Each year Actuation Consulting conducts a global study of product team performance. This will be the third year we have conducted our study. As I write this, we are putting the finishing touches on the 2014 white paper. The goal of our research is to learn the drivers of, and impediments to, high performance on product teams.
Based upon this year’s responses only a minority (10.24%) of product development teams report that they “function as a seamless team” with high degrees of trust, collaboration and effective communication. Looked at from another angle this means that approximately 90% of teams lack effective trust, communication and collaboration. This is an eye opening piece of data and the implications are staggering.
Clearly more needs to be done to improve the effectiveness of product teams at the ground level but line management and executive leadership also have to recognize the importance of creating the appropriate environment for these teams to thrive. This is clearly not happening today.
So as you think about your product team ask yourself – is your team part of the 10%? If not, what steps can you take to join the ranks of the high performing? As it turns out our statistical analysis indicates that there are a range of factors that contribute to high performance. You can take a look at a list of the top five factors from the 2012 and 2013 studies here (scroll to the bottom of the page).
Additionally, we will be releasing the 2014 results later this month. This year’s study adds to our prior research by looking more closely at the culture of high performance product teams, ROI and its use, the product team’s relationship with Sales and Marketing and the team’s knowledge of their product’s sales cycle.
Stay tuned.
Greg Geracie is a recognized thought leader in the field of product management and the President of Actuation Consulting, a global provider of product management consulting, training, and advisory services to some of the world’s most well-known organizations. Greg is also the author of the global best seller Take Charge Product Management. He is also an adjunct professor at DePaul University’s College of Computing and Digital Media where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on high-tech and digital product management.