By Marty Cagan · svpg.com · LinkedIn
Marty Cagan argues that 'product' is unclear in Internet companies, where software is intangible and large sites are split into many smaller products largely for internal organizational reasons. He proposes defining product as a holistic user experience combining functionality, design, monetization and content. He stresses that form and function cannot be separated, and that whoever owns an area must balance functionality, design and content against monetization. Teams that split these concerns across people working against each other struggle to build good products. The definition matters because team structure determines whether a product can be made well at all.
01Key takeaways
- Define product as the holistic user experience, not just a feature set or a site section.
- Keep functionality and design together; you cannot meaningfully separate form from function.
- Whoever owns an area should balance monetization against the user experience, not optimize it in isolation.
- Avoid splitting user-facing and monetization work across teams that end up working against each other.
- Structure teams as dedicated product teams measured with a product scorecard.
02Key sections
- Why 'product' is ambiguous online
- Unlike a physical good such as soap, Internet products are intangible software running remotely, and large sites are artificially divided into dozens of smaller products. These divisions reflect internal organizational needs rather than what users see.
- A holistic definition
- Cagan defines product as holistic user experience equal to functionality plus design plus monetization plus content, explaining each component. The key point is that these elements must be considered together rather than separately.
- Consequences of fragmented ownership
- Separating designers from product managers and engineers, or splitting user-facing work from advertising work, limits what teams can achieve. Carving content into small spots fails to exploit the power of combining the components.
- Adjustments for e-commerce and media
- At e-commerce companies, product extends to fulfillment, packaging, service and returns, and sold items are called merchandise. At media companies, editorial owns content but still contributes to the holistic product definition.
- Recommended practice
- Dedicated product teams measured by a product scorecard work best. Practitioners across product, design and engineering should think about the combined impact of all four components.
03From the post
“A partnership dedicated to teaching best practices to product teams and product leaders”
04Frameworks mentioned
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.