2026.09.03 11:20 ~ 12:00 Meerkat

Why engineers' opinions don't come through: Practical tips for engineers to influence product decision-making

Soft skills 日本語

"Why did it end up with this specification?" "My opinion isn't getting accepted"—friction with PdMs that every engineer has felt at least once. This session is a talk for engineers who don't want to end such friction with a simple "it can't be helped," want their opinions reflected in the product, and wish to work constructively with PdMs. With the evolution of AI, implementation speed and quality have become easier to improve. However, in places of decision-making, human-to-human communication is still required. While environments where engineers can participate in decision-making and product discussions are expanding, having a place to participate and successfully reflecting one's opinion there are two different matters. "Correctness" in technical and architectural contexts can sometimes become words that are hard to reach customers and stakeholders. Furthermore, PdMs have accountability to stakeholders such as managers, executives, other departments, and customers. Being "technically correct" alone is not enough to move a PdM. It is not uncommon that an engineer's opinion doesn't get accepted not because it is "wrong," but because "there is no logic that can be explained to stakeholders." To bridge this gap, it is effective for engineers themselves to design logic that can be explained to stakeholders. In this session, the speaker, who has navigated a career path of Engineer -> PdM -> Engineer, will share practical techniques for engineers to participate in decision-making and make their opinions easier to pass, along with the PdM thinking and environment behind them. Specifically, we will cover topics such as: - Preparing yourself without waiting (Goals aimed at by PdMs and engineers) - Causing friction early (Differences between PdMs and engineers) - Being conscious of the purpose (Responsibilities held by PdMs) - Being conscious of the world beyond implementation (Stakeholders surrounding PdMs) - Recommending comprehensively (Anxieties held by PdMs) - Thinking through one step ahead (Roadmaps drawn by PdMs) Target Audience: - Engineers who want to reflect their opinions in the product - Engineers who want to collaborate constructively with PdMs and other job roles - Engineers who want to be involved in product decision-making beyond implementation - Engineers feeling challenges in communication with PdMs (Translated by the DroidKaigi Committee)

Intended audience

・ Engineers who want to reflect their opinions in products ・ Engineers who want to collaborate constructively with PdMs and other roles ・ Engineers who want to be involved in product decision-making beyond implementation ・ Engineers who feel challenges in communicating with PdMs

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