The document discusses the concept of team triads in software development, emphasizing the collaboration between product, design, and engineering roles to achieve balance and shared responsibility. It covers the structure, goals, and processes that enable effective teamwork, as well as common challenges and strategies for improvement. The insights highlight the importance of communication, mutual accountability, and adaptability within the triad for successful project delivery.

1. Team Triads
How product, design and engineering work better together.
STEVE KING | SERVER PRODUCT MANAGER | @STEVEATHON

2. SUMMIT, 2017

3. Modern software
development
A remix.
Photographer; Source (example.flickr.com)

4. What’s a triad?
A leadership team
within the development
team creating balance
between the business,
the customer and the
product.
Photographer; Source (example.flickr.com)

5. Engineering
What does a software team triad look like?
ProductDesign

6. Triads and the
balance of
responsibility.
Balancing responsibility across
multiple roles is about sharing the
ownership equally?
The
magic.
Engineering
DesignProduct

7. Triads are great, but
they are a guiding
structure for the
whole team.
Photographer; Source (example.flickr.com)

8. So a triad is prescriptive - and
it just works?
TRIADS IN TEAMS

9. What other triads
exist in Atlassian?
Workplace experience
is another team where
you see the triad
operating, but not like
we do in software
teams.

10. People
Experience team triad
CohesionProperty

11. Service Team
Continuous value delivery
through a faster pipeline.
Product Team
Slower delivery of value but
in larger pieces of work.
Our team type

12. Traditional team formation
FORMING OUR TEAM

13. Team formation goals
Team goals
Why does our team exist,
how will we measure our
success.
Team structure
How will we structure
ourselves for success and
deliver against our goals.
Delivery style
How will we deliver value to
customers and stakeholders
and on what schedule.

15. Signs of trouble.
LEARN AND ADAPT

16. LEARN AND ADAPT
Team formation
First roadmap in
place
Delivering on
roadmap
Missing deadlines
Can’t seem to
make fast
decisions
June July Aug Oct Dec

17. What did we do to fix it?

18. Identify the problems
We were lacking
momentum - spending too
much time planning.
Unable to make decisions,
or agree as a leadership
group.
Get clear about our
measurable goals
Demonstrate value to
stakeholders and
customers

19. TRUST

20. Triad rebalance
Realizing that there’s some shared
responsibility, but making sure
we’re clear about how to get
decisions made.
The
magic.
Engineering
DesignProduct

21. Engaged a program manager
to help us out.
BUILDING A TRIAD

22. Like doctors?

23. Clear process.
BUILDING A TRIAD

24. CLEAR PROCESS
We built a ‘how we
work’

25. CLEAR PROCESS
Release Review
Review
Define
Refine
Define Refine BuildDiscover

28. Clear ownership.
BUILDING A TRIAD

29. Roles and
responsibilities play.

30. Now we find the
balance.
Mixes of shared responibility, with
different levels of crossover on
each role depending on the
project.
The real
magic™.
Engineering
DesignProduct

31. Product Manager
Represent the customer, the wider business and
the stakeholders to the team and vice versa.
Development Lead
Deliver the feature to the product, ensure
reliability and stability and respond to issues.
Design Lead
Make the product coherent and provides the
voice and personality for the product.
The triad
and the
tribe.

32. Product Manager
Represent the customer, the wider business and
the stakeholders to the team and vice versa.
Development Lead
Deliver the feature to the product, ensure
reliability and stability and respond to issues.
Design Lead
Make the product coherent and provides the
voice and personality for the product.
The triad
and the
tribe.

33. Product Manager
Represent the customer, the wider business and
the stakeholders to the team and vice versa.
Development Lead
Deliver the feature to the product, ensure
reliability and stability and respond to issues.
Design Lead
Make the product coherent and provides the
voice and personality for the product.
The triad
and the
tribe.

34. Communicate with
eachother.
BUILDING A TRIAD

35. Individual factors
Remember the team is made up of individuals with different skills, experience and personalities.
COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER.

36. Organisational factors
Internal and external factors of the organization and the teams role within it.
COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER.

37. Team factors
Value the team and make time for team cohensiveness.
COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER.

39. Build respect.
BUILDING A TRIAD

40. TRUST

41. Build respect.
Learn the process,
Refine the process.

42. Build respect.
Impact on other teams and
new starters.

43. Build respect.
Mutual accountability.

45. Learn.

46. Too much product.
LEARN

47. Express lane.
LEARN

48. Discovery
Support Issues
Customer Interviews
Analysis
Customer Pain
Validation
Express lane.

49. Analysis
Customer Pain
Validation
Top of the funnel
PM Review
Customer Value / Product Fit
Envisioning and prioritization
Build
Ship to Master
Express lane.

50. Customer Value / Product Fit
Envisioning and prioritization
Build
Ship to Master
Ship to Customer
Express lane.

51. Discovery
Support Issues
Customer Interviews
Analysis
Customer Pain
Validation
Top of the funnel
PM Review
Customer Value / Product Fit
Envisioning and prioritization
Build
Ship to Master
Ship to Customer
Express lane.

53. We don’t have some
things on our team.

54. Blame.
LEARN

55. Overly negative thinking.
LEARN

56. What can you do to start your journey towards a triad, or improve
the process in your team?
TAKE AWAY
Photographer; Source (example.flickr.com)

57. TAKE AWAY
Be a catalyst!
start small, keep tinkering

58. TAKE AWAY
Fail fast!
but always learn from your mistakes.

59. TAKE AWAY
Know your strengths
of you and your wider team

60. TAKE AWAY
Embrace change!
but try to focus on the things that
you don’t do well first.

61. TAKE AWAY
bit.ly/team-playbook
Go see our Program Managers out in
the Expo hall.

62. Questions?
STEVE KING | SERVER PRODUCT MANAGER | @STEVEATHON

63. Thank you!
STEVE KING | SERVER PRODUCT MANAGER | @STEVEATHON