Hey, Nik
Project to Product isn’t the most popular book on shifting organisations toward product thinking and customer centricity, yet it’s very helpful in some ways.
Dr. Mik Kersten highlights the shift from traditional project-based delivery to a product-centric operating model.
It’s a call to action for organisations to align around value streams, enabling faster delivery, improved customer satisfaction, and long-term business resilience.
The examples and research done by the author are amazing. If you come from a non-English country, it gives all the right words and background to influence the execs.
Drawing from my approach to building product groups, I’ve found these principles essential for ensuring products effectively serve organisational goals and customer needs.
The example of BMW illustrates the challenges of transitioning from traditional manufacturing to a software-centric approach. BMW, a leader in automotive engineering, struggled with the increasing complexity of integrating software into their vehicles.
Despite their expertise in mechanical systems, the disconnect between hardware-centric processes and software value streams created inefficiencies, delays, and misaligned teams. The company’s reliance on siloed project-based management slowed innovation and made competing with software-first disruptors like Tesla difficult.
Throughout the book, this example highlights the importance of aligning organisational structures, workflows, and funding around value streams to adapt to the demands of the digital age.
Why seven and not ten – In the last 20% of the book, the author pitches his company hard and leaves the reader feeling that spending three years integrating Jira, GitHub or ServiceNow to map out the value stream metrics is crucial for success. It’s not, and it looks like a trap to me.
A product-centric organisation isn’t just about delivering software — it’s about creating autonomous, accountable teams that deliver measurable business value. We build an operating model around people, which makes the capabilities needed for achieving long-term business objectives.
My approach emphasises the following principles:
Products Must Have a Clear Business Goal
Every product must align with a business goal and serve a tangible organisational purpose. A product isn’t just a feature set; it’s a vehicle for achieving strategic outcomes. Defining this goal ensures focus and clarity for the teams.
Cross-Functional Teams and Systems Are Essential
Products should include all the necessary elements to achieve their goals:
Empower Autonomy in Product Decisions
Teams need the autonomy to make decisions about their products. Whether it’s iterating on features, experimenting with solutions, or managing timelines, empowered teams move faster and deliver better results. Autonomy fosters ownership and accountability, which are crucial for driving innovation.
Profit & Loss Responsibility
Ideally, products should operate as profit centres, with clear profit and loss ownership (P&L). When teams are accountable for the financial outcomes of their products, they develop a sharper focus on value creation and resource optimisation.
The book’s principles resonate strongly with all of that, using less scary vocab.
It’s a quick read for a weekend, full of insights into how C-level execs used to think. It helps to tone down the frustration between product and project camps and find common ground to make the shift.
If you like the BWM example from the book, you will like this BMW Autonomous Driving case study even more.