Many (oh my word, so many) years ago I wrote that I thought “fairness” is the most important characteristic of a good Product Manager. I still stand by that, but I had another thought recently about a related characteristic that forms the other side of that coin.

Jakob Nielsen’s 30+ year old usability heuristics remain true to this day, but it’s not just relevant to UI/UX. In particularly I think “Visibility of System Status” is one of the most important skills a PM can internalize. The principles states:

The design should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within a reasonable amount of time.

When users know the current system status, they learn the outcome of their prior interactions and determine next steps. Predictable interactions create trust in the product as well as the brand.

A PM can do nothing without trust. And to build trust in an organization, applying “visibility of system status” thinking is the #1 way to gain (and keep) that trust. That means a PM needs to:

• Acknowledge comments or questions as soon as reasonably possible (within hours, not days), even if it’s just to say, “I saw this and will get back to you.”
• Respond to the original comment/question—with ultimate clarity—in a timeframe that balances thoughtfulness and pragmatism (days, not weeks).
• Follow through on any commitments / next steps with regular proactive updates (for as long as it takes).

This might sound hard, but once you’re in the rhythm of this cycle, it becomes second nature. “Ack, think, act” becomes just the way you go through your day. I think this is something we should all aspire to more in product (and probably beyond).