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Revitalizing a cross-functional product organization

Lara Hogan
April 24, 2018

Revitalizing a cross-functional product organization

The product and engineering teams at every company size have the same goals: positive team health, high-velocity shipping, and strategic execution. Yet we often get in our own way -- from ill-defined roles and responsibilities to toxic communication patterns, to well-meaning but under-equipped managers.

Lara Hogan and Deepa Subramaniam of Wherewithall will candidly share the approaches they took to revitalizing a cross-functional product organization in 9 months. As Engineering and Product leaders, they worked together to diagnose and treat issues holding back design, engineering and product management teams in order to ensure communication flowed better, inter and intra-team dynamics improved and the organization shipped more (and better!) software. As two VP’s who faced these specific challenges and more, Lara and Deepa will cover evidence-based tactics for improving the overall health of your product organization when time is of the essence.

Lara Hogan

April 24, 2018
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  1. Clarify roles and responsibilities Create living product documents
 and processes

    Lead difficult conversations Demonstrate mindful communications Join forces 1 2 3 4 5
  2. Seamless collaboration 
 requires clarity. Who does what, when? “Well,

    That’s not my job.” “Wait, I already did that.” “Uh, who was supposed to do that?”
  3. Discovery Design Development Testing and Deployment Post-Deployment and Iteration Product

    Manager Product Designer Engineer QA
 Engineer Product Manager
  4. Discovery Design Development Testing and Deployment Post-Deployment and Iteration Product

    Manager Product Designer Engineering Manager Data 
 Scientist Engineer QA
 Engineer Product Manager Strategy Engineering
 Lead
  5. EM ∩ EL ∩ PM: Understand, own, and
 share the

    story of “why” Product Manager owns the story of “what” Eng Manager owns the story of “who” Tech Lead owns the story of “how” ∩
  6. Product Manager owns the story of “what” Tech Lead owns

    the story of “how” Product Manager + Tech Lead scope and estimate project work
  7. Framing the problem, opportunity, and approach Discovery Documents Meetings Milestones

    Narrative Doc (aka Spec, PRD) Feature Kickoff “Discovery Complete”
  8. Based on the problem, identify solutions Design Documents Meetings Milestones

    Design Brief Product Review “Design Complete”
  9. Test and ship the feature QA and Deployment Documents Meetings

    Milestones Test Plan — “Test Complete” Deployment Plan Pre-Deployment Sync “Shipped”
  10. Based on how the feature is doing, what next? Post-Deployment

    and Iteration Documents Meetings Milestones Post-ship 
 Feature Update Post-Ship Sync -- --
  11. Amygdalas are threatened by: • Receiving feedback • Causing someone

    
 else to freak out • Being kicked out of 
 the cool kids group • Someone else 
 thinking you’re wrong
  12. Amygdalas like it when 
 you have a sense of:

    • Belonging to a group • Progress towards a goal • Choice/Autonomy • Equality or fairness • Certainty/predictability
  13. We rarely have models of 
 (or support for) how

    to have difficult conversations
  14. My fav ground rules: Stay curious Everyone is smart and

    trying No open phones/laptops Vegas Rules
  15. Reflect on the dynamics in the room Elevate the conversation

    Assume best intentions Listen to learn 1 2 3 4
  16. Clarify roles and responsibilities Create living product documents
 and processes

    Lead difficult conversations Demonstrate mindful communications Join forces 1 2 3 4 5