Squads versus Projects

Squads and Projects are not mutually exclusive.

There, I said it. As is so often the case, we need to pick the right tools and frameworks for any given situation. One is not necessarily better than the other in all contexts. Don’t get me wrong, I advocate for a Product operating model and will typically emphasise Product Teams, or Squads, over projects but the two don’t have to be at war with each other.

Here’s why:

Squads are an acknowledgement of the need for ongoing investment in a constantly evolving consumer landscape. Squads work on long-term missions and outcomes that will see products, features & components throughout all stages of their life cycles. They often work on bespoke proprietary user-facing experiences that make the organisation unique. The business makes a conscious decision that there is a problem space that they want to invest in for the foreseeable future and the Squad takes accountability for this.

Projects are finite and often (although by no means exclusively) Waterfall in nature. Projects often have a good degree of understanding upfront where a common problem has been solved by many other organisations or third parties in the past. When first introduced into an organisation, Squads will drastically reduce the number of projects being carried out, particularly in the Technology domain, but they are unlikely to eradicate the need for them altogether. An example of a Project might be the identified need to replace a businesses finance system, where there is a well-defined need that has been solved by someone else and doesn’t require bespoke development. It will often make sense for a Project Manager to take this on as a time & budget bound piece of work, starting with a Request For Proposal (RFP) and managing the delivery process while updating stakeholders on progress throughout.

There may also be a number of moments throughout the year when a Project Manager is brought in to help coordinate specific activity across a number of Squads and teams. An example of this could be a significant moment in the calendar year, where 3 or more teams are working to a single date to deliver a range of associated impacts. In this instance, the Project Manager doesn’t make any decisions on behalf of the Squads or teams, or introduce new dependencies, but helps coordinate, align and increase the visibility of the activities that are taking place so the business can meet its desired outcomes as effectively as possible. They also identify and manage cross-team risk, identifying dependencies the squads may not have full visibility of and encouraging timely decision making.

So in summary, any organisation likely needs Product and Project ways of working in order to successfully deliver against its goals and requirements. Be Product led, but don’t knock the Project or Programme Managers — they’re important too.

All thoughts are my own.