1. ProductMGT_Org_PatternAgile Product Management 2013 Johan Oskarsson

2. Product management departmentshave many different structures. It ishard to state the best organizationalstructure for this function because of Prod MGTthe variation in business models,skills sets and contexts in whichproducts are sold. However whatshould be avoided is a structurewhere roles and responsibilities aretoo detailed and rigid. 3. Creating an optimal structure for an Pattern No. 1Pattern No. 2organization is difficult, even impossible.Why? Perhaps because there is no best way.SpecializationExternal-InternalThere are however, better ways for certaincontexts and there are certainly bad ways.To better describe how to create anorganizational structure, recognizable Pattern No. 3 Pattern No. 4patterns can be of use. Product Area EmergingFirst of all, what is a pattern? A pattern is a regularity, somethingthat repeats in a predictable manner. We find patternsProduct Management Organizational Structureeverywhere, in nature, art, architecture, science, mathematics, Patternscomputer science, language, and of course within organizations.In the organization of Product Management I have observed fourdifferent reoccurring patterns, both in companies that I have hadinsight into and in the research I have done. So which pattern is the best one? I dont know, It depends on thecontext, but there are some pros and cons to each.These are: Specialization: Structured as a collection of functional This article focuses on Agile transformation and the recognition of departments. Product Management Organizational Structures. External-Internal: Structured as an external department with customer contact and an internal department with R&D There are many debates on how to create a structure for Product contactOwners, however its always important to first understand how the Product Area: Structured according to product line or areasbusiness model is set-up (or how it will be in the future), as this plays of similar products, with both external and internal contact.a large role in determining which structure will be most successful. Emerging: No formal structure, everyone helps out to perform the activities needed. 4. Agile development is being implementedeverywhere with great success, but to get all A generalizing specialist does one kind of job verywell and some other jobs adequately. Withyou can from Agile and Lean you cannotgeneralizing specialists your team enjoys the benefitsstop at the team level. One very importantof high productivity , while lowering the risk ofbottlenecks and retaining flexibilityarea is the management of the productportfolio. While Agile and Lean offer manybenefits, to best serve and prepare yourprojects the strategic work must be adapted- Jurgen Appelo, Management 3.0to align with both the business plan and withthe development process. Hence ProductManagement must also transform.Agile is the dream of Product Management, though not everyoneAt one point it seamed that the recruitment would never end. Theknows it yet. All the problems arising from unreliable data in question was now, how to organize themselves? They had allfinancial models, unknown and dynamic markets, heavy jointly discussed the best solutions to the problems they faced andcustomer research, big-bang product launches and more, finally how to staff for them, however because they staffed aroundhave a development model that is designed to handle theproblems and activities, the department ended up with a veryunknown. specialized structure. Few people knew how to do the job of the guy right next to them.The Story of Captain TroubleFor those who do not know him yet, the Captain used to be a With this structure the customer requires multiple channels into themember of the Product Management team. This was before the organization in order to communicate their needs effectively. Often,company grew to the size it is today.from the customers point of view, the organization is seen as oneThe Product Management department used to be a lot smaller, in company, while the reality is that it consists of many separatefact the Captain used be alone. As the products became popular functions that do not overlap. This is both frustrating for a customerand more planning, support, features etc, were needed, the who needs attention, and for the people within the organization.department doubled multiple times. There are now about 20This structure is optimized around specific activities not forpeople working with Product Management. The Captain hiredgenerating customer value.most of them. 5. The Agile Product Management FrameworkThe way to break the cycle of dysfunction is to stopis a simple collection of processes which listening to each other and start listening to themarket.are more or less useful to a Product[] There is a big difference between listening to theManager or Agile Product Owner. It does market and listening to the marketing department.not include all processes you may need, norshould you apply all processes it includes.Its a framework to which you add or - Steve Johnson, The strategic role ofremove processes when you judge that toproduct managementbe the best way forward.The framework is built on a foundation of four cycles Business .Strategy, Product Releases, Continuous Sprints, and DailyThis article will not describe the whole framework and all its parts orBuilds. These four cycles manage important inputs, outputs and how to apply the different processes, but for understanding patterns,information. These are enablers for agile development. roles and responsibilities it is useful.Agile development puts the customer in a central position andthe Agile Product Owner as the guardian of happily-ever-after. Literature so far on Agile, including the definition of the Agile Product Owner, do not usually mention all these processes. It is assumedI believe what a Product Owner does is the same thing that a that someone else will do all that. But who? For example the AgileProduct Manager does, at least a successful one. This is not anProduct Owner should create a product backlog, groom it and beeasy job and they need all the help they can get. A Productthe one who has the last say in prioritizing one item over another.Manager who has a passionate, customer focused, serviceBut how can he or she do that without insight and knowledge ofminded, extroverted and dedicated development team thatProduct Management processes. A product backlog without a visionunderstands the market and takes responsibility for making sureor roadmap tends to be a shortsighted one and does not handletheir products thrive, does not lack much. But most of the timelong-term innovation investment very well. Similarly a teams lackingthis is not the case.an understanding of the business model and Profit & Loss have aTo develop a really committed team you need to be committedhard time prioritizing.to enabling them 6. Agile Product Management Framework (A-PMF ) 7. Head of ProductManagement /No. 1 Specialization Pattern Portfolio ManagerIn this pattern the organization is divided Marketing Manager Product Manager Sales ManagerCustomer ServiceManagerinto very specific roles and responsibilities.In each role a person is expected to take full Assistant Market Technical ProductProduct Assortmentresponsibility for their area, and developManager ManagerSales ManagerTechnical Supporttheir skills and knowledge accordingly,becoming specialists in that area.Brand Manager Application Specialist Customer Segment Manager Spare PartThere are some beware warnings with this pattern. The system isnot very resilient. When someone leaves after many years of Communication/ Application Region Salesservice it leaves a big hole from the loss of explicit knowledge and Channel Manager SpecialistManager Application Supportan even bigger hole from the loss of tacit knowledge. Tacitknowledge can take a very long time to rebuild, if it can be restoredat all. Here the Agile Product Owner will most likely be the TechnicalProduct Manager or an Application Specialist and will be responsibleThe system is error prone. There will be times when something thatfor gathering input for the backlog from all other areas.is not thought of as someones responsibility will be handled poorly.Consequently, there is a greater need for written processes and Another common trap is that other people in their specialized rolesdiscussions about responsibility. have individual requirements and consider their requirements themost important ones. This not only makes it hard to create a visionThe system is also prone to sub optimization. Since few peopleand a roadmap for the products, but also to have balanced portfolio.have insight into each others work, people will do more of what theydesire rather than what is needed.If the Agile Product Owner is relatively new in the role, the ProductManager needs to help them to organize and prioritize. A tip for thisThe system is hard to diagnose. It is not unusual that it requiresstructure is to give the Agile Product Owner the responsibilities ofmore people since a lot of work effort is lost due to sub prioritization and developing the roadmap, but require them tooptimization. How the responsibility can be divided between the consult the individual managers and get their approval. Thesedifferent managers and their teams is illustrated in themanagers in return have to help the Agile Product Owner feelorganizational chart. comfortable and empowered.A lot of time is required to facilitate the workshops needed to geteveryone both involved in product development, and understandingthe impact of a shared budget. 8. Roles and responsibilitiesMarketing ManagerThe Marketing Manger together with the marketing team will beresponsible for external market contact. Their areas of responsibilitymight be: Customer Stories, Competitor Stories, Marketing Material,Product Usage Scenarios, Customer Relations, and Packaging.The Marketing Management team need to maintain closecollaboration with the other teams to ensure market information iscaptured.Product ManagerA large responsibility falls on the Product Manager who will have tomake sure that everything in between external and internal runssmoothly. The areas of responsibility can include: facilitating Product Customer Service ManagerVision, Merges and Acquisitions, Company Position workshops,The Customer Service Managers main responsibilities canProduct Lifecycle Strategy, Distribution Channels, Portfolioinclude: Product Documentation, Product Training and ProductAlignment, Product Design, Key Partners, Roadmap, Backlog,Support. The service team usually picks up valuable feedbackRequirement Definition, and System Architecture Alignment.from the market. It is crucial that the feedback reaches thewhole department, including Research & Development.General ManagerThe General Manager will have the overall responsibility that all Sales Managerprocesses are maintained and improved. She also needs to make The Sales Managers main responsibilities are Productsure that the Product Management function within the companyReleases and Key Customer Sales Support.aligns with other departments. Some of the important areas theGeneral Manager is responsible for include: Budget, Business ModelNote that this is not a formula for responsibility delegation butGeneration, overall Profit & Loss, Work Flow, Pricing, and Decision-merely a recommendation, specific context must beMaking. considered. The framework is just to help sort the areas out. 9. Agile Product Owner IntegrationNo. 1In the Specialization pattern the Chief Product Owner and Product Depending on the context, specialist skills and the people, thereOwners, form a Product Management team. The team has to some alternatives for assigning Product Owners to teams.maintain a shared Master Product Backlog, preferably consistingof items such as Epics and Features. Each Product Owner can 1. The Product Owners are generalizing specialists and canthen have a separate Team Product Backlog, consisting of Storiestherefore be assigned to one team and handle everything theand Tasks which belong to the superior features.team will work on.2. The Product Owners are non-generalizing specialists andThis is needed for at least two reasons.should therefore not be assigned to a team, but to Backlogitems.1. There is a need to coordinate the portfolio of things to bedone. The Master Product Backlog should reflect the visionThe first alternative is preferable to faster build a functional effectiveand roadmap of the whole Product Management team.organization, not just the wishes of individual stakeholders.2. There is a need to use the Master Product Backlog as acollaboration tool between all people involved. Epics andFeatures need to be described in such language thateveryone easily understands what they mean. The TeamProduct Backlog usually tends to be a bit technical andconfusing for business people. 10. Agile Product Owner IntegrationNo. 1Sales CPO Customer Service Marketing POPOPO Product Management team Agile TeamAgile Team Agile Team 11. No. 2 External-Internal PatternThe External-Internal pattern divides theProduct Management organization into acustomer focused (External) and a productdevelopment (Internal) department. Business Manager Marketing ManagerProduct ManagerCustomer Relations CommunicationTechnical Product Application Application Manager Price Manager Brand Manager Manager Sales ManagerManager SpecialistSpecialist The customer focused department, more commonly known asIt is important for both teams to understand the business model to Marketing Management, handles all communication to customers be able to work together despite their different specializations. and external parties about the product. The Internal department, The areas of responsibilities may be divided. The Agile Product more commonly known as Product Management, handles the Owner will, in this structure, be under Product Management. Here development of the product.the role can be singular or multiple, divided by products, applicationspecialization, or just by who fits each role the best. In this scenario the Marketing Management is usually the driver of strategic decisions, and Product Management the tactical executer. This approach can be referred to as the Voice of the Customer. This pattern can cause a collaboration chasm between departments. Important tasks and activities can be missed and trust issues may arise. Product Management tends to be more technically specialized and remote from business and the other way around for Marketing Management. 12. Agile Product Owner IntegrationNo. 2The difference in this pattern from the Specializationpattern is not significant. A Master Product Backlogbacked by Team Product Backlogs is still preferable.In this pattern there might be a risk of neglecting the Marketing Managementtechnical platform if the organization is too Marketing CPOManagement driven.Another risk is that decision-making can end up solelywith the Marketing Manager and the Chief ProductOwner. When there are fewer interfaces and POinterdependencies, there is a risk that important marketPO POinformation and knowledge is not picked up. This isunwanted and the Chief Product Owner needs to ensureProductthat there are representatives from all areas.Managementteam Agile TeamAgile Team Agile Team 13. No. 3 Product Area PatternHead of ProductManagement / Portfolio ManagerIn the Product Area Pattern the ProductProduct ManagerProduct Manager Product Manager Product ManagerPortfolio has been divided into productareas where the products share somesimilarity. Assistant Product ManagerAssistant Product ManagerAssistant Product ManagerAssistant Product ManagerAssistant Product ManagerAssistant Product ManagerAssistant Product ManagerAssistant Product ManagerAssistant Product ManagerAssistant Product ManagerAssistant Product ManagerAssistant Product ManagerIn the Product Area Pattern there is a General Manager (also called The Assistant Product Manager is a junior role which shouldPortfolio Manager) for the whole Product Management function. Thisdevelop the skills needed for Product Management.person is responsible for the those working under him and forbalancing the portfolio of products.The set of Assistant Product Managers, together with the ProductManager, work together to manage their set of products. TheyThe portfolio of products has been divided into subcategories where work as a team to get things done and many responsibilities aresimilar products are grouped together. Each subcategory has a shared. Roles are usually divided, based more on personal skills,Product Manager who is responsible for the Product Management desires and personality than on any formal structure, to cover allfunction of that subcategory, and for the balance of that sub portfolio.Product Management activities. The Agile Product Owners in thisShe is also responsible for the people working under her. Under eachpattern are preferably the Assistant Product Managers.Product Manager is several Assistant Product Managers who are inturn responsible for one or more products. 14. Agile Product Owner Integration No. 3 CPOIn this pattern Product Management for eacharea will have a Chief Product Owner. One or CPOmore Product Owners are assigned to one ormultiple teams. This pattern can be efficient PObut can also become very complex. Teams POcan become specialized in one market AreaArea Productand less flexible/general. There is also a risk Managementof dependencies between Team Backlogs.There are some criteria to be considered Area Product ManagementMultiple Areawhen using this pattern. Agile TeamArea Agile1. The need for multi-project planning and Teamportfolio management is most importantsince each Area Product Managementteam will probably have a separateCPO POArea Agilebudget. The Head of Product Team POManagement needs to be deeplyinvolved in planning to ensure theoptimal use of the overall budget. Avoidfixed Strategic Buckets where a definedamount is dedicated to a portfolio of CPO Area Productproducts yearly. A better budget Managementapproach would be dynamic Target Area ProductLevels for each portfolio but where theManagementbudget can be revised based onopportunities. 3. The teams have to work at remaining general in order to stay resilient.2. The need for a modularized systemarchitectural platform is critical to keep 4. Customer Support issues will have to be shared. Here there is a risk that Areas will try tothe interdependencies low. Each team optimize around themselves.needs to be able to change withminimum effect on other teamsOnce these criteria are fulfilled the this pattern can become fast, adaptable, resilient and(Conways Law).competitive. 15. No. 4 Emerging PatternThe Emerging pattern is a fully flat and T-shaped organization where everyone sharesthe responsibility of product management. Itis driven by urgency and need, fully resilient General ProductManagerand responsive. Assistant Product Assistant ProductProduct ManagerProduct Manager Product ManagerProduct ManagerManager Manager Assistant Product Assistant Product Product Manager Product ManagerProduct ManagerProduct Manager Manager Manager Product ManagerProduct Manager Product ManagerProduct ManagerIn the Emerging Pattern there is a General Manager (also knownWhat individuals do is decided based on personality, skills,as Portfolio Manager) for the whole Product Management function.development plans, desires and what needs to be done. TheThis person is responsible for the people working under him and ultimate goal is to have everyone at the same level of skill andfor the balance of the product portfolio. The rest of the knowledge, whereby tasks and activities can be selected basedorganization is flat, only one manager for the whole department.predominantly on personality and desire.There is however a knowledge hierarchy based on skills andThe system becomes resilient, prestige-less and optimized forexperience. The Product Manager is more knowledgeable than thecollaboration and for what matters. The only downside is thatAssistant Product Manager. The Product Managers and Assistant it takes a lot of investment, training and time to build aProduct Managers work together as one or in multiple teams to Emerging organization.manage all of the products in the portfolio.The Agile Product Owner could be anyone, joining developmentteams as and when needed. There is no predefined integrationof the Agile Product Owner and any organizational designupfront is unknown. It emerges. 16. Conclusion Pattern No. 1Pattern No. 2Regardless of which pattern you choose it can be adapted with Agileand has both positive and negative aspects. Specialization External-InternalSpecialization PatternThis pattern can hide sub-optimizations, each specialized unit canbecome a stakeholder and have their own agendas, making it hardfor the Agile Product Owner to create a lean Product Backlog. This Pattern No. 3Pattern No. 4pattern also hides dysfunctional behaviors from the over all ProductManagement. I would not recommend this pattern as a final one foran Agile transformation. Product Area EmergingExternal-Internal PatternWith this structure the system can end up with too much of aProduct Management Organizationalmarketing department driven approach and be too focused on the Structure Patternsshort term. The Chief Product Owner needs to be assertive and focuson the whole, considering both the short-term and long-term. This isalso not a recommended pattern for Agile transformation.Emerging PatternProduct AreaThe Emerging pattern has the problem of figuring out what to do andThis pattern has the classic risk of losing the alignment between this can seem a bit unstructured and scary. It is. To create thisproduct lines and over all company strategy. It also runs the risk of structure requires individuals that are highly skilled and highly generalbypassing commonalities between product lines and missing out onin all aspects of Product Management. It does not work well with job-economies of scale when each product line is not aware of what thehoppers, who move quickly from role to role. It needs dedicatedother product areas are up to.people who are committed to the long term, to learning new skills andto constant development. The key is to let the structure grow andOnce these problems are resolved it is quite compatible with Agilecontinuously transform into what it needs to be. Hence the nametransformation, where teams can form around each product area. Co-Emerging. The Emerging pattern is the optimal fit with Agileordination, collaboration and cross-team-planning are the main focusdevelopment. Since the Agile organization is also emerging andand risk areas. continuously transforming, it makes perfect sense that its ProductManagement structure transforms with it. 17. Johan Oskarsson@johanoskarsson Inspirational sourceswww.captaintrouble.com Complexity and organizational reality Ralph Stacey Management 3.0 Jurgen Appelo Agile Excellence for Product Managers Greg Cohen Agile Product Management with Scrum Roman Pinchler The Product Managers desk reference Steven Haines The Strategic Role of Product Management Steve Johnson Thanks to David Jackson for editing and theoretical dialogues.