@PawelHuryn: Scaling product teams can be t...
@PawelHuryn
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Dec 28, 2023
1
Scaling product teams can be tough.
But the wrong choice might lead to a lack of empowerment, too many dependencies, and teams working in silos.
The top 5 ways to scale experience product teams > see the graphic below.
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Five additional tips:
1. Ensure your teams are empowered
In "Empowered," Marty Cagan defines an empowered product team as “given a problem to solve, rather than solutions to build, and, most importantly, are held accountable for the results.”
Similar thoughts are expressed by “Lead with context not control” - saying of Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix. It’s a way of empowering teams with purpose, shared understanding, and autonomy.
For empowerment to work, we also need better leadership that creates psychological safety and genuinely cares about people’s growth.
We also need to consider how the teams are organized and how they interact with each other.
2. Be aware of the Conway’s Law
“Any organization that designs a system (defined broadly) will produce a design whose structure is a copy of the organization's communication structure.” - Melvin Conway
In the same way, it’s logical to model an organization's communication structure to mirror the desired software architecture. This approach is known as “The Inverse Conway Maneuver.”
3. Aim to reduce the cognitive load
If the team’s setup is not carefully planned, everyone needs to talk to everyone.
Teams should have clear boundaries and fewer dependencies to focus on their work, reducing the need for constant coordination.
4. Strive to eliminate bottlenecks
It’s difficult to overestimate the importance of delivering fast.
Minimizing bottlenecks and handoffs is crucial for reducing Lead Time and enhancing teams’ learning speed.
Ideally, teams should be cross-functional and responsible for the entire lifecycle of their work.
5. Mix different scaling approaches
Consider the organization's size, the number of personas or user journeys, the complexity of the product, and the desired level of personalization.
Virtually all product organizations use a mix of different scaling models. This allows them to take advantage of each model's strengths and avoid some of their weaknesses.
---
Hope that helps.
If you liked this, follow me for more tips @PawelHuryn
But the wrong choice might lead to a lack of empowerment, too many dependencies, and teams working in silos.
The top 5 ways to scale experience product teams > see the graphic below.
---
Five additional tips:
1. Ensure your teams are empowered
In "Empowered," Marty Cagan defines an empowered product team as “given a problem to solve, rather than solutions to build, and, most importantly, are held accountable for the results.”
Similar thoughts are expressed by “Lead with context not control” - saying of Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix. It’s a way of empowering teams with purpose, shared understanding, and autonomy.
For empowerment to work, we also need better leadership that creates psychological safety and genuinely cares about people’s growth.
We also need to consider how the teams are organized and how they interact with each other.
2. Be aware of the Conway’s Law
“Any organization that designs a system (defined broadly) will produce a design whose structure is a copy of the organization's communication structure.” - Melvin Conway
In the same way, it’s logical to model an organization's communication structure to mirror the desired software architecture. This approach is known as “The Inverse Conway Maneuver.”
3. Aim to reduce the cognitive load
If the team’s setup is not carefully planned, everyone needs to talk to everyone.
Teams should have clear boundaries and fewer dependencies to focus on their work, reducing the need for constant coordination.
4. Strive to eliminate bottlenecks
It’s difficult to overestimate the importance of delivering fast.
Minimizing bottlenecks and handoffs is crucial for reducing Lead Time and enhancing teams’ learning speed.
Ideally, teams should be cross-functional and responsible for the entire lifecycle of their work.
5. Mix different scaling approaches
Consider the organization's size, the number of personas or user journeys, the complexity of the product, and the desired level of personalization.
Virtually all product organizations use a mix of different scaling models. This allows them to take advantage of each model's strengths and avoid some of their weaknesses.
---
Hope that helps.
If you liked this, follow me for more tips @PawelHuryn
2
P.S. Experience product teams are what @manupaisable and @matthewpskelton call "Stream-aligned teams."
For more about different team types and their interactions, I recommend reading a fantastic book, Team Topologies.
https://t.co/07Oi0bcQ3Y
For more about different team types and their interactions, I recommend reading a fantastic book, Team Topologies.
https://t.co/07Oi0bcQ3Y