This blog post is part of a series. So far, we talked about the power of a slice-based digital transformation approach moving strategic digital products fast. Previous articles touched on the importance of iterative, probe and sense change approaches and the importance of the pull effect through well-chosen 'Exemplar' teams. A Product map was introduced to give digital transformation stakeholders a common language to tie transformation slices to business goals through clear, attributable customer vaue. 

The two key positions to address the management traits above are the product owner (PO) and technology lead (TL):

Product owner

The product owner is accountable for the business and customer outcomes as measured by business and product metrics. They make sure the right product is built in the right way. This includes designing an effective part of the organization and setting the right incentives for software development teams.

Technology lead

The technology lead is responsible for the quality of the software running in production. Their primary measure of success is that systems and software work as intended. They also anchor cross-organization quality initiatives in their part of the organization. At the same time, they are the most senior engineers and responsible for the developer experience. This includes methods, tools, processes and architecture design for a smooth flow of work.

The organization tissue around the digital nucleus - key steering traits 

We cover three key traits which sum up the most important organization steering aspects to run digital efforts at scale:

  1. A clear decision-making hierarchy

  2. Accountability through measures of success

  3. Stewards of processes, methods and tools

Clear decision-making hierarchy

Product decisions are made by more people than just POs. If duties and ways of working aren’t aligned across the hierarchy, POs cannot succeed because they get overruled or their goals conflict with the way of working of the organization.

Therefore, before diving into operational enhancements, it’s worth clarifying what this hierarchy involved in digital product steering at scale could look like.

The most important aspect of effective steering hierarchies is subdivided accountability — not any accountability, but the one for financial results. In reality this means that leaders accountable for profit and loss break it down into smaller pockets which their respective reports will be accountable for. The smallest pocket of accountability is the financial results of (a group of) product(s). This ensures product decisions are incentivized coherently along the decision-making hierarchy and positively impact the bottom line. It’s important, however, to keep organizational complexity to a minimum, where possible. Fast-moving, strategic product steering should benefit from short decision-making paths and autonomy in tactical choices.