Slicing Vertical Ownership in a Product-Led Company

Problem Definition

As product-led companies grow, they often struggle with maintaining agility, clear ownership, and end-to-end responsibility for product features. This can lead to silos, slower decision-making, and a disconnect between teams and the overall product vision.

Solution Overview

Implement a vertical slice ownership model where cross-functional teams are responsible for specific product features or user journeys from end to end. Each team owns their slice of the product, from user interface to backend services, and is empowered to make decisions that affect their area of responsibility.

Benefits

1. Increased autonomy and ownership
2. Faster decision-making and implementation
3. Better alignment between technical decisions and product goals
4. Reduced dependencies between teams
5. Improved product coherence and user experience

Applicability

• Product-led companies with multiple features or user journeys
• Organizations looking to scale their engineering and product teams
• Companies aiming to increase innovation and reduce time-to-market
• Businesses seeking to improve customer-centricity in their development process

Implementation Guide

1. Identify Product Verticals
   • Map out key user journeys and product features
   • Group related features into coherent verticals
   • Why: This creates clear boundaries and focuses teams on specific user needs
2. Form Cross-Functional Teams
   • Assemble teams with diverse skills (frontend, backend, design, product)
   • Aim for 5-9 members per team for optimal communication
   • Why: Cross-functional teams can own entire features, reducing handoffs and increasing speed
3. Define Team Responsibilities
   • Clearly outline each team's area of ownership
   • Establish interfaces and contracts between teams
   • Why: Clear responsibilities prevent overlap and reduce conflicts between teams
4. Empower Decision-Making
   • Grant teams authority to make decisions within their vertical
   • Implement a decision-making framework (e.g., RAPID, RACI)
   • Why: Empowered teams can move faster and are more motivated
5. Align on Metrics and Goals
   • Set clear, measurable objectives for each vertical
   • Ensure goals align with overall product and company strategy
   • Why: Aligned goals ensure teams are working towards the same overall vision
6. Establish Communication Channels
   • Set up regular inter-team sync meetings
   • Create shared documentation for cross-team visibility
   • Why: Good communication prevents silos and ensures coordination
7. Implement Continuous Delivery
   • Set up independent CI/CD pipelines for each vertical
   • Empower teams to control their release cycles
   • Why: Independent delivery allows teams to move at their own pace
8. Foster a Culture of Ownership
   • Encourage teams to take pride in their vertical's performance
   • Implement showcases where teams demo their work to the company
   • Why: Ownership culture increases motivation and quality of work
9. Manage Dependencies
   • Identify and document cross-vertical dependencies
   • Establish clear processes for managing shared resources
   • Why: Proper dependency management prevents bottlenecks
10. Regular Review and Adjustment
    • Conduct quarterly reviews of the vertical structure
    • Be prepared to adjust team boundaries as the product evolves
    • Why: Regular reviews ensure the structure remains optimal as the product grows

Case Study

Airbnb's transition to a vertical slice ownership model provides an excellent example of this approach in action. In 2018, Airbnb reorganized its product teams into cross-functional, vertical teams called "Homes Teams."

Each Homes Team was responsible for a specific part of the user journey, such as search, booking, or hosting. These teams included engineers, designers, product managers, data scientists, and other necessary roles to own their slice of the product end-to-end.

Key outcomes:

1. Increased speed: Teams could ship features faster due to reduced dependencies
2. Improved user experience: End-to-end ownership led to more cohesive user journeys
3. Better alignment: Teams were more closely aligned with specific user and business needs
4. Increased innovation: Empowered teams came up with more creative solutions to problems

Airbnb's CTO at the time, Mike Curtis, noted that this reorganization allowed them to "move faster and build better products." The company was able to launch several major features more quickly, including Airbnb Plus and Airbnb for Work.

This case study demonstrates how vertical slice ownership can help large, complex products maintain agility and focus on user needs, even as the organization scales.

References:

1. M. Curtis, "Scaling Airbnb's Payment Platform," Airbnb Engineering & Data Science, Aug. 2019. [Online]. Available: https://medium.com/airbnb-engineering/scaling-airbnbs-payment-platform-43ebfc99b324
2. L. Xu, "How Airbnb Democratizes Data Science With Data University," Airbnb Engineering & Data Science, May 2017. [Online]. Available: https://medium.com/airbnb-engineering/how-airbnb-democratizes-data-science-with-data-university-3eccc71e073a