Coaching: Design · Core
Set light standards and templates
A few shared standards and templates help teams work consistently without slowing them down. Keep them light and explain why each one exists.
About 3-5 daysEvergreenLast reviewed 5 November 2026
Who this applies to
- Skills it builds
- Leadership and coachingDelivery and execution
- PM types
- All
- Product types
- All
- Starting points
- All
- Ways of working
- All
- Experience
- All
- Size of organisation
- All
Steps, by experience
Beginner (under 1 year)
- Pick the two or three practices that cause the most confusion.
- Write a short standard for each, such as what a product brief must cover.
- Provide a template with an example.
- Explain why each standard exists.
- Ask teams for feedback after they use them.
Intermediate (1 to 4 years)
- Separate must-haves from suggestions.
- Remove templates nobody uses.
- Review standards with teams every few months.
Experienced (5+ years)
- Align standards across product, design and engineering.
- Use standards to support assessments or reviews where needed.
- Keep the total set small.
Who can do this
Owner: Product manager
Can be delegated to
- Content Designer: Edit standards and templates for clarity
Tool examples
- Confluence
- Keep templates in one shared space.
- Notion
- Publish each standard with an example.
Definition of done
- Two or three standards published
- Templates with examples
- Feedback collected
Common pitfalls
- Too many standards
- Templates without reasons
- Standards nobody reviews