Keeping the Functional in Cross-Functional Teams

Most product managers and product focused organizations understand the importance of cross-functional teams in the product development process. Cross-functional teams ensure that all disciplines within an organization are represented and that they buy-in to the product. Planning, designing and launching from cross-functional teams are essential to building a successful product. Unfortunately, in many cases the product manager has limited authority over the members of the cross-functional team. Typically, the team members report to and are evaluated by their functional managers. So how can a product manager ensure that he has the attention and commitment from the members of the team and that the team doesn't become dysfunctional? Here are some ways that may help:
        
1. Obtain buy-in - as mentioned in an earlier post, obtaining buy-in is essential for a successful product. Buy-in is also critical to the success of the cross-functional team. If just one team member does not believe in the who, what, where and why of the product - the entire team is as risk.
        
2. Establish the rules of engagement - ground rules are important for the cross functional team to understand. Establishing and following these rules can help resolve conflict, make decisions and keep the team moving forward. Some rules to consider include:
- meeting attendance - who is required at what meetings?
- escalation paths - if decisions need to be made, what is the proper hierarchy?
- conflict resolution - if there is a conflict, what are the plans in place for resolution so the team can move forward?
         
3. Establish "Functional Support Plans" - Functional Support Plans establish what functions are responsible for what deliverables. For example - are the user guides the responsibility of engineering, marketing, customer service? The answer may be different depending on the organization or the nature of the product. The Functional Support Plans ensure everyone on the team knows who is delivering what and when. The plans also serve as an accountability mechanism for the team
        
4. Keep communication open and ask for input - Being open about the product development process and why decisions are made are essential to team unity. the product manager must ensure that he shares all data he has in order to help facilitate decision making and discussions. This means sharing market data, customer data, competitor data, management input, etc. In addition, the product manager must seek input from the team - what have they heard and read, and how could that info help product development and launch?
        
5. Establish an executive cross-functional team - Having a cross-functional development and launch team is not the only cross-functional team a product manager should put together. Consider establishing a cross-functional executive or management team. This cross-functional management team ensures the members of the executive staff have a stake in the product process. It also ensures that the managers of the team members understand the roles, responsibilities and commitments of each member.
     
The cross-functional team can be the product manager's most important asset. Even if he is expected to be, there is absolutely no way the product manager can be the expert in all elements of the product, internal organization, market, competition, etc. Therefore, the product manager's reliance and trust in the cross-functional team is critical to success. The tips mentioned above are critical, but aren't the be all end all in keeping the cross-functional team functional. What methods have you used to work effectively in cross-functional teams?

The First Product Manager

I recently read a post from On Product Management by Shardul Mehta (Street Smart Product Manager). The blog post was entitled Introducing Product Management into an Organization. As one of the first product managers in my organization and it being my first foray into product management, the post really hit home. Below are a few of the key points highlighted in the post along with my observations and suggestions as to how to correct them (as a first time product manager). But first some background...

...My company started a new venture in cloud computing about 2 years ago. After about 6 months of heavily engineering driven development, our senior management decided that things were moving too slowly - the answer was product management. A colleague and I were appointed as our organiations first product managers; reporting to the VP of Marketing (it was the VP of Marketing's initiative and forward thinking that introduced product management into this engineering driven company). My colleague and I had similar backgrounds, we were both engineering graduates with MBAs and we both just made the transition to marketing/strategy team. Our technical experience and marketing backgrounds made us the likely choices to be our organization's first product managers...

...Now onto the points in Shardul Mehta's post (again, his post is worth a read)...

1. "Unfounded unreasonably high expectations",  2. "Not all expectations are created equal" and 3. "What does Product Management do?"

My thoughts: This is spot on in my experience. Product management can easily be viewed as the organizations savior or as the role that no one knows what do with.  Slow delivery times, product bugs, inadequate marketing literature and poor sales support are expected to be fixed by the product manager. In addition, each discipline within the organization views their issue as the top priority.  Balancing these expectations can be daunting for any product manager let alone one dealing with an organization that is still trying to figure out what to do with product management.

Some Advice: Ensure that you are the one that sets the expectations. As the first product manager in an organization, you have the unique chance to define the role within your organization. Discuss and mold the expectations jointly with each of the different teams: engineering, marketing, sales and senior management. If this is done effectively, product management will become a driving force in the organization as opposed to a let down.

4. "Why do we even need Product Management?"

My thoughts: Again, a great point. My company had been successful in other ventures without product managers and a common question when introcuing product management into our organization was "Why?". Different reasons can lead to "why" as Shardul Mehta outlined in his post, but the bottom line is - there was a need or at least a perceived need for product management.

Some Advice: Ensure you have an executive sponsor for your role and encourage that sponsor to evangelize product management. Clearly define the "why" and the benefit to each of the different disciplines within the organization. Work with these discplines collaboratively and don't come in guns blazing, ready to radically change everything they know about product development, sales and marketing - otherwise you may fall into two other pitfalls on Shardul Mehta's list 5. "The scapegoat syndrome" and 6. "The bottleneck syndrome". 

In summary, there are a lot of gothca's and frustrations that can occur when introducing product management into an organization. My organization and I have absolutely experienced some of the above effects. A note to the product managers in any of the situations described above: there is a surefire way to enable success and acceptance into the organization - know your customer/user. A lot of the growing pains can be overlooked and forgiven if you are building products that excite your customers.

Do any of the points above or in Shardul Mehta's post hit home for you?

Bud Light Platinum

In celebration of the Super Bowl and the ads, this post examines Bud Light Platinum from a product perspective. I haven't tried the beer and this isn't intended to be a review of the beer. 
    
For those of you who didn't watch the Super Bowl (or did and still don't know what Bud Light Platinum is) here is a quick summary: Bud Light Platinum is a new beer product from Anhueser Busch InBev that provides greater alcohol content (6%) while keeping the "light" label by having a low number of calories (137) and a slightly sweeter taste. 
    
Lets look a this new beverage from a product perspective:
    
The user/drinker: It is very unlikely that "beer geeks" who traditionally drink higher alcohol content or craft beers will make the switch. Traditional Bud Light drinkers may switch to get "more bang for their buck" in terms of alcohol content but this would seem to cannibalize the Bud Light product somewhat and the sweeter taste may turn them right back to Bud Light. Industry analyst David Williams says:"Bud Light with 6 percent alcohol by volume and a sweet taste is an oxymoron in my mind...It's not drinkable." In addition, the higher price tag (~$1.50 more per six pack) may not sit well with at-home beer drinkers. I think the real target here is light and non-light beer drinkers from other brands like MillerCoors who are looking for a cooler beer to drink at a bar or nightclub.
    
Product features: We'll look at 3 product features and how they relate to the target drinker.
    
1. Higher alcohol content: this one is a no-brainer. If you can get a beer that tastes close to what you are used to drinking with more alcohol, then why not. Bar and nightclub goers are looking to get a little buzz and this beer can probably do the trick and the higher alcohol content may add to the cool factor.
    
2. Lower calories: I'm not sure this matters a whole lot as far as the coolness factor goes, but it may allow the user to drink Bud Light Platinum guilt free.
    
3. The packaging: the blue bottle definitely looks different and draws attention to the beer over traditional bottled beer. This packaging may add to the coolness factor of the beer and allow the drinker to stand out while hanging out.
    
The market: While the beer market is quite large, it is also quite crowded. It doesn't seem that introducing a variation of Bud Light will make a huge impact overall. Bud Light Platinum may offer beer drinkers a different choice for bottled beer at a bar or nightclub, but draft or liquor drinkers most likely wont make the switch. However, if Anhueser Busch InBev can put even a small dent in MillerCoors' market share, that may be enough to make the product successful.
    
The verdict is still out on whether Bud Light Platinum will be a huge success or the next Crystal Pepsi. Will you be trying Bud Light Platinum?

The Right Time to Release

The pressure to get a product out the door can weigh heavily on a product manager. Let me know if this sounds familiar...
    
You've done the market research, you understand your customer's needs, and you've provided the MRDs/PRDs to the development team. The development team has now started working on the product. It doesn't seem that long, but already sales is pushing for the new/updated product to be released and management is getting restless and looking for a return on investment.
   
However, you can't give in to that pressure. Your product being ready is critical to the product's and possibly the brand's reputation. Many of us have the heard the "release early and fail fast" mantra - and I am a believer in this philosophy - but releasing early does not equate to releasing before a product is ready. The first release of a product should be a minimal version that provides the basic functionality to get users on board (Remember the first iPhone was released without a copy/paste feature. After the first release, the development teams then iterate and add features to the product based on user feedback. However, minimal functionality is not equal to broken functionality. Nothing will irritate and drive away your users faster than a critical product feature being buggy.
   
Focus on including the basic functionality into the product and release only when you know that basic functionality works - believe me, you will have a better product in the long run and your sales team and management will thank you (even if they don't say it.)
  
Do you have any lessons learned about releasing product at the right or wrong time?

Buy in - A Product Management Essential

Obtaining buy-in is essential to getting any product off the ground. Products can succeed or fail for many different reasons – but one way to absolutely ensure failure is not getting buy-in from ALL stakeholders. Stakeholders include, but aren't limited to: management, engineering, sales, and most importantly users. Selling these teams and ensuring they believe in you and the product is essential to your product succeeding.

Buy-in from Management: In many cases this is the toughest sell and these guys control the resources. Management can be extremely risk adverse and not ready to make changes. Politics can come into play, so you must understand them. Have the data, the desire and the direction, and your management will believe in your product.

Buy-in from Engineering: Once your management in on-board, you need to obtain buy-in from your development teams. These are the guys that will make your product great, and they are smart. Don't assume you know everything and listen to them. Take their advice and apply their ideas while sticking to your vision. Doing so, the engineering/development team will believe in the product and be your biggest supporters.

Buy-in from Sales: The sales team is probably the 2^nd most important sell. The sales teams can make or break your product. They must believe the product will solve their customers' problems and the product is priced appropriately. You need to convince them that you understand their customers and provide them the data they need to sell the product. 

Buy-in from your Users:  Your users should always come first. Listen to your users to set the product vision and get their feedback early and often in the development process. Successful product managers let the users drive the product and obtain their buy-in early and often.


What are some of your techniques when trying to obtain buy-in?