Melissa Perri Highlights the Pitfalls of Project-Centric Product Development

In a recent LinkedIn post, Melissa Perri, author of “Escaping the Build Trap,” discusses a pervasive disconnect she observes in many companies: the misclassification of product organizations as project-focused entities. Despite efforts to adopt product-led strategies, including hiring product managers and establishing product operations, Perri argues that the underlying funding and staffing models often remain rooted in traditional project management.

The Core Distinction: Product vs. Project

Perri emphasizes that the difference between a product and a project is fundamental and has significant implications for organizational accountability and value creation. She states,

“A project has a deadline and a deliverable. A product has a customer, a lifecycle, and a strategy that evolves.”

This distinction, according to Perri, is crucial because project-based structures often lack ownership and accountability beyond the initial launch. As she points out,

“When you organize around projects, nobody owns what happens after launch. Nobody is accountable for whether the thing you built actually created value.”

The “Build Trap” and Its Signals

Perri identifies this project-centric approach as a key indicator that an organization is trapped in what she terms the “Build Trap.” This occurs when teams are dissolved after delivering a project, leading to a lack of continuous improvement and value compounding. She elaborates on this phenomenon:

“If your teams dissolve after every release, if success is measured by ‘did we deliver on time’ instead of ‘did customers get value,’ you’re running a project organization with product titles.”

This approach, Perri suggests, prevents companies from truly understanding and responding to customer needs over the long term, hindering sustainable growth and innovation. The focus on hitting deadlines rather than achieving customer value means that the ultimate success of the product is often overlooked.

Organizational Design Implications

Perri advocates for a shift towards a product-centric organizational design where teams remain aligned with their products throughout their lifecycle. This structure fosters a sense of ownership and accountability for the product’s ongoing success and value delivery. She prompts readers to consider the potential impact of such a change:

“What’s one thing that would change in your company if teams stayed with their products instead of rotating to the next project?”

Perri further directs interested readers to her “Dear Melissa” podcast episodes 252 and 260 for a more in-depth exploration of the product versus project distinction and common organizational design mistakes.

Ultimately, Melissa Perri’s insights serve as a critical examination of how many companies structure their product development efforts, urging leaders to align their organizational models with genuine product management principles to avoid the pitfalls of the build trap and foster sustainable value creation.