PRODUCTHEAD: Building, wayfinding and landscape architecture

how to product completely #

every PRODUCTHEAD edition is online for you to refer back to

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tl;dr

Too often, ‘building’ becomes the default state for a product team, at the expense of other valuable ways of working

An product team should not be so rigid that it cannot cope with the occasional mandate from above

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hello

You may be familiar with the traditional* government digital approach to develop products and services in phases (discovery, alpha, beta, live). A common criticism is that this is often interpreted too literally as being a rigid, linear progression. This week Scott Colfer proposes an alternative for complex, service-driven organisations. He argues that real work moves in loops and spirals, requiring simultaneous attention across three key modes of practice: Building, Wayfinding, and Landscape Architecture. Maturity in product practice means knowing when to shift attention between these three modes, rather than following a linear path through the agile phases.

I also enjoyed listening to Georgie Smallwood on Jason Knight’s ‘CPO Stories’ podcast. As the Chief Product, Technology, and Data Officer (CPTDO!) at Moonpig, her approach to leadership exudes pragmatism and thoughtfulness. A critical point she raises challenges the idealised vision of empowered teams. Believing this can happen every day in a commercial organisation focused on profitability is naïve. Whilst it shouldn’t be the norm, decisions will inevitably come in from the top, and when it does, the product team shouldn’t implode or mutiny. After all, empowered teams can’t do whatever they like.

* It has been well over a decade now, so that counts

Speak to you soon,

Jock

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what to think about this week

Beyond Discovery, Alpha, Beta and Live

Real work isn’t linear. It moves in loops and spirals. Our attention shifts between direction, delivery, and coherence. I’ve seen that every Digital team holds three modes of practice, alive at the same time, each asking for a different kind of focus: Building, Wayfinding and Landscape Architecture.

Don’t let building become a comfort blanket

[Scott Colfer / Product in Service]

CPO Stories: Georgie Smallwood — Moonpig

Georgie has built a global career leading product and technology teams at companies like N26, Xero, and Tier Mobility, before joining Moonpig to help transform a 25-year-old household brand into a modern, tech-driven organisation. In this interview, she talks about what it means to create “moments that matter”, how Moonpig balances emotional connection with innovation, and how to lead when you’re responsible for product, tech and data all at once.

True innovation needs guardrails, not chaos

[Jason Knight & Georgie Smallwood / One Knight In Product]

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PRODUCTHEAD is a newsletter for product people of all varieties, and is lovingly crafted from software routers in containers.