Escaping the Build Trap

Chapter 3. Projects Versus Products Versus Services

Shifting into strategic thinking also requires a shift in the way we think about product development. Many companies operate on a project-based development cycle, in which they scope out work to be done, create deadlines and milestones, and then have the teams get to work. When the project is over, they move on to the next project. Many of these projects have their own measures of outcomes, but there is no aligning strategy above them.

There are many best-practice frameworks and certifications out there that promote project management–type thinking: PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE2), Project Management Institute, and Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). Companies stuck in the build trap usually confuse these frameworks for a product management framework.

To understand product management and how it differs from project management, we first need to define what a product is and why it is important.

Products, as I said before, are vehicles of value. They deliver value repeatedly to customers and users, without requiring the company to build something new every time. These can be hardware, software, consumer packaged goods, or any other artifacts in which human intervention is not needed to achieve value for the user. Microsoft Excel, baby food, Tinder, the iPhone—these are all products.

Services, unlike products, use human labor to primarily deliver value to the user. Service-based organizations are design agencies ...