Building A Customer-Centric Product Development Team

I've seen my fair share of product development processes. JPD's approach stands out as particularly principled and well thought out. Here are the five most important things about how they build product: 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘁 𝗢𝗻𝗲 - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗽𝗵𝘆 As Catalin Bridinel, Head of Design, explains: "The product is a ship, and the user is a lighthouse that gives you direction." This is more than a cute metaphor - it's a fundamental operating principle that multiple interviewees brought up. It manifested, for instance, in the early access program stages: Step 1 - Deep dive with 10 carefully selected customers Step 2 - Expand to 100 customers for broader validation Step 3 - Then 1000 and GA And it does in a million little other ways. 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘁 𝗧𝘄𝗼 - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 They have Five Autonomous Squads: 1. PM Experience Squad: Focused on core product manager workflows 2. Admin Experience Squad: Handling the critical but often overlooked admin experience 3. Cross-flow Integration Squad: Making JPD play well with the broader Jira ecosystem 4. Infrastructure Squad: Ensuring performance at scale 5. Growth Squad: Driving adoption and expansion Having each squad own specific components end-to-end has transformed their development process. As Edouard Kaiser, Head of Engineering, put it: "Before, everyone owned everything - which meant no one owned anything." JPD operates with a surprisingly lean team of about 50 people, including just 3 PMs (plus Tanguy). 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 Instead of rigid quarterly planning, they've adopted a "nested timeframe" approach: 1. Strategic Planning (Every 6 Months): - Create opportunity solution trees - Define key strategic bets - Align on major initiatives 2. Weekly Rhythm: - Monday: PM Loom updates (3-5 minutes each) - Wednesday: PM sparring sessions - Friday: "Dojo" sessions for deep dives 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 They stay connected. 1. Weekly PM Rotation: - One PM owns all feedback channels - Monitors community posts - Reviews support tickets - Catalogues sales feedback 2. Video-First Customer Understanding: - Every product decision includes customer video clips - Regular customer interview reels - Visual evidence over written summaries This allows PMs to have a near-Tanguy level knowledge and understanding of the product. 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘁 𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲 - 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 In a delightful bit of dogfooding, JPD uses their own product to manage their development process. Their public roadmap isn't just a marketing tool - it's their actual working document. This transparency creates an interesting dynamic: they're building a product management tool while publicly showing how they manage their own product. It's a level of authenticity that I find refreshing.

Customer Success Leaders—If you're not actively shaping the Product Roadmap, you're missing a critical opportunity. The most effective organizations don’t treat CS as a participant—they rely on it as a strategic partner. Product teams should be co-designing the future with their customers. That means: ✅ Understanding emerging use cases and evolving needs ✅ Enhancing the product based on real customer insights ✅ Prioritizing with business impact and revenue in mind In today’s market—where consolidation, cost-cutting, and efficiency are top priorities—building a product that truly solves business challenges is the difference between success and irrelevance. So, how do you drive better alignment between CS and Product? Here’s what I've seen work: 1️⃣ Lead with Data & Insights -Identify the most adopted and least adopted product features -Pinpoint where customers are dropping off and why -Find personas and use cases that drive the most value -Look for patterns and trends across your customer base 2️⃣ Support Data with Customer Stories -Conduct interviews and surveys to capture direct feedback -Dive into workflows and edge cases to understand nuances -Align product evolution with customer goals and business objectives 3️⃣ Prioritize Product Feedback Strategically -Leverage customer data to rank impact and urgency -Tie feedback to revenue—renewals, expansions, and upsells -Ensure recommendations align with the broader product vision 4️⃣ Maintain an Open Dialogue -Establish a structured collaboration rhythm (bi-weekly syncs, Slack channels, shared roadmaps) -Keep all teams informed on designs, timelines, and priorities -Be clear, concise, and adaptable—Product is balancing competing priorities across the org 5️⃣ Close the Loop—Every Time -Set clear expectations with customers early and often -Enable Product teams to engage directly with customers for firsthand learning -Continue gathering feedback even after launch (beta programs, customer advisory boards) At the end of the day, great products are built by teams who stay close to the customer. CS should not be a passive observer in product development—it should be a driving force. When you get this right, you influence retention, expansion, and advocacy. And that’s a business win. __________________ 📣 If you liked my post, you’ll love my newsletter. Every week I share learnings, advice and strategies from my experience going from CSM to CCO. Join 12k+ subscribers of The Journey and turn insights into action. Sign up on my profile.

Transforming Global Capability Center into World-Class Product Development Center: The Power of Customer Empathy Building a high-performing Global Capability Center (GCC) isn’t just about hiring great talent—it’s about instilling a customer-first mindset and creating a culture of ownership, innovation, and purpose. At Intuit, we turned our GCC into a product innovation powerhouse by embedding customer awareness and empathy into everything we did. Here’s how we bridged the gap between remote teams and real users: 1. Customer Connections Every U.S. visit wasn’t just about meetings. Team members were tasked with meeting real customers, learning their challenges, and sharing their insights with the team back home. These stories ignited empathy and shaped the way we built solutions. 2. Customer Booths in the Office We brought the customer voice directly into the GCC. A customer listening booth allowed employees to hear real call center conversations, making customer challenges tangible and actionable. 3. Purpose-Driven Innovation Our hackathons focused on real customer pain points. Teams picked specific problems and designed impactful solutions, driving a culture of customer-focused creativity. These kinds of initiatives complemented with a clear OKR framework that keeps the focus on outcomes can help you transform a GCC: Objective: Build a GCC that deeply understands customers and solves real-world problems. • Key Result 1: Facilitate N+ direct customer interactions annually for GCC team members. • Key Result 2: Identify and solve 10 top customer pain points through innovation initiatives with delightful solutions. • Key Result 3: Increase customer satisfaction (CSAT) for GCC-developed solutions by 25%. The result? A GCC that doesn’t just support product development—it leads the way, creating impactful, customer-centered solutions that matter. Takeaway: A truly customer-centric GCC doesn’t just deliver—it empathizes, innovates, and takes ownership. When you empower, educate and energize remote teams with customer insights and purpose, you transform outcomes and create products that delight. How are you driving customer awareness and innovation in your GCC? Zinnov Amita Goyal Karthik Padmanabhan Mohammed Faraz Khan ieswariya k Komal Shah Hani Mukhey Sagar Kulkarni Veerendra Baligeri Namita Adavi Dipanwita Ghosh Rohit Nair Amaresh N.