9. Product Operations - Profile and Career Development

This section focuses on the profile and career development within Product Operations (Ops). If you're interested in pursuing a career in Product Ops or understanding how your current background fits, it's important to reflect on the skills, experience, and growth opportunities within this field.

Product Operations Manager vs. Product Manager

The primary distinction between a Product Operations Manager and a Product Manager (PM) is the relationship between them. Product Ops Managers serve as enablers, supporting Product Managers by creating processes, systems, and tools that allow PMs to focus on their core responsibilities.

• Product Operations Manager (Ops Manager): Provides frameworks, tools, and insights to help PMs, designers, and engineers work more efficiently. Ops Managers do not define product strategy or vision but instead enable PMs to execute their strategies more effectively.
• Product Manager (PM): Focuses on the execution of product strategy, including vision creation, managing product roadmaps, and working closely with engineering and design teams to deliver value to customers.

Ops Managers give PMs the necessary resources and time to focus on strategic activities rather than operational tasks, making them essential partners in the product development lifecycle.

Career Path in Product Operations

Many individuals transition into Product Ops from various backgrounds, such as consulting, data analysis, or even previous roles in product management. The career path within Product Ops offers various opportunities for progression and specialization.

Key Experience for Product Operations

A survey of Product Ops professionals revealed that the average prior experience of someone leading Product Ops is 8 years. However, this isn't a rigid requirement, and many successful Ops Managers come from a variety of backgrounds, including:

• Data analysis
• Process improvement
• Product management
• Consulting

Product Operations is a role that requires strong organizational skills, process management, and often some level of data fluency. It's not a large department in most companies—efficient processes should be scalable and automated without a need for excessive headcount. However, it is important to have senior-level professionals who can create scalable solutions.

VTEX Example: Mixed Experience Levels

At VTEX, the Product Ops team has 10 people—a mix of junior and senior staff. This balance allows the team to grow and nurture talent internally. Junior members of the Product Ops team may eventually transition into full-time product management roles. In fact, Product Ops can act as a training ground for future PMs, helping those with strong process and analytical skills to learn the fundamentals of product management.

This approach is especially helpful if you're struggling to find the perfect candidates for PM roles. You can hire junior staff or individuals from different backgrounds, train them within Product Ops, and eventually promote them into product management.

Product Operations as a Career

While some people may see Product Ops as a stepping stone into product management, it's also a career path in its own right. You can continue to grow within Product Operations without transitioning into a PM role.

• Product Operations as a long-term career: Some people, like myself, prefer to stay in Product Ops. It's a strategic role that focuses on enabling the success of product teams without the responsibility of direct product vision or customer-facing strategy.

Structuring Product Operations Teams

Typically, a Product Operations Manager reports to the Chief Product Officer (CPO). This structure makes sense as Product Ops is closely tied to the product function. However, at VTEX, Product Operations reports to the COO. There are specific advantages to this structure:

1. Pre-dated the CPO: Product Operations at VTEX existed before we formalized the CPO role, making it more logical to report to the COO initially.
2. Connecting Growth and Product: VTEX has two co-CEOs, one focused on growth and the other on product. The COO acts as the bridge, making it useful for Product Ops to sit closer to the growth operations side as well.
3. Proximity to Operations: Being near teams like People Ops and Growth Ops allows for faster project acceleration and closer collaboration on initiatives across different areas of the business.

This structure may not apply to all companies, and in many cases, Ops teams report directly to the CPO. However, as VTEX grew, this reporting structure helped Product Operations scale and develop faster.

Different Approaches to Product Ops Globally

Companies have different ways of structuring and utilizing Product Ops:

• Pendo: A company with a mature Product Ops team, Pendo divides its Product Ops into six focus areas, closely aligned with the key elements we've discussed.
• Uber: At Uber, Product Ops acts more like a direct support for PMs, almost as an extension of the product management team. The role is more hands-on and integrated with the day-to-day work of PMs, rather than being focused solely on operational efficiency.

These examples illustrate that Product Operations can be tailored to the unique needs of each organization. While some companies adopt a more process-driven approach, others integrate Product Ops more directly into product management efforts.

This overview of Product Operations roles and career paths provides a clear understanding of how to build a career in Ops, what the key distinctions are from product management, and how different companies approach the structure of their Product Ops teams. Whether you're looking to pursue a career in Product Ops or enhance an existing team, these insights will help guide your journey.