Product Ops — What Scrum Masters and Product Owners need to know about this role?
🎁 Notion Template: Scrum Master & Product Ops First 1:1 Meeting
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You've probably heard the term "Product Ops" floating around in product circles lately.
And if you're a Scrum Master, you might be wondering:
Is this the new buzzword?
Another role that will complicate things?
Or something that could actually make life easier?
What’s interesting is that while companies like Uber, Facebook, and Google have been quietly transforming their product teams with Product Ops, most of us still have no idea what this role actually does.
It's not our fault, though.
Product Ops is a relatively new role; it was unknown five years ago.
I discovered this role while working as a consultant with an organization implementing Product Ops.
Later, I also read this book, Product Operations, which provided some clarity into what this role does.
In this post, I'll unpack:
What Product Ops really means (beyond the fancy job description)
How it impacts Scrum Masters and Product Owners
Where this role fits in the agile ecosystem
How Scrum Masters can facilitate collaboration between Product-Ops and Product teams
And a 🎁 Notion Template to guide your first 1:1
Let’s get started.
What the he** is Product Ops?
Let's cut through the corporate jargon for a minute.
You know how DevOps makes life easier for developers? Product Ops does the same thing for product teams.
They are the “Product Managers” for the Product Managers. (Yes, that's actually what they call it.)
But what does that really mean?
Product Ops is a support system (a helper role | a single person | or a team) that helps product teams work smarter.
They're the ones who:
Set up the tools (eg, Jira) and processes (eg, Product Discovery Process)
Connect the right people (eg, set up stakeholder feedback loops)
Get the right information to the right places (eg, customer feedback, market research etc.)
Make sure everyone's speaking the same language (eg, create and maintain standards)
For example:
Let’s say your Product Manager spends half their time gathering data, setting up meetings, and creating reports.
That's the time they're not spending on product strategy, which more or less is their actual job.
Product Ops takes care of all that background noise for them.
They handle all the behind-the-scenes work that allows Product Managers (or Product Owners) to focus on what they do best, i.e. setting strategy, prioritizing, and driving product success.
But what exactly do they do?