The 'Minimum Viable Product Ops' Rollout
by Melissa Perri & Denise Tilles • Authors of Product Operations / CEO of Produx Labs at Produx Labs
Melissa Perri is a renowned product leader, author of 'Escaping the Build Trap', and teaches at Harvard Business School. Denise Tilles is a veteran product leader and consultant specializing in strategy and operations. Together they co-authored the definitive book on Product Operations.
🎙️ Episode Context
This episode explores the emerging function of Product Operations (Product Ops) and why it is essential for scaling technology companies. Melissa and Denise breakdown the 'Three Pillars' of Product Ops, explain how it liberates Product Managers to focus on strategy rather than administrative tasks, and provide a roadmap for implementing this function without creating bureaucracy.
Problem It Solves
Prevents organizational bloat and 'process for process's sake' when introducing a new function.
Framework Overview
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.
🧠 Framework Structure
Conduct a 'Listening Tour': Interview...
Start with One: Hire one specialist o...
Automate & Scale: Build a shared syst...
Don't Delegate Core PM Work: Ensure P...
When to Use
When a company is scaling (often around 20+ PMs) and PMs report burnout from administrative overhead.
Common Mistakes
Hiring Agile Coaches who focus only on Scrum mechanics rather than product strategy enablement.
Real World Example
At a high-growth startup, the first Product Ops hire might purely focus on 'Business Data' to get the CPO accurate retention metrics for board meetings.
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?
— Melissa Perri & Denise Tilles