Elion Reshef is the Co-founder and CPO at Gong

Key Concepts:

• Operating Model for Product and Engineering
• Pod Structure
• Autonomy
• Design Partners
• Customer Collaboration
• Feature Adoption

Evolution of the Operating Model (2016):

In approximately 2016, the organization was grappling with defining the optimal operating model for its Product and Engineering teams. Initially, the team structure comprised a small, cross-functional unit: one product manager, a user experience (UX) designer, backend engineers, and a couple of frontend engineers.

The Pod Structure Approach:

As the organization began to scale, a critical decision point emerged: whether to adopt a traditional structure with separate frontend and backend engineering teams or to replicate the existing cross-functional team model. The decision was made to replicate the existing model, leading to the implementation of a "pod structure."

Characteristics of Pods:

• Autonomy: Each pod operates with a high degree of autonomy. They are given a specific agenda or problem to solve and are empowered to determine the best approach to address it.
• Customer Collaboration: A defining characteristic of the pod structure is its close collaboration with customers. Each pod actively engages with a group of "design partners." The number of design partners varies depending on the specific capability being developed, ranging from approximately five for niche features to a dozen or even two dozen for more broadly applicable features.
• Iterative Development: The pods work hand-in-hand with these design partners, incorporating their feedback and insights throughout the development process.

Impact and Results:

The close collaboration with customers has yielded positive results. The speaker states that "very close to 100% of the features we build end up being used by a significant number of people." This high adoption rate is attributed to the direct involvement of customers in the design and development process.

Conclusion:

The organization's adoption of a pod structure, characterized by autonomy and close collaboration with design partners, has proven successful in driving feature adoption and ensuring that the developed products meet the needs of their users. The key takeaway is that empowering small, cross-functional teams with a clear agenda and direct access to customer feedback can lead to more effective and impactful product development.