Melissa Perri & Denise Tilles

Authors of Product Operations / CEO of Produx Labs

Produx Labs

⚡ Execution (1)👥 Team & Culture (1)

Key Takeaways

1.Product Ops does not take away decision-making rights; it informs better decisions by removing friction.
2.If PMs are spending 30% of time on strategy and 70% on 'shadow work' (like SQL queries or scheduling), you need Product Ops.
3.Start small: Don't hire a massive team. Start with one person solving the biggest pain point among the three pillars.
4.Executive visibility is a key driver for Product Ops; standardize roadmaps so leadership isn't digging through Jira.
5.Don't just hire Agile Coaches for this role; you need people who understand the product context and business strategy.
6.Product Ops manages the system/process, but PMs still own the user research synthesis and strategic trade-offs.

Methodologies(2)

The Three Pillars of Product Operations

by Melissa Perri & Denise Tilles

⚡ Execution

A framework to structure the Product Ops function into three distinct areas of value creation. Depending on the company's maturity and immediate needs, they may focus on one pillar first before expanding to others.

Core Principles

1.Business Data & Insights: Automating data retrieval (revenue, retention) to enable rapid strategic decision-making.
2.Customer & Market Insights: Streamlining qualitative research loops, managing participant databases, and aggregating feedback from sales/support.
3.Process & Practices: establishing consistent frameworks (e.g., roadmap templates, QBRs) to scale product management and ensure executive visibility.

"Product operations does not take away decision making rights from the product manager. It's there to inform them."

#three#pillars#product

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The 'Minimum Viable Product Ops' Rollout

by Melissa Perri & Denise Tilles

👥 Team & Culture

Instead of hiring a large team immediately, treat the rollout of Product Ops like a product itself. Identify the single biggest friction point for PMs or Leadership and solve that first to demonstrate value.

Core Principles

1.Conduct a 'Listening Tour': Interview PMs and leaders to find the highest leverage pain point (e.g., 'we can't recruit users for interviews').
2.Start with One: Hire one specialist or assign one person (even part-time) to solve that specific pillar.
3.Automate & Scale: Build a shared system or service (e.g., a self-serve data dashboard) rather than throwing bodies at the problem.
+1 more...

"Do you want to hire 10,000 product managers and let them all do these things off the side of their desk... or do you want them concentrating on strategic work?"

#'minimum#viable#product

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