Negotiation basics

A position is what someone says they want. An interest is why they want it. In negotiation, the magic happens when you move past the position and discover the underlying interest - because interests can often be met in multiple ways, while positions feel rigid.

Example: a stakeholder demands a three-week delivery (their position). Their interest might be that they've promised a launch at a conference. If you know that, you can explore alternatives: a phased delivery that gets the core feature live by the conference and adds the rest later. Same interest, different solution.

Your job in every negotiation is to stay curious long enough to uncover the interest. Ask 'What's driving that timeline?' and 'What would solving this look like from your perspective?' rather than defending your position.

BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement) is your fallback if no deal is reached. Knowing your BATNA gives you leverage - if your alternative is strong, you can walk away. If it's weak, you negotiate harder. Never enter a negotiation without knowing your BATNA and, ideally, theirs.

ZOPA (Zone of Possible Agreement) is the range where a deal is possible - where what you're willing to accept overlaps with what they're willing to offer. If the ZOPA is empty, there's no deal to be made. Recognising that early saves everyone time.

In a PM context: your BATNA for a scope negotiation might be 'delay Feature X to a phase 2, freeing capacity for the stakeholder's request.' Theirs might be 'take it to the steering committee.' The ZOPA is somewhere between those two outcomes - your job is to find it.