When will it be released?

An unpopular opinion based on more consultancy work in the wild: Product managers should not be answering the question "When is it going to be released?"

Let me elaborate. Product development can follow two distinct paths:

1. Innovating and exploring new solutions:
- When working on *cutting-edge innovations*, the solution is unknown. This work involves heavy experimentation and research.
- The unpredictable nature of innovation is similar to finding a cure for a new disease. It's impossible to set a precise timeline without guessing. You are lucky to get it done, whenever that happens.
- It's important to maintain ongoing conversations about the progress of the research, the proximity to the desired goal, and the company's and product’s benefits. However, providing a specific release date is unrealistic until the remaining work is well-defined.

2. Developing specific, known solutions:
- For well-defined developments, such as building specific software feature based on prior knowledge and/or research, only engineers are best positioned to estimate timelines.
- Reliable estimates require engineers to spend more time in discovery on feasibility studies before coding begins. This helps to identify potential challenges early on and count them into the estimates.
- The more time engineers spend on feasibility in discovery, the better the estimate. But it's still an estimate. Ask your plumber how long will the repair take before they enter your home, and then ask them again - mid-work.

Asking product managers to provide estimates turns them into spokespersons for the engineers and is not an efficient use of their time. Product managers should focus on managing value and business viability risks. While they need to understand feasibility to manage these risks, they should not be responsible for managing (and especially not setting) timelines. Only engineers have the expertise to provide accurate time estimates. Therefore, product managers should concentrate on their core responsibilities and trust their engineering peers for delivery (timelines).

I'll be very specific: If you are looking to bring in your first product manager with the expectation of them ensuring your engineering team will start delivering "on time", you'll be disappointed and probably even hire the wrong person. Focus on your engineering team first.