By Marty Cagan · svpg.com · LinkedIn
Marty Cagan argues that policy is an integral part of product, not a separate concern, and that many product leaders underestimate its role. He notes that while most products treat policy as minor business rules like taxes or return terms, in some products policy shapes the core value and trust of the offering. He points to eBay's reputation system, Uber's surge pricing, and Apple's app review as cases where policy was handled well, and to content moderation, API access, and autopilot failures as cases where it was not. Because policy usually affects all teams in a business, it must be governed at the same level as vision and strategy rather than left to individual product teams.
01Key takeaways
- Treat policy as a core part of the product, not an afterthought or a legal-only concern.
- Audit which business rules in your product could materially affect customer trust or marketplace health.
- Recognize that policy decisions can determine whether a marketplace or platform works at all.
- Assign policy ownership at the level that spans all product teams, alongside vision and strategy.
- Study visible policy failures in other products to anticipate similar risks in your own.
02Key sections
- Product as the full customer experience
- Product means the whole customer experience, including non-code elements such as policy, not just the interface or app.
- Policy as ordinary business rules
- For most products, policy is mundane, covering things like taxes, returns, reservations, and data sharing.
- When policy shapes the value
- In some products, well-designed policy such as eBay's reputation system or Uber's surge pricing is central to the marketplace's health.
- Costly policy failures
- Neglecting policy has caused serious harm, including content moderation problems, the Cambridge Analytica API issue, and Hertz's false police reports.
- Governing policy at the right level
- Policy spans all product teams, so it needs ownership at the level of product vision and strategy, as eBay's dedicated policy leader illustrated.
03From the post
“A partnership dedicated to teaching best practices to product teams and product leaders”
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.