Projects kill product development organizations. By definition, a project assumes a beginning and an end. The beginning requires deigning, justifying, and planning the project. The end assumes that deliverables and objectives are met and that resources can be disbanded or shifted to other projects.
This structure poses several issues to product development efforts
- My primary issue is project end. Software based products never truly end. Surely, you can put the product on fumes and not invest in it, but any product that has some business value should have a portion of revenue allocated for enhancements and innovation.
- The cost to start a project can often outweigh the value and benefits.
- There is additional risk on boarding and releasing resources
- It's a more fluid process to move efforts from strategy, to planning, to development.
- Continuity of resources reduces the overhead on resource allocation, complexity in knowledge transfer, and risk in quality.
- Light weight governance is more easily applied across multiple programs.
- Focuses teams on small incremental product improvements.