Confession of Product Operations

Product Operations has been a rising function in the Tech industry over the last 5 years. The nature of product ops has been debated and championed by industry practitioners like Melissa Perri and Marty Cagan. A quick Google search also exemplifies reasons for Product Ops—midsized startups seeking product market fit (PMF) and scale to take their businesses public; pre- or early-IPO companies looking for the rigor and processes to drive efficiency and maximize bottom-line EBITA. However, with all the anticipation and excitement, the roles and responsibilities of Product Ops still vary across different tech companies. While many articles out there argue for the potential of Product Ops, very few?describe the process of making the sausage.

At Uber, Ops is the double turbine. At Coursera, if you do your job well, people will forget you’re even here.

Product ops: jack of all trades, master of none?????

Having worked closely with product operations, I can attest it’s still a promising discipline with fulfilling paths beyond (e.g., product leaders, chief of staff, general managers). Just like any role, product operations has its own peaks and valleys. The upside is that it’s relatively easy to spot patterns and opportunity areas in organizations without dedicated operational rigors, and product ops are almost guaranteed a seat at the table to enable teams move faster and built better. I often get the thrill of parachuting into unknown terrains and pushing myself to rapid learning modes so that I could come up with a diagnosis and proposed solutions quickly. The downside, on the other hand, can seem daunting to navigate because of the ephemeral nature of this function.?

That makes me wonder: is product ops a jack of all trades function? My theories are about the murky swim lanes, generalist dilemmas, and perils of a painkiller function. Read the full story on Medium.