Why Product over Project?
As organisations continue to evolve in today's fast-paced environment, many are sharpening their focus on outcomes, eschewing the traditional approach of inputs and outputs. As we’ll see below, there are good reasons for that.
In this article, we will explore why we should place focus on creating exceptional products and get off the project treadmill.
Customer Needs
By developing a product-oriented approach, we are better able to meet and exceed customer needs. While project-centric organisations prioritise completing the work within a given time frame and budget, product-centric companies develop products with their customer's needs and satisfaction in mind. This ensures that the customer gets what they want, and that the company's profits or projected benefits are maximized. As it evolves, the product-oriented organisation places diminishing value on the traditional management products so valued in projects, and measures success by the immediate benefits the product delivers.
Long-Term Success
When we develop a product-centric approach rather than a project-centric approach, we tend to prioritize long-term success over short-term wins. By focusing on creating a product, we are investing in something that will generate value beyond the project's completion. Additionally, some products create a loyal following that returns for repeat business, and can become a significant source of revenue.
Collaboration and Teamwork
When we focus on projects, we form groups to do that work that eventually disband after the project's completion. In contrast, companies focusing on products promote collaboration between different specialisms in permanent and fully-fledged teams to ensure long-term success. This cross-functional approach leads to new ideas and processes to improve the product long before development is over...
Reduced Management Overhead
With team-members continuing to work together on a permanent basis, the need to manage ‘resource utilisation’ is significantly reduced. Cross-functional teams focused around a product goal find themselves far more capable of self-management too, so there are significant time and cost savings to be had from running in a ‘steady-state’, as compared to the temporary resourcing and management necessary with project-based approaches.
Continuous Improvement and Adaptation
The development of a product can help to ensure continuous improvement and adaptation to changing customer demands. Companies that focus more on developing products tend to prioritise innovation, ensuring they stay ahead of their competitors. On the other hand, those that focus on projects tend to prioritise completion, allowing time to reflect on lessons-learnt once the project is fully delivered.
“A team which continually and obsessively examines the product.. isn’t focused on work which will theoretically have value in the future, but the value they can see themselves now.”
There will be those who suggest that projects have always been run to deliver products and they’re not wrong. The difference here is one of focus. A team which continually and obsessively examines the product, adapting their plan to make the next version even better isn’t focused on work which will theoretically have value in the future, but the value they can see themselves now.
Organisations which prioritise developing exceptional products over the necessary bureaucracy of multi-stage projects are more assured of success in the long-run, as they're better positioned to adapt to market changes, meet customer needs, and maintain stakeholder buy-in. It will surprise no-one that doing work which has obvious and immediate value does no harm to staff-loyalty either.
