When Product and Engineering Teams Don’t Get Along

Have you worked at a Software company where the Product and Engineering teams did not get along very well? There was tension, friction, and a feeling of an “us vs them” mentality. Unfortunately, these types of environments do exist and the productivity of those teams decreases when that happens. Instead of working together towards common goals and operating as one team, the two departments work as if they belong to two separate companies.

Common Reasons for Discord

There are several reasons why any two teams (or departments) may not get along. Any time you put a group of people together there will be different personalities, preferences, opinions, backgrounds, etc. The book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team skillfully describes some of the main reasons why a team may not function well.

My goal is to describe some of the common reasons I have observed as to why tension might occur between Product and Software Engineering teams.

It is also important to note that either team can contribute to a less efficient relationship between the two and we cannot point to one or the other as the usual culprit. Below I will outline how each team can contribute to an unhealthy interaction.

Lack of Bigger Picture

Product is mainly focused on the business challenges and needs, as well as the needs of the customers. They are not interested in knowing and understanding what it truly takes to build commercial-grade software. Therefore, they have a poor comprehension of the real day-to-day challenges the Engineering team faces. This can lead to unrealistic expectations of the level of effort, time, and cost necessary to build a product or feature.
Engineering is mainly focused on technology and does not understand the business challenges, needs, and what the customer wants. They believe that they have the hardest job in the company and make technology and design decisions in a vacuum, by not considering the business and the customer as a whole. This can lead to poorer decisions, missed deadlines, and an overall inability to satisfy Product and ultimately the end user.

Inflexibility

Product regularly places demands and unreasonable deadlines/expectations on Engineering. They believe that features should be built faster. At the same time, they do not want to understand why engineers provide estimates that are longer than what Product expects.
Engineering is unwilling to think creatively, get outside of their box, and think about how they can make something happen. They are stuck in their ways of thinking and doing things and are not willing to change their approach when the business needs them to deliver something faster. They are unwilling to explore alternatives and seek win-win solutions together with Product.

Suggested reading: 9 Benefits of Software Engineers Thinking Like Business People

Misplaced Responsibilities

Product focuses on the HOW instead of on the WHAT & WHY. This is the time when Product prescribes the actual solution to the engineers, instead of communicating what is needed and its value. This leaves little room for engineers to do what they do best – design solutions to problems, and they start to feel like order takers instead of owners of their work.
Engineering fails to understand the WHAT & WHY and just wants to focus on the technical aspects. This causes Product to not feel heard and decreases their confidence that the engineers have grasped the true needs of the customer.

Lack of Focus and Rigidity

Product has no clear vision and regularly changes priorities and direction. When Product fails to create and communicate the vision engineers often feel lost and have no sense of purpose. Worse, when direction and priorities regularly change, this can create a chaotic environment that produces very little value and lots of engineering disengagement.
Engineering is rigid and never wants to be flexible and adaptive. This happens when engineers don’t tolerate any priority changes. They make a big fuss and act disgruntled at the smallest changes of direction, without any regard or desire to understand how the business priorities may have changed.

Other

The two departments work in silos instead of side by side. Product and Engineering have an invisible wall between them. Requirements and deliverables are tossed back and forth over this wall and there is no spirit of collaboration. The two groups rarely, if ever, get together to explore problems and solutions. They rarely act as one team looking to achieve the same goals.
Product and Engineering see themselves as teams with different missions, instead of one common goal. Product is solely focused on the business and the customer needs, while Engineering is primarily concerned with the technology. In this situation the two groups fail to see themselves as smaller parts of ONE larger team, serving the same customers.

How to Improve Collaboration

So what are ways to help Product and Engineering teams work better? Several things can be done to help the relationship dynamic listed below.

It is important to note that the responsibility here lies with the leaders of the organization. They are the ones who need to pay attention to the relationship and interactions between the two groups and take the necessary steps.

Some things that would help improve the relationship between Product and Engineering are:

Regularly communicate the company goals and mission and help everyone understand what their part is. That way every team and individual can understand both the big picture and their role of how to contribute to the success of the company.
Make it clear that there will be no winners and losers at the same time. This means that either we will all win together, or we will all lose together. Even if one team is successful and the other is not in what they do, the overall result will not be “success”. Why? Because teams inside a company are interdependent. They all need to be successful in order to create value for the customer. And value for the customer is the ultimate success.
Work towards removing the “us vs them” mentality and imparting a culture of partnership. Even though Product and Engineering are separate departments, we are all one team rowing in the same boat. Emphasize these messages regularly in communication with both departments.
Implement processes that break down silos and encourage collaboration between Product and Engineering. Create an environment where the two groups bring their wisdom and talent together to solve complex problems.
Communicate the importance and encourage Product to get closer to Engineering in order to better understand their daily challenges. Product teams who have some technical understanding can more easily find a common language with their engineering partners.
Communicate the importance and encourage Engineering to learn more about the business and the customers in order to understand the WHY and the WHAT better. Engineering teams who have a solid understanding of their company’s business make better technology decisions and are more engaged.

Curious how a Fractional CTO can help?

In the midst of exploring the intricate dance between Product and Engineering teams, it’s pivotal to recognize the role a seasoned Fractional CTO can play in harmonizing these crucial departments. With over 22 years in the software industry and 8 successful product launches, my unique approach as a Fractional CTO offers bespoke strategies and insights to bridge gaps, streamline processes, and foster a culture of collaboration and innovation.

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Conclusion

There will always be differences of opinion and different personalities in any group of people. Those differences need to be celebrated and used as an advantage. What is important, however, is to create a culture of empathy, shared responsibility, and a one-team mentality. When Product and Engineering teams operate from such a mindset they join forces, have more fun, and bring more value to their customers.