Types of Product Orgs

Flat Startup Team Model

PROS

Direct access to decision maker.

Efficient processes without overheads.

influence influence
CONS

Flat hierarchy becomes difficult to

manage after a certain employee count.

3-Department Model
PROS

Allows for dedicated Product focus

for each area.
Supports building engineering &
design culture w/ dedicated leaders.

CONS

Creates silos between product,

engineering & design.
2-Department Lean Model
PROS
Quicker iterations with designer on
proof-of-concepts & design ideation.
influence
CONS

Designer can quickly become an

order taker with little autonomy.

2-Department Mature
Stage Model
PROS

Strong engineering culture with

attention to performance, scale &
security.

CONS

Engineering starts acting as an

outsourcing service. Disconnect
from product can lead to over-
engineering.
Tech-led Product Org (Lean)
PROS
Strong engineering culture with
attention to performance, scale &
security.

CONS influence

influence
Product Manager tends to spend a lot
more time with engineers than customers.

Dense engineering processes can affect

time-to-market.

Tech-led Product Org (Multiple

Product Areas)
(natural evolution of above model)
CPO-driven Product Org
PROS

Focus on discovery, design & experience.

Metrics-informed culture.

Strong voice-of-customer programs.

influence

CONS

Develops engineering & product

silos.

CMO-driven Product Org

PROS

Focus on identifying well-defined ICPs.

Strong GTM playbooks..

Emphasis on positioning & brand..

CONS

Friction with engineering on

velocity.

Brand Optics can sometimes take

precedence on functional depth.
Business Units / Multi-Product Orgs
PROS
CONS
Autonomous product development with focus
on business metrics. Fragmented engineering & design
cultures & products.
Teams are empowered allowing them to take risk.
Product decisions may be biased
Outcome-driven product processes.
towards short-term sale opps.
Feature Crews
seen in companies like Microsoft

PROS
CONS
Dedicated team set to solve a specific
Product Managers can be shared across
problem.
Feature teams that can lead to unhealthy
Longer-term ownership of feature area, workload.
defects/bugs & its evolution over time.
Overheads incurred in keeping feature
teams in sync when dependency is high.
Squads
seen in companies like Spotify

PROS
CONS
Squad functions as a mini-startup with
Requires learning, testing & iteration. The
autonomy to solve a specific problem.
model isn't plug n play.
Cross-functional nature of squads allows for
Overheads and frameworks are required
diverse perspectives & customer-centricity.
to steer squads in the same direction.
Independence in processes & rituals.
Specialized roles like designers need
mentorship outside the squad to improve
on their technical skills.
Tribes, Squads, Chapters
PROS CONS
Every squad & tribe has sense of purpose Every role has 2 affiliations: one to the squad,
& autonomy. the other to the chapter. This can result in
conflict of interest.
What Product Organization
do you follow?