Core Concept: What Roles are Represented in a Product Trio?

Teresa Torres addresses the most common reader question about her book Continuous Discovery Habits: why user researchers, marketers, data analysts and other roles were not named in the product trio. She explains that the trio of product manager, designer and engineer describes what she typically sees, not a rigid rule, and that the concept should flex to each company's context. Her core point is that discovery needs cross-functional input, but not every role should lead or weigh in on every decision. Including too many people slows decisions and delays value to customers, so teams should balance speed against decision quality. She closes by suggesting people outside the trio find where their expertise is most valuable and focus there.

01Key takeaways

• Treat the product trio as a flexible pattern to adapt to your company's roles, not a fixed rule.
• Balance decision speed against decision quality by involving only the perspectives relevant to each decision.
• Non-trio members should still engage with customers and discovery even if they don't join every decision.
• Find the decisions where your expertise prevents rework, and focus your contribution there rather than everywhere.

02Key sections

Why the trio was questioned

Readers from many roles objected that their functions were missing from the trio described in the book. Torres notes the concept is flexible and depends on each organization.

Flexing the trio to context

The trio can expand or contract, for example adding a data scientist for an ML API or a user researcher on teams that prioritize research. Judgment is required.

Cross-functional, not exhaustive

The trio is meant to promote cross-functional collaboration, not exclude others. Not every role needs to be involved in every discovery decision, since involving everyone would stall the team.

Where to contribute

Others on the team should still gain exposure to customers and discovery. Those outside the trio should identify the decisions where their input prevents costly rework and prioritize those.

03From the post

“In this short video, I address the most common question I’ve received since releasing my book Continuous Discovery Habits: Why didn’t you include my role in the product trio? You can watch the video or read a lightly edited transcript below. Who should you include in your product”

04Frameworks mentioned

Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.