#CorePrinciplesOfResponsiblePM: Beyond features — Responsibility in product management

Every product decision has an impact—sometimes expected, sometimes unforeseen, and at times far-reaching. While product managers focus on user needs, feasibility, and business goals, a more profound question is: Is it responsible?

This blog examines how overlooked risks lead to unintended harm, why inclusive design prevents exclusion, and how a single responsible decision can set new industry standards. From AI bias to data privacy reforms, it highlights why responsibility isn’t an afterthought—it must be built in from the start.

When features go wrong: The cost of unintended consequences

Good intentions don’t always lead to good outcomes. Poor oversight in product decisions can create systemic issues.

Take Amazon’s AI-powered hiring tool. Designed to streamline recruitment, it was trained on historical hiring data but inherited biases favouring male candidates over female ones. Within months, resumes containing words like ‘women’s’ (e.g., ‘women’s chess club) were systematically downgraded, reinforcing gender biases already present in past hiring trends.

This wasn’t just a data issue; instead, it was a failure in product oversight. No safeguards were in place to detect and correct discrimination before deployment. Responsible product managers don’t just react to failures; they anticipate and mitigate them before they happen.

Preventing exclusion: One product does not fit everyone

A product that works in one setting may fail in another. Responsible product management means designing for diverse user needs, not relying on a one-size-fits-all approach.

Similar approach has been adopted while planning digital payments in India. While UPI-based transactions thrived in urban areas, rural regions struggled with poor connectivity, low smartphone penetration, and limited digital literacy. A standard mobile banking solution would have excluded millions who rely on cash.

Instead of assuming universal access, NPCI designed UPI 123PAY, allowing offline UPI payments via IVR on basic mobile phones. This made digital payments accessible to those without smartphones or the internet.

A responsible product manager doesn’t just optimise for ideal users; they design for inclusion.

How one responsible decision can change an entire industry

Sometimes, a single firm’s responsible product decision forces an entire industry to change. These are the moments when responsible product management doesn’t just fix one company’s mistake; it sets a new standard for everyone.

1. Phasing out third-party cookies

Cookies silently enabled user tracking for years, permitting companies to amass huge quantities of data that too without anyone’s permission. What started out as a mere means to enhance user experience soon escalated into a full-blown privacy issue. Companies silently tracked users for years, until it became too massive to overlook.

Google and Apple then intervened, spearheading the move away from third-party cookies. Their decision (even though it came after years of theft of user data) compelled marketers, builders, and online platforms to reconsider the way they handle data collection and usage. It fundamentally altered the way the advertising business works, driving it toward a privacy-centric future.

2. Apple’s app tracking transparency (ATT)

Prior to Apple’s introduction of App Tracking Transparency (ATT), mobile applications were able to monitor user data across platforms without users’ permission. ATT altered this by compelling applications to obtain users’ permission first before tracking them, moving control from businesses to consumers.

This was not a feature; it was an industry-altering step. ATT compelled advertisers, developers, and product managers to overhaul their data strategies completely. Ad networks, business models, and privacy regulations across the globe were directly affected.

These are examples of how a single company’s ethical choice can push an entire industry to alter its behaviour, whether it’s cutting dark patterns from privacy policies, decreasing bias in AI, or making products accessible to underserved users.

Embedding responsibility in product decisions

The real challenge for PMs is not just ‘What can we build?’ but ‘How will this decision impact users, society, and industry norms five years from now?’ The best product managers don’t wait for regulations to force change; they lead with responsibility before they’re required to.

The responsibility of product managers isn’t just to ship features—it’s to question how they shape the future.