{"id":80132,"date":"2024-08-22T13:14:25","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T12:14:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/?p=80132"},"modified":"2026-01-23T16:03:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T16:03:18","slug":"product-management-team-structure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/product-management-team-structure\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Nail Your Product Team Structure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Properly structuring your product team is one of the most common challenges for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/product-manager\/\">Product Manager<\/a>. The way you compose your product team structure can be make or break. A team structure that suits you creates efficient, highly collaborative teams, whereas a poorly designed team structure can result in clashes and low output.\u00a0<br><br>Now, there are many ways you can structure your team. This will depend on the size of your company, the number of products you manage, and your budget. There\u2019s no one single team structure that\u2019s going to work for everyone &#8211; but some are going to work better for you than others.\u00a0\u00a0<br><br>We\u2019re going to help you find them \ud83e\udee1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-is-product-team-structure-important\">Why is Product Team Structure important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The structure of your product team is the spine that supports how you do things. It dictates how ideas flow between teammates, how decisions are made, and ultimately, how successful your product becomes. Without the right structure, even the best ideas can get lost in the chaos, and your team might end up feeling like they\u2019re constantly on the back foot.<br><br>A well-thought-out team structure ensures that everyone knows their role, who they report to, and how their work contributes to the bigger picture. It\u2019s the difference between a symphony and a garage band\u2014both can make music, but one is a lot more likely to hit the right notes consistently. It helps with task prioritization, making the whole team more efficient, innovative, and, let\u2019s be honest, a lot more fun to work with.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"callout flex\">\n    <p><em>\u201cIt took me decades to realize that product team structure is really your only good tool for prioritization.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>If you have a team that owns it, your product will move forward. If not, it doesn\u2019t matter how many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/rice-scoring\/\"><span class=\"highlight\">RICE scoring<\/span><\/a> charts, RACI conversations, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/kano-model\/\">Kano<\/a> charts, executive check-ins, kickoffs, offsite, or other things you do; tasks will just never get done.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><b>&#8211; Joshua Herzig-Marx, <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/joshuaherzigmarx\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Founder and Product Coach<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-are-the-benefits-of-a-solid-product-team-structure\">What are the benefits of a solid Product Team Structure?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Putting together a great product team structure comes with many benefits. Would you like to hear them? Of course, you do. Nailing your product team structure can:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Improve communication: <\/strong>A well-structured team knows who to talk to and when, cutting down on mixed messaging and \u201cI thought you were doing that\u201d moments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enhance collaboration: <\/strong>By building a team structure that better connects departments and roles, you\u2019ll be better equipped to work on the same goals.<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Boost efficiency: <\/strong>When everyone knows their responsibilities and what everyone else is working on, there\u2019s less time wasted on duplication of effort or stepping on each other\u2019s toes. Just smooth sailing ahead.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Accelerate value delivery: <\/strong>A strong structure allows your team to move faster from ideation to execution, bringing valuable features to your users before they even knew they needed them.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Increase product quality: <\/strong>With a balanced team, every detail gets the attention it deserves, leading to a polished product that your users will love\u2014and that you\u2019ll be proud to ship.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Strengthen accountability: <\/strong>By knowing what everyone is responsible for, a solid product team structure makes it easier to track progress, celebrate wins, and address any hiccups before they become full-blown issues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-roles-on-a-product-team\">Roles on a product team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To build the best product team structure for you, you need to first understand the various roles that can fit into a team. These roles are your building blocks, the Lego pieces you need to fit together to create an effective team.\u00a0<br><br>Some of these roles are essential &#8211; you won\u2019t get away with not having them in your product team &#8211; while others can supplement your team depending on factors like your industry, type of products, and finances. It\u2019s best practice to have defined roles with specific responsibilities, but we all know that best practices can often end up as a pipe dream.\u00a0<br><br>Many team members within a product team structure will wear multiple hats depending on what your company needs. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/product-designer-vs-product-manager\/\">Product Designer<\/a> can also fulfill the responsibilities of a UX researcher. A Product Manager may also be doing jobs that may fall under the job spec of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/product-marketing-manager\/\">Product Marketer<\/a>.<br><br>The number and types of roles in any product organization will vary. Because of that, we\u2019ll cover the core and supplementary roles that are possible.\u00a0<br><br>First, let&#8217;s look at the key roles that you\u2019ll see in 99% of product team structures:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-product-manager\"><strong>1. Product Manager<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The role of a Product Manager is multifaceted, and the scope of responsibilities and tasks will look different for every team. In a nutshell, the PM is focused on the entire product strategy, owning the product vision, collecting user feedback, leading <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/product-discovery-process\/\">product discovery<\/a>, and bringing vetted solutions into reality. Sounds like a lot right? Well, that\u2019s because it is.&nbsp;<br><br>In bigger teams, some of the responsibilities can be delegated to other roles to support the Product Manager, but for many, they\u2019ll be working around the clock to complete these tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-product-owner\">2. Product Owner<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Product Owner is like a Product Manager for your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/agile-sprint\/\">agile sprint<\/a> cycle. One of their main priorities is to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/backlog-grooming\/\">review the backlog<\/a> and act as a representative for your customers by understanding their needs and writing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/how-to-write-great-user-stories\/\">user stories<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br>There are a few other key responsibilities of a Product Owner. You can check out the full list below to help you better spec out the role \ud83d\udc47.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/product-owner-responsibilities\/ \" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"callout callout__inline-cta-secondary flex inline-cta--link\">\n    <div class=\"callout__content\">\n        <p class=\"font-weight-bold\">The Definitive List of Product Owner Responsibilities<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"callout__cta btn-group\">\n        <span class=\"btn btn--arrow\"><\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<\/a>\n\n\n\n\n<p>Now here\u2019s when things get complicated. In small teams, the Product Manager can also be the Product Owner. That\u2019s because it\u2019s best to think of the Product Owner as a responsibility instead of a defined role. It\u2019s one of the many hats that your team members can wear.&nbsp;<br><br>Regardless of whether it\u2019s a separate role or a responsibility, you need someone to complete the tasks attributed to the Product Owner, so it\u2019s still a crucial role you can\u2019t ignore, even if it is fulfilled by a pre-existing team member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-product-designer\">3. Product Designer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Product Designer is responsible for making your products look good and feel intuitive to use. You need this role in your product team structure if you\u2019re hoping to build an effective product that works. Concepts like UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) rule the designer\u2019s world.&nbsp;<br><br>Again, depending on the size of your team, a Product Manager will often be dipping into a Product Designer&#8217;s responsibilities. However, if you\u2019re looking to restructure your team and define the specific responsibilities for each role, read on about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/product-designer-vs-product-manager\/\">difference between a product manager and a product designer<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-engineer\">4. Engineer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The engineer&#8217;s role is pretty self-explanatory. They\u2019re the people putting the product together, often coding the software and bringing the ideas from the Product Manager to life. It\u2019s important to see the engineer as a core role of the product team, and not exclusively belonging to \u201cengineering\u201d or \u201cdevelopment.\u201d&nbsp;<br><br>The product team needs an engineer\u2019s perspective on the feasibility and viability of any product solution. Your team may have an amazing, outlandish idea, but an engineer will help keep your feet on the ground and ensure you only focus on what\u2019s possible to make.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-supplemental-roles-on-a-product-team\">Supplemental roles on a product team<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If your team is big enough and has enough resources, you might invest in additional roles that support the core product management team.<br><br>These roles could be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Product operations.<\/strong> These folks are devoted to optimizing the way the product team works, through tools, data analysis, and other facilitation. Learn more about how your team could harness the power of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/harness-the-power-of-product-ops\/\">product operations<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Data analyst.<\/strong> When SaaS analytics tools just don\u2019t cut it anymore for a complex product, a product team might bring on their own dedicated data analyst to support product discovery and retrospectives with key performance metrics being tracked.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>UX researcher<\/strong>. Since understanding and improving the user experience is central to great product management, a full-time UX researcher might come on board to support the team.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Growth marketer.<\/strong> Some of the most effective product feature changes can actually be a matter of product marketing, rather than hard code. Working hand-in-hand with a growth marketer brings a wider range of ideas and solutions to the table.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Legal expert, business analyst, or domain expert<\/strong>. These specialists especially come in handy if you\u2019re in a highly regulated field, such as finance or medicine, or when launching in a new market.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Customer Success Manager, or Account Manager<\/strong>. Most of the time, the most valuable insights don\u2019t come from the Product Leaders themselves but from the external customers. Having the customer experiences brought into the product development process via your customer-facing team brings that deep understanding of the customer base to the product team.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-to-approach-your-product-team-structure\">How to approach your Product Team Structure?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So, how do you piece all these product roles together? Well, there are many different formulations and constellations you can try to build a high-performing product team structure. Here are just five of some of the most successful ones that work well across multiple types of companies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-product-trio\">The Product Trio<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/product-trio\/\">product trio<\/a> is a model that revolves around a Product Manager, an Engineer, and a Product Designer. Think of these as the three musketeers of product, combining to work together on Product Management as a whole or on a specific problem within a product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"582\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/The-Product-Trio-1024x582.png\" alt=\"Illustration of the product trio product team structure. \" class=\"wp-image-82722\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/The-Product-Trio-1024x582.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/The-Product-Trio-300x170.png 300w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/The-Product-Trio-768x436.png 768w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/The-Product-Trio.png 1472w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Product trios are small by design, to facilitate collaborative decision-making while still being balanced. What makes this structure so effective is the tight-knit collaboration it fosters. Instead of working in silos, each member of the trio is involved from the very beginning, which means fewer surprises down the road and a more cohesive final product. Decisions are made faster, roadblocks are cleared more efficiently, and everyone stays on the same page. It\u2019s a recipe for not just building great products, but building them with a lot less friction and a lot more fun.<br><br>A product trio is a flexible concept, and you can include other roles in this team if it works for you. It\u2019s just that these there are the most common. For example,&nbsp; if you\u2019re a user-focused team, you can add a user researcher to your trio to make it a quad, or a squad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-product-squads\">Product squads<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Product squads are similar to product trios, with the main difference being that they\u2019re not limited to three people. A product squad is modeled after the product trio, with you then adding roles that might be key for your Product Development, based on your industry or goals.&nbsp;<br><br>For example, if your company is expanding into a new market or region like Germany, you may want to create a \u2018Germany Squad\u2019 for that region that includes the core three roles as well as a legal expert who knows that domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"407\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Product-Squad-Structure-1024x407.png\" alt=\"ProdPad Illustration of the product team structure, product squads. \" class=\"wp-image-82725\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Product-Squad-Structure-1024x407.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Product-Squad-Structure-300x119.png 300w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Product-Squad-Structure-768x305.png 768w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Product-Squad-Structure-1536x610.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Product-Squad-Structure-2048x813.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The benefit of product squads is that they\u2019re flexible and can be molded around your aims and goals. It gives you the ability to build your squads in a way that makes the most sense for your product.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With squads, you\u2019re empowered to tailor your teams to what\u2019s needed, and failing to do so is a common sign of a poorly constructed team structure.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"callout flex\">\n    <p><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">\u201cI\u2019ve seen different product team setups that worked well, but also many that didn\u2019t. What was common about those that didn&#8217;t work was when teams neglected roles, tasks, or skills that would have suited their goals.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Examples of this include a user-facing team having no dedicated UX designer, or an entire team ignoring a task because they believed it wasn&#8217;t their responsibility.\u201d<br \/>\n<\/i><br \/>\n<b data-stringify-type=\"bold\">&#8211;\u00a0<\/b><b data-stringify-type=\"bold\"><a class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.busra.co\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.busra.co\/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">B\u00fc\u015fra Co\u015fkuner<\/a><\/b><b data-stringify-type=\"bold\">, Product Management Coach<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-cross-functional-teams\">Cross-functional teams<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The cross-functional team is an evolution of the traditional team structure, where different departments are grouped into their own siloed teams. In this traditional structure, product teams, engineering teams, and design teams are separate from each other, focusing on their specific work. This approach leads to each team operating as a faux agency for the other, handing over what\u2019s required to other teams while waiting for their own requests.&nbsp;<br><br>As you can imagine, this traditional approach fostered less collaboration, resulting in siloed thinking and mismatched product planning. The cross-functional team structure is designed to fix this.&nbsp;<br><br>In a cross-functional team, a team is made up of folks with diverse skill sets, pinched from each department, working towards the same goal. With this team, silos are broken down to foster deeper collaboration between the company. You get a diverse range of perspectives and a shared sense of goals and responsibilities. The team members in these cross-functional teams are able to report back to their departments to ensure that the right hand knows what the left hand is doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"813\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Cross-Functional-Team-1024x813.png\" alt=\"ProdPad illustration of the cross-functional teams product team structure\" class=\"wp-image-82723\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Cross-Functional-Team-1024x813.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Cross-Functional-Team-300x238.png 300w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Cross-Functional-Team-768x610.png 768w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Cross-Functional-Team-1536x1220.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Cross-Functional-Team-2048x1626.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-user-persona-structure\">User persona structure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One popular way to structure your product teams is to divide teams by user segments, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/a-product-managers-approach-to-creating-user-personas\/\">user personas<\/a>. This is a good option for companies that serve different types of users, as this allows you to focus on and cater to the needs of different customers.&nbsp;<br><br>In this model, you can divide your teams to focus on a certain type of user, with one team working to make the product better for one segment, while another focuses on a different one. This approach helps you position good customer experience as one of your core objectives, as each team works on addressing specific pain points and needs.&nbsp;<br><br>For this structure to succeed, each team needs to fully understand the needs of the customers they\u2019re building for. You\u2019ll need to use data-backed insights, behavior analytics, and also consider running a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/customer-advisory-board-best-practices\/\">Customer Advisory Board<\/a>.<br><br>A negative of this approach is that it can harm coordination between different teams, making it important that the Product Manager implements ways to ensure good communication between these customer-focused teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-performance-metrics-structure\">Performance metrics structure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As long as you\u2019ve clearly identified your target KPIs and metrics and have aligned them with business goals, you can decide to structure your teams by working to improve specific metrics.&nbsp;<br><br>In this structure, each team &#8211; which can be a trio or a squad &#8211; performs tasks and creates features that help them achieve or enhance their North Star metric values. For example, one team can focus its effort on improving <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/user-activation\/\">user activation<\/a>, while another works on boosting customer lifetime value. This makes it easier to measure product success and gives each team a clear focus.<br><br>Be mindful that this approach to team structure isn\u2019t for everyone. You\u2019ll need a fixed set of KPIs that won\u2019t change often, and you\u2019ll also need highly coordinated cross-team functionality. If you need a hand picking the best KPIs and metrics to track, we\u2019ve got a definitive list of PM KPIs you can download.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/downloads\/product-management-kpis\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Product-KPIs-Blog-banner-1280x300-2-1024x240.png\" alt=\"product metrics e-book\" class=\"wp-image-80602\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Product-KPIs-Blog-banner-1280x300-2-1024x240.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Product-KPIs-Blog-banner-1280x300-2-300x70.png 300w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Product-KPIs-Blog-banner-1280x300-2-768x180.png 768w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Product-KPIs-Blog-banner-1280x300-2.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-product-team-structure-in-action\">Product Team Structure in action<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>So you\u2019ve seen the structures, but how does this work in real life? Well, we\u2019ve spoken to Trevor Acy, who formerly held the role of PM and Associate Director of a 1000-team-member company with about 30 product teams, about how they approached their team structure.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"callout flex\">\n    <p><em>\u201cWe went through a pretty dramatic restructuring of our product org and teams, trying our best to implement SVPG-empowered teams and product trios. At the organizational level, we combined the leadership teams for product and engineering into a single leadership group and were in the process of adding in design leadership when I left.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>As PM, I had an Exe. Director of Product over my business line that I reported to who in turn reported to the acting CPO at the time.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>We made sure not to make Product Ops a separate group but a subset of the Product\/Engineering leadership team to facilitate better communication, where both were passionate about operations and had successfully implemented changes for their teams and the wider business.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8211; Trevor Acy, Product Leader at <a href=\"https:\/\/revenuefactory.co\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Revenue Factory<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>But what about an example where things haven&#8217;t worked out that well? We&#8217;ve also chatted to Antonia Landi, a Product Coach &amp; Consultant, who&#8217;s got a lot to say about what was learnt after a poor approach to getting an engineering team more aligned with business goals .  <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"callout flex\">\n    <p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhile working as a Product Owner for a traditional, German B2B SaaS company, one of our goals was to become more \u2018modern\u2019 and step away from the <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/feature-factory\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">feature factory<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> model we\u2019ve fallen into due to not doing any product discovery.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One goal was to get our siloed and unmotivated engineering team more involved with our initiatives, but it was tackled in the wrong way.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead of integrating engineering into a cross-functional team, every cycle the Product Owners would present our initiatives in a kind of show-and-tell, telling them what we needed and why, hoping to get them to step up to the plate where they saw themselves being valuable. This didn\u2019t work, and the engineers remained reluctant, dragging their feet to get more involved.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reflecting on this, I think a major flaw was that each time we got together, we had to go through the five stages of re-development again, as there was still minimal contact between teams. There was near-constant friction. They were still very much siloed in their own squad, with their own goals and objectives separate from the initiatives that we were trying to get across in these irregular get-togethers. It created a sentiment that the engineers and Product Owners were against each other.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If we built a more collaborative product team structure, focused on product trios or even cross-functional teams, we all would have been more aligned and each department would be equally invested in the same goals and initiatives, resulting in a shared ownership of the product and a better output.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><b>&#8211; Antonia Landi, <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.antonialandi.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Product Coach &amp; Consultant<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-who-is-responsible-for-setting-the-product-team-structure\">Who is responsible for setting the Product Team Structure?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So, who\u2019s the mastermind behind setting the product team structure? Well, in the world of product management, that role usually falls to the Chief Product Officer (CPO) or other product leaders, depending on the size of your company. They\u2019re the ones who have the bird\u2019s-eye view of the product vision, company goals, and team strengths, making them perfectly positioned to assemble the dream team.<br><br>But this isn\u2019t a solo gig. Setting the product team structure is often a collaborative effort, with input from key stakeholders like engineering leaders, design heads, and even HR.&nbsp;<br><br>As a product manager, you definitely have a voice in the process. Your insights into how the team operates on the ground are invaluable when it comes to making adjustments or advocating for the right mix of people. You\u2019re certainly one of the key advisors helping to shape the blockbuster team that\u2019s going to build the next big thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-factors-to-consider-for-your-product-team-structure\">Factors to consider for your Product Team Structure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When choosing a specific structure that works best for your team, there are a few factors you should definitely consider when evaluating your options. This additional context can help you determine which one is most effective for you.&nbsp;<br><br>Some things you should make sure to do is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-structure-your-team-with-experience-in-mind\">1. Structure your team with experience in mind<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The amount of product or professional experience can determine how you structure the team. If there are more senior Product Managers, then these seniors can be carved off into product trios or squads to work more autonomously. However, if the team leans more junior, you might choose a structure that provides more guidance or oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-consider-your-product-line\">2. Consider your product line<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have a small product portfolio or specific short-term projects, you might want to structure around project (or \u201cinitiative\u201d) teams. This teams-within-a-team, such as a single Product Trio, is focused on a particular goal or problem.<br><br>On the other hand, if you have a diverse suite of products, it might not be feasible to create separate mini-teams to manage each one. That takes a ton of resources and organization. Instead, you might choose to stay more integrated and centralized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-consider-the-size-of-your-company\">3. Consider the size of your company<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This one seems obvious, but it\u2019s worth saying. If you have a small company, your product team is likely also small. Structure options are pretty simple. But if you work in a large company, there might be more options and flexibility to try new team formulations. For example, with more designers and engineers in-house, the more likely you can pull one of each to create a cross-functional team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-remember-that-change-happens\">4. Remember that change happens!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As product people, embracing change is basically our job. So, remember that teams are not fixed! Allow them to grow, flux, change, and evolve. Like your product lifecycle, your product development cycle style will change and evolve. The structure that works for you now doesn\u2019t need to be the structure you use in a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-pitfalls-to-avoid-in-product-team-structure\">Pitfalls to avoid in product team structure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When building a product team structure, there are many things you can get wrong. One major issue is diving into reorganizing your teams without first evaluating your goals and objectives. These play a massive part in how you build an effective team.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"callout flex\">\n    <p><em>\u201cYour team structure is often a result of your goals and priorities. If they\u2019re not clear, then no matter how much you think your way through it, there will always be challenges and your team structure may never be good enough.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8211; Vinamrata Singal, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vinamratasingal.com\/coaching\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Product Coach<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The best product team structure is designed, in part, to avoid some of these product management pitfalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Conflicting priorities.<\/strong> Individual teams that are working in silos, or without great communication, can end up working against each other! Structure wisely and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/align-your-teams-by-writing-good-objectives-and-key-results\/\">align your teams by writing good objectives and key results<\/a>. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Psychologically unsafe environment<\/strong>. No single ego or voice should dominate the team. Everyone needs to feel they can speak up, challenge decisions, and make bets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Poor meeting management. <\/strong>Even the best team structure can feel ineffective or annoying if meetings are: a) useless, or b) not frequent enough. Learn <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/product-team-meeting\/\">how to run a great product team meeting<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Using the wrong tools.<\/strong> It\u2019s really important to invest in the right tools for product management teams. So important that we\u2019ve dedicated a whole section to it!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-tools-to-facilitate-good-product-team-structure\">Tools to facilitate good product team structure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>No structure will work well if people aren\u2019t supported with the right tools! Designers need their design tools; developers need their engineering tools.<br><br>But what about all the cross-functional collaboration we just talked about? You need to find the right tools that help the team work <em>together<\/em>. There are several categories of collaboration tools, which include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Video meetings, such as <a href=\"http:\/\/zoom.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Zoom<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Messaging, such as <a href=\"http:\/\/slack.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Slack<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Virtual brainstorming, such as <a href=\"http:\/\/miro.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Miro<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Project management, such as <a href=\"http:\/\/trello.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trello<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Product analytics tools, such as <a href=\"http:\/\/mixpannel.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mixpannel<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If your team is hybrid or fully distributed, check out these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/the-tools-we-use-for-remote-collaboration\/\">tools for remote teamwork<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-building-the-dream-team\">Building the Dream Team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When piecing your product team together, there\u2019s a lot to think about to ensure that it works. You need to focus on crafting a team that matches your needs, focuses, and aims, as well as budget. Whether you opt for product trios, squads, cross-functional teams, or something different, you need to do your discovery and research to make sure that it\u2019s best for you.&nbsp;<br><br>A good product team structure is designed to make you a better team and ultimately, create a better product. The way you organize your teams is vital, but you\u2019ll miss the mark if you\u2019re not empowering these teams with the right tools. We\u2019ve already mentioned some of the most effective collaboration tools but purposely foregoed to mention one of the most important: <strong>your product management tool<\/strong>.&nbsp;<br><br>As your centralized platform for your roadmaps, planning, idea generation, and more, you need a product management tool that facilitates effective collaboration within your team structure. ProdPad does just that \ud83d\udc4b.&nbsp;<br><br>In ProdPad, you\u2019re able to capture feedback, ideas, and strategy all in one place. It also helps you present your product roadmap, manage experiments, and measure outcomes, boosting transparency and accountability within your entire team. If you\u2019re not already in love with ProdPad, why don\u2019t you give it a try?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/feedback-5-1024x576.png\" alt=\"ProdPad is great for supporting your product management team structure\" class=\"wp-image-79830\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/feedback-5-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/feedback-5-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/feedback-5-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/feedback-5-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/feedback-5.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"callout callout__inline-cta flex\">\n    <div class=\"callout__content\">\n        <p class=\"font-weight-bold\">ProdPad is designed to improve team collaboration \u2013 for everyone, not just for product people.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"callout__cta btn-group\">\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/app.prodpad.com\/signup\" class=\"btn btn--cta\" rel=\"noopener\">Try for free<\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-\"><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Properly structuring your product team is one of the most common challenges for a Product Manager. The way you compose your product team structure can be make or break. A&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,5226],"tags":[5292],"pp_uni_tag":[],"class_list":["post-80132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-product-leadership","category-team-collaboration","tag-product-team-structure"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Nail Your Product Team Structure | ProdPad<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Getting your product team structure right is such a *chef&#039;s kiss* moment. 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