Main takeaways: - Why you want to be in a cross-functional product team and signs of a working product team - Techniques to improve your success in working with the team - Soft skills and mindset that will support you along the journey

1. How to Work in Cross-Functional Teams
by Microsoft Sr PM
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6. Dewi Wahyuni
Product Manager @
Clipchamp (Microsoft)

7. What is a cross-functional product team?
Product
Engineering
Growth
Product
design
A product scope
A subset of the product
A code area

8. BUT WHY?
¡ Remove barriers of communication
¡ Kills bureaucracy
¡ Increase productivity
¡ Getting different skillsets and perspectives

9. The how is easier said than done
INVOLVE OTHER FUNCTIONS EARLY

10. The how is easier said than done
INVOLVE OTHER FUNCTIONS EARLY AND OFTEN
Provide enough opportunity to emphatize with users
Reviews and emails from users
Watching user walkthroughs together
User interviews
User testing

11. The how is easier said than done
INVOLVE OTHER FUNCTIONS EARLY
Get feedback on your thinking early
Get one to one feedback
Workshop and brainstorm

12. The how is easier said than done
TALK TO YOUR TEAM
Maybe consider huddles
Find a really good supporting partner
Confirm roles with each new member personally

13. The how is easier said than done
PRACTICE USER-CENTRIC FOCUS
Cut short speculative discussions
Accept possibilities of multiple solutions , use validation and decision
frameworks. Tools like RICE, opportunity tree can help
Lean on decision frameworks as a neutral ground
Always be data-informed

14. The how is easier said than done
BUILD A SAFE SPACE AND CREATE TRUST
Don't pull the I'm the product manager card
Embrace feedback
Be flexible about process
Walk the trust

15. What happens when you have a solid relationship
with other functions aka signals of a great product team
¡ Improved productivity (not just for delivery, but
for you too)
¡ Productive decision making
¡ Ownership of the product is not just in product
manager's hands. PM – guided, not PM
dominated or PM-serviced.
¡ Also, it is a great reason to wake up and go to
work every day

16. What happens when it DOESN'T work
aka signals of a weak product team
¡ The vision, strategy and docs you wrote aren't
going anywhere
¡ PMs feel a huge burden to present things when
it's tidy and 'figured out'
¡ A lot of time spent discussing or arguing on non-
user problem-related issues
¡ Decisions feel forced or role-based

17. Common reasons that are bigger than yourself that
sets you up to fail
¡ Teams are formed but not given clear goals or
autonomy to self-organize, self-direct
¡ Not hiring for collaboration
¡ There are bigger politics at play
¡ The organization, or the goals change too often

18. Mindset that helps
¡ Growth mindset
¡ Resolving conflict and misunderstanding as soon as possible
¡ Don't take it personal
¡ Be willing to let go of control
¡ Be sensitive to changes

19. A journey not a destination
¡ You might have it today, but not tomorrow
¡ Every team is different with different backgrounds, dynamics, level of
seniority and organisational challenges
¡ Try a multitude of strategies and techniques and adapt e.g.
sometimes adding or changing a role in the team helps tremendously

20. THANK YOU!
¡ Linkedin: /in/dewiwahyuni
To hear more:
Teresa Torres - @ttorres
Shreyas Doshi - @shreyas
L David Marquet – Turn the ship around - @ldavidmarquet
Marty Cagan - @cagan

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