Behavioral: winning the budget and people your product needs

Your product needs more budget, more people, or both. How would you go about getting them? ```hint Think like the person saying yes Ask what the decision-maker is weighing your request against, and what evidence would convince them that your product is the better use of the same money and people. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Is the product inside an established company competing for internal budget, or a new venture that would raise money from outside backers? - Is the ask engineering headcount, operating budget such as vendors, tools or marketing, or both? - Would you like a past example of a time I secured resources, or the approach I would take here? - Is the product an unproven idea, or already in market with results to point to? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - How the request connects to company priorities and compares with competing uses of the same resources - The evidence offered for need, expected impact, cost and risk, with uncertainty stated honestly - Who has to agree, and how support is built and objections handled before the decision - How the size and shape of the ask are chosen, and the plan if the answer is partial or no - If answering from experience, a concrete example with its result and what was learned ### Follow-up Questions - Leadership approves half of what you asked for. What do you cut, and how do you reset expectations with your team and stakeholders? - Your request competes with a peer PM's project for the same engineers. How do you handle it without damaging the relationship? - Six months after you were funded, results are behind plan. What do you do?