Rob Parker

Product leader: Our engineering org uses [xxxxxxx] for program/portfolio management, but I've never spent a single second in that tool. This is a mid 6, low 7-figure mystery budget line, but it also makes complete sense. Most program/portfolio tools were designed for a decades-old version of program and portfolio management. Centralized IT teams. PMO as "gate", channeling the needs of countless business groups into a centralized group of developers. Mind-numbing spreadsheets with an engineer per row...their time dolled out across projects to please the optics requirements of a disconnected finance partner. "Product managers on the business side, POs on the 'tech side'". Teams measured on ‘say do’ ratios and ‘predictability’ The world has changed for many companies. Those models don't cut it anymore. Teams/groups are more independent. They are aligned around outcomes. Yes, you still have cross-cutting dependencies and strategic initiatives, but the PMO is no longer the gate, report generator, and glorified scaled project manager. Companies are looking for other solutions — and it shows. 1. Mad-scientist no-code setups that work brilliantly until the person who built them leaves. 2. Over-customized frontline tools that eventually become unusable for everyone. 3. Rigid platforms that force teams to work their way instead of adapting to yours. 4. OKR tools that handle goals well but only solve one part of the puzzle. If anyone of this resonates...reach out.

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Many product teams have brilliant strategies that never see the light of day because they lack the operational layer that connects vision to reality. I've worked with countless companies that could articulate their product strategy perfectly. They had clear OKRs, solid market research, and buy-in from leadership. But six months later, they were still stuck in the same place, wondering why nothing had moved forward. They had no systematic way to translate strategy into coordinated action. Product Operations is that missing link. It's the infrastructure that turns strategic decisions into measurable results. Think of it as the nervous system of your product organization, connecting all the parts so they work together instead of against each other. Too many teams struggle to turn strategy into action because they treat planning and execution as separate problems. But they're not. They're two sides of the same challenge: how do you create alignment, maintain clarity, and accelerate results across complex product organizations? When Product Ops is done right, strategy doesn't just live in presentations. It drives daily decisions and delivers real business impact. Join me and Matthew Gorbsky this Thursday to dive deep into this topic in a session powered by Broadcom's ValueOps® Value Stream Management: 👉 https://lnkd.in/eRv8e92G What's the biggest gap between your product strategy and execution?

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After 10 years of building Productboard, we're shipping something that feels like magic: an AI agent built specifically for product management. Here's the thing—product teams are drowning in context. Customer feedback lives in 12 different tools. That brilliant insight from last quarter? Gone when someone leaves. And you're still making calls based on vibes instead of the full picture. Generic AI tools? They're helpful until the conversation ends and they forget everything. Spark is different. It lives in Productboard. It remembers. It knows your customers, your product, your strategy, and it gets smarter as your team does. What you can do right now: → Generate PRDs that pull from your actual customer data → Turn messy feedback into clear, lasting insights → Keep competitive battle cards fresh without the manual grind This is organizational memory that actually sticks. Context that doesn't disappear. Clarity without the chaos. #ProductManagement is about to get a whole lot more fun. Ready to try Spark? Join the beta: https://lnkd.in/grDPp_xQ #ProductManagement #AI #ProductDevelopment

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With AI tools changing the game, estimating work is trickier than ever, but still as essential. Read my thoughts on why estimation matters and how it fuels transparency, conversation, and prioritization in product development. Then take it back to your team. https://lnkd.in/gX-fTmd8 #productteam #productmanagement

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WCAG is a spec. It is not a definition of done. If you're a VP of #Product, Director of #Engineering, or #Compliance Manager hiring someone to “own #accessibility,” this message is for you. We need to talk about the myth that “meeting WCAG” means something is "done". #WCAG is a library of philosophical success criterion — it’s not an instruction manual, not a checklist, and definitely not a substitute for policies, training, or process change. It’s like saying your app is #secure because your team reviewed the #OWASP Top 10 that one time. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines were never meant to be your only tool. It's not even a floor, and definitely not the ceiling. It's like referring your teams to a legal policy document. If you’re hiring someone to build an accessibility program, give them the authority and structure to do more than recite WCAG. - You need plain language rules they understand - You need accessibility acceptance criteria baked into each Jira ticket - You need frictionless training that matches team roles - You need policies with monitored (and enforceable) targets - You need leadership to hold teams accountable with objective data Without strategy, policies and tactics, an accessibility program is just a team of firefighters — solving the same problems but not fixing the system — but with the right programs in place, accessibility is an innovative asset.

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