Team Objectives – Empowerment

Marty Cagan argues that team objectives should empower product teams by assigning them a hard problem to solve rather than a feature to build, along with the strategic context needed to make good decisions. Handing over features makes it impossible to hold teams accountable for outcomes, since shipping a deliverable doesn't guarantee the underlying problem is solved. He describes each objective as a qualitative problem statement paired with key results that measure business outcomes rather than activities. Key results should include a primary measure plus a quality backstop to prevent gaming. Targets are best set by the team itself, which builds ownership, and strategic context must be shared so teams can understand the why and contribute ideas.

01Key takeaways

• Give product teams a problem to solve rather than a feature to build, so they can find the best solution.
• Define success with business outcomes, not activities or deliverables, since shipping output doesn't guarantee solving the problem.
• Pair each objective with a primary key result and a quality backstop to prevent achieving one metric by harming another.
• Let the team set the quantitative targets and timeframes to build genuine ownership of the commitment.
• Share product strategy and the reasons behind problems so teams can make good decisions and anticipate dependencies.
• Watch for teams choosing easy-to-measure metrics over meaningful ones.

02Key sections

Problems, Not Features

Empowered teams receive a problem to solve instead of a prescribed feature. Cagan notes that command-and-control language inherited from industrial management undermines collaborative leadership.

Why Assignment Matters

The teams closest to a problem are best placed to choose solutions, and owning an outcome encourages iteration until results are achieved. Assigning features removes accountability for whether the feature actually works.

Writing Good Objectives

Objectives are qualitative problems such as reducing wrong-address deliveries or churn, and they leave the solution space open. Many objectives span multiple teams and parts of the organization.

Key Results and Backstops

Key results measure business outcomes rather than outputs, using a primary metric plus a quality backstop to avoid harmful shortcuts. Teams should set the target values and timeframes themselves.

Sharing Strategic Context

Teams need the product strategy to understand the ultimate goal, contribute ideas, anticipate dependencies, and express interest in specific problems.

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.