The literature describes very well that a good Product Manager is responsible (or should be responsible) for the "why" and "what" of any feature, while the Delivery Team has the responsibility for the "how" and "when". But is it really the case in practice?
Talking to many Product Managers in different sectors and industries related to software development, the 'what' area of responsibility is not always clearly defined and there is a lot of overlap between the 'what' and the 'how'. What happens in practice is that this lack of clarity generates tensions about what needs to be developed, threatening the balance of work in the team and peaceful collaboration.
In this talk, Francesco is going to explore this "middle ground" space and is going to share some lessons learned in various teams of different leading companies in software development, with practical examples and useful suggestions.
Lean: From Theory to Practice — One City’s (and Library’s) Lean Story… Abridged
Lessons Learned About The Tension Between Product Manager And Engineering While Talking About The “What”
1. #BETTERWAYS2023
Lessons Learned About The Tension
Between Product Manager And Engineering
While Talking About The “What”
Francesco Corti
Principal Product Manager @ Docker Inc.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/fcorti/
FrkCorti
2. #BETTERWAYS2023
25+ years of experience in IT, Developer at heart,
Open Source Enthusiast, Public Speaker & Author
Product & Engineering
5. #BETTERWAYS2023
Engineering
Tech Leaders and FE/BE Engineers
Quality Assurance
…
Product Manager
Designers
Researchers
…
Why we are building the product / feature
Whatwe have to do to provide value
How we are building the product / feature
Whenwe can ship it
9. WHY WHAT HOW WHEN
#BETTERWAYS2023
Is it a bad thing?
10. #BETTERWAYS2023
If toxic for the team or someone
I don’t want to use Figma
(or any other tool)
My opinion is more than important
11. #BETTERWAYS2023
It should be an healthy challenge
for the best of the product/feature
It allows the team to focus on the right
things
It forces to provide evidence to escape
from the OPINIONS TRAP
It is where business value and feasibility /
time to market are tested
12. WHY WHAT HOW WHEN
#BETTERWAYS2023
When does the friction happen?
How to properly manage it?
14. #BETTERWAYS2023
How many WHAT?
Strategic WHAT
High Level (theme)
Business Value
Can create concerns
● Often less of interest for engineering
● Not always detailed enough to be
ready to be developed
● Helps the creation of alignment
15. #BETTERWAYS2023
How many WHAT?
● Engineers can already have a
solution in mind not always reflected
● Engineers can have a better solution
Tactical WHAT
Epic Level
Feature / User Experience
Can creates tension
16. #BETTERWAYS2023
How many WHAT?
Tactical WHAT
Epic Level
Feature / User Experience
Can create tension
Strategic WHAT
High Level (theme)
Business Value
Can create concerns
17. #BETTERWAYS2023
What the tension looks like
I don’t think it is true!
We should do it differently!
One customer told me that they want something else
It will be easier and faster to develop something else
Talking about tooling or technology, not values
…
What to do then?
24. #BETTERWAYS2023
How to funnel the energy?
Provide clarity on roles and responsibilities
Work in parallel work streams
Properly communicate
Bring the people INTO the conversation
Three in a box
Documentation
Evangelize in advance
INCLUSION
27. #BETTERWAYS2023
WHY, HOW and WHEN rarely generate frictions
The WHAT is where different roles discuss together
Creating a good place for collaboration is crucial
The Product Manager is responsible for setting the
team for success
28. #BETTERWAYS2023
Lessons Learned About The
Tension Between Product
Manager And Engineering
While Talking About The “What”
Francesco Corti
Principal PM @ Docker Inc.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/fcorti/
FrkCorti
29. #BETTERWAYS2023
Lessons Learned About The Tension
Between Product Manager And Engineering
While Talking About The “What”
Francesco Corti
Principal Product Manager @ Docker Inc.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/fcorti/
FrkCorti