritizing if you were at work, then group items into must-do and can-wait categories.
Source: Building a Culture of Excellence: David Singleton, CTO of Stripe – Lenny's podcast

🤝 Delegate and Communicate
Ensure that stakeholders are aware of who to contact in your absence. Try not to release anything critical while you're off. Ask your team what they need while you're away. What is important to them? What would be a disaster if it happened while you're away?

Try this: Make stakeholders aware of who to contact in your absence and ask your team what they need while you're away.
Source: Nickey Skarstad on Translating Vision into Goals – Lenny's podcast

Closing Summary

"Proper planning and communication are key to ensuring a smooth transition when you're on vacation. Prioritize tasks, delegate responsibilities, and keep stakeholders informed to avoid any potential disasters during your absence."

All "ask an expert content" does not represent the views of any expert or individual. All provided links are not affiliated or operated by Rocket Role.

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