Melissa Perri on Establishing Effective Product Operations Functions

In a recent LinkedIn post, Melissa Perri discusses a common pitfall that can undermine the effectiveness of a newly established product operations (Product Ops) function: staffing it incorrectly from the outset. Perri, an influential voice in product management and strategy, argues that companies often mistake Product Ops for an administrative support role, leading to a failure to address the core friction points that necessitate its creation.

Perri highlights a recurring scenario where organizations, recognizing inefficiencies in their product development processes, hire for Product Ops with a job description focused on tasks like “tools management, roadmap tracking, meeting coordination.” However, she points out that this approach quickly bogs down the new hire in logistical duties, leaving the original problems unresolved.

“The fastest way to kill a product operations function is to staff it like an admin role.”

The Misconception of Product Ops Roles

Perri contends that the issue lies not with the individuals hired but with the fundamental framing of the role. She explains that the initial hire should be empowered to tackle the most significant friction point within the product development lifecycle.

As Melissa Perri notes, the focus should be on solving tangible problems. For instance:

• If Product Managers (PMs) are dedicating a substantial portion of their time (e.g., 30%) to extracting data from disparate systems, this should be the primary target for Product Ops.
• Similarly, if a lack of a unified view of customer feedback hinders alignment between engineering and product teams on priorities, addressing this gap is crucial.

Perri emphasizes that the goal is to demonstrate immediate value by alleviating pain points that are actively felt by the team.

Proving Value Through Focused Problem-Solving

Drawing from her work with Denise Tilles in “Product Operations,” Perri suggests that a Product Ops function can effectively start as a team of one. The key, according to Perri, is to achieve a measurable impact on a single, critical problem before broadening the scope of responsibilities.

“Your first product ops hire should be focused on the single highest-friction problem in your product development process and given the space to solve it.”

This targeted approach allows the function to build credibility and demonstrate its strategic importance. Perri argues that broader responsibilities such as coordination, governance, and tooling standardization are secondary and should only be implemented after the function has established itself by delivering tangible improvements.

“Coordination, governance, and tooling standardization all come later, after the function has earned credibility by actually removing friction that people feel every day.”

Strategic Hiring for Product Ops Success

Perri concludes by posing a critical question to organizations considering their first Product Ops hire: what is the most pressing friction point in their current product process? This question encourages a strategic mindset, shifting the focus from administrative tasks to impactful problem-solving.

In Melissa Perri’s view, a successful Product Ops hire is one that is empowered to address and resolve a significant bottleneck, thereby proving the function’s value and paving the way for its future growth and broader responsibilities. This strategic initial focus is essential for building a robust and effective Product Operations capability within an organization.