Product Operations Defined 

The term Operations is very broad and overloaded when combined with any aspect of business, especially within technology.  Add this terminology confusion to another broad definition of Product Management and understanding can become foggy.

In recent years, select operational roles have been clarified through practical use and widespread adoption.  For instance, SalesOps or Sales Operations has become mainstream as sales teams grow and require daily visibility and collaboration across leads, opportunities, and client relationships.  DevOps or Development Operations has expanded greatly as teams have accelerated release cycles through continuous development models and real-time coordination of development, testing, and release management.

Let’s dive in a little deeper to clarify what operations means when combined with Product Management.

First, what is Software Product Management?

Software product management (sometimes also referred to as digital product management or, in the right context just product management) is the discipline of building, implementing and managing software or digital products, taking into account life cycle considerations and an audience. It is the discipline and business process which governs a product from its inception to the market or customer delivery and service in order to maximize revenue. This is in contrast to software that is delivered in an ad hoc manner, typically to a limited clientele, e.g. service. – Wikipedia

Product managers focus on a portfolio of products or a specific product. Individually or as a team, product management is responsible for creating and maintaining a living product roadmap that is determined by user, customer, and stakeholder feedback.

The product manager and product team owns all aspects of product success ranging from business strategy, market awareness, and the execution of developing, delivering, and maintaining the product.  with a multitude of responsibilities, the role of product management can be extremely complex.  Product team members must now rely on multiple tools and best practices in order to be successful.  

The only way that a product manager or team can be successful is to actively manage the daily communications and toolsets required.  This is where a Product Operations focus becomes essential.  

So, what is software Product Operations?

Product operations, or product ops, is about helping cross-functional product teams work, communicate, and deliver value with greater efficiency. – Aha.io

Product operations owns the software product management process. This includes any tools, systems, or workflows that enables or optimizes communication and collaboration.  This also includes a strong union across Development Operations (DevOps) activities, tools and processes.  

Some companies hire dedicated product operations team members to focus on the process.  Smaller companies may not have the budget to include dedicated Product Operations team members and instead allocate dedicated time and attention to processes and tools.  As teams grow and products become more complex, the need for dedication becomes very apparent.

Product Management and Product Operations together

While a Product Manager owns the development of the product (aka, the person who Builds The Thing) a Product Operations Manager handles the day to day tasks involved with development, (aka, the person who Makes It Easier to Build The Thing.) – ProductSchool.com

Basically, the roles of Product Managment and Product Operations are analogous to an airline crew and the ground crew.  The Product Managment team maps the route and takes the plane to the ultimate destination while the Product Operations team ensures that everything is functioning optimally, and that everyone has the ability to communicate along the way.