Tech and Product: Friends or Foes?
On a cold and clear July night in Sydney, Propel partnered with the Sydney Tech Leaders community to explore whether product and tech were indeed friends or foes.
It was a wide-ranging discussion that was at times a little tense, reflecting the reality of what happens in most of the organizations we work in.
I came away with the sense that while we are all trying to reach a point of healthy and productive tension, the unhealthy type is still prevalent. Naturally, product and tech leaders have different perspectives, and how to prioritize scarce resources is contentious.
Here are some ideas shared about how to keep the tension healthy:
Symmetry at All Levels
Mirror the model of the design, tech, and product triad throughout the organization. Power imbalances at any level lead to issues with information sharing and can result in suboptimal decision-making. Think about who is providing updates at the Quarterly Business Review (QBR); if it’s your product manager in isolation, chances are there will be bias in the message.
One Backlog to Rule Them All
Create one backlog that includes all product and tech initiatives. Make it visible and ensure that the initiatives are linked to outcomes. Prioritization should be objectively and collectively aligned with strategy and goals.
Shared Measures of Success
Align on those goals – call them Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), or your north star, but keep them consistent across tech and product to ensure everyone is moving in the same direction.
Connection Goes Both Ways
We product people love to tell engineers to spend time with customers to create a connection to the problems we are solving for users. This is indeed true, but I loved the counterpoint from the tech leaders that product folks should also spend time with engineers to build knowledge of the tech stack, creating a better understanding of the rationale for tech initiatives.
Empathy is a two-way street.
Communication Breakdowns
Communication breakdowns can derail even the most well-intentioned teams. Ask questions for clarity. Be explicit in asking, "What do you need from me?"
Raise risks early and often. Share context. Share the why. Who knows, you may end up with a better outcome when all voices are heard.
Language matters, so try to speak the same one to prevent misunderstandings. When in doubt, ask questions and be upfront about what you don't know. Vulnerability and openness build a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
Measure Early and Often
Placing bets on initiatives but measuring them early is the way to go. Metrics should be tracked at every sprint review, focusing on leading indicators that can provide early signs of success or areas needing adjustment.
People often default to time-based metrics because they're easy to track, but they won’t help when it comes to knowing if you will make the impact you are targeting.
What Do You Get When Tech and Product Are “Friends”?
Better Outcomes
By friends, I don’t mean rainbows and kittens at every turn. I mean some conflict, the healthy kind that results in decisions that are better than they would have been without the robust debate. Think of the Steve Jobs story about rocks in a machine that start rough but come out smooth and shiny.
A Happy Culture
Personally, working with people who have empathy and where there is mutual respect and trust is a place I want to be.
A Healthy Tech Stack
Keeping tech debt under control and ensuring scalability and reliability is a great place to be. If it helps, you can call an ongoing allocation to tech health your “Mandalorian” capacity, like Melissa Klemke shared that they do at Prezzee.
