{"id":4371395,"date":"2024-02-16T18:57:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T16:57:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deptagency.com\/insight\/creating-alignment-within-digital-products-teams\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T13:36:50","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T11:36:50","slug":"creating-alignment-within-digital-products-teams","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.deptagency.com\/en-in\/insight\/creating-alignment-within-digital-products-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating alignment: The step to building digital products your team\u2019s been missing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/mask><\/g><\/svg>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tInsights\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\tCreating alignment: The step to building digital products your team\u2019s been missing<\/h1>
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\n\t\tAndrew Chin\t\t
\n\t\tVP of Experience & Engineering\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tDate\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tFebruary 16, 2024\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n\n\tWithin a context like building digital products, \u201calignment\u201d sounds like an amorphous, obvious value. Similar enough to \u201cagreement\u201d or \u201cconsensus,\u201d it\u2019s a no-brainer.\u00a0Of course,<\/em>\u00a0you need to create alignment to build a successful digital product. Next topic.\u00a0<\/p>\n\tHere\u2019s the thing, though: Alignment\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0a no-brainer. Nevertheless, a lot of product development teams aren\u2019t aligned. And, sometimes, the stakeholders on those teams are the ones who are the most surprised they\u2019re not.\u00a0

As product people, we need to start treating alignment as Step 0 of the product lifecycle. Why? Because a lack of alignment can cost tens\u2014or even hundreds of thousands\u2014of dollars in wasted time and effort building a product that\u2019s either flawed or just doesn\u2019t work.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\tThe big questions<\/h2>\n\tLet\u2019s start with the big question: Is your team aligned?\u00a0

If your team is misaligned, there are a few telling indicators that you may or may not be aware of:<\/p>\n\n\t
  • A lot of talk but not so much action.<\/strong> Stakeholders on your team probably have a laundry list of ideas and opinions on the table. Even if there\u2019s been an effort to cut that list down, if everyone\u2019s calendar still has upcoming ideation sessions\u2014or if every team meeting feels like it ends in a similar discussion\u2014not everyone is on the same page.\u00a0<\/li>
  • A sense of urgency.<\/strong> Maybe all that talking has created a feedback loop in which conversations are becoming increasingly stressed as inaction builds. Maybe your team has been dealing with roadblock after roadblock, or stuck dealing with the same one. Whatever the case, if everyone\u2019s feeling the effects of a ticking clock, it\u2019s not good.<\/li>
  • General confusion and concern<\/strong>. This indicator is an obvious one, but if there are no artifacts or documents articulating your plan, code is being pushed without authorization, or your team\u2019s behaving in a way that suggests they\u2019ve resigned themselves to the fact the project\u2019s going to flop, you\u2019re most definitely not aligned.<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\t\n\tWhen you first jump into a project, a way of testing the waters for alignment is to have everyone answer these three questions in plain language.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\t
  • What is the business objective?<\/strong><\/li>
  • What is the opportunity for the user\/customer?<\/strong><\/li>
  • What is the solution hypothesis?<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\nFrom experience, we know that everyone on an aligned product team can answer each of these pretty quickly in a way that\u2019s the same across the board.

    These questions can also help shed some light on a case of misalignment. Conflicting opinions on all or some of these questions\u2014especially the third one\u2014help illustrate where and how a team is misaligned.\u00a0

    However, if you\u2019re not aligned, it\u2019s also important to recognize that getting everyone on the same page with their answers isn\u2019t enough to create true alignment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\t\u201cAgreement\u201d isn\u2019t \u201calignment\u201d<\/h2>\n\tAs you and your team work on building your product, it\u2019s practically a guarantee that one or more of the answers to these questions will change. Business priorities can shift. Audience needs can change at the drop of a hat. And, as with everything in software engineering, sometimes sh*t just happens.\u00a0

    To adjust and adapt successfully, you and your team need to be able to pivot as a unit. This is why we say your team needs to be in alignment<\/em> as opposed to agreement<\/em>.

    Adam Grant, an author and organizational psychologist, has a nice quote that illustrates the difference between these two:

    \u201cStrong relationships don\u2019t need\u00a0<\/em>agreement<\/em><\/strong>. They need\u00a0<\/em>alignment<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em>Agreement<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is having identical opinions.\u00a0<\/em>Alignment<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is having shared values.\u00a0<\/em>Agreement<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is taking the same path.\u00a0<\/em>Alignment<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is heading in the same direction.\u201d<\/em>

    Because agreement is inherently less flexible than alignment, it\u2019s not enough to just schedule a quick meeting to get everyone on the same page with those three questions.\u00a0

    After all, most of the folks on your team are coming into the project from different angles. In our experience, product teams can include everyone from Project Managers to Directors of Engineering\u2014even sometimes CEOs\u2014with each one of these roles bringing a different expertise and POV to the table.

    Every one of these perspectives has something valuable to offer. While their variety will probably make 1:1 agreement a hard-won task, that\u2019s okay. Because the most important thing is to ensure that everyone\u2019s contribution will feed the same overarching vision.\u00a0

    That\u2019s<\/em> alignment.
    <\/p><\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\tAlignment that works for you<\/p>\n\tSpoiler alert: There\u2019s no one-size-fits-all solution for creating alignment.

    However, we\u2019ve covered enough ground here to identify a few basic needs that all product teams should have.<\/p>\n\n\t
  • A shared vision for the product<\/strong>.<\/li>
  • A shared understanding of your consumers\u2019 needs<\/strong>.<\/li>
  • A shared list of actionable steps<\/strong>.<\/li>
  • A set of clearly defined roles and responsibilities<\/strong>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\nWe can bundle these essentials into one umbrella term: a shared knowledge base<\/strong>. This ensures that\u2014across your team and for the duration of the project\u2014everyone has the same overarching goal and understands what needs to be delivered to accomplish it.\u00a0

    Sounds easy enough, right?\u00a0

    If you\u2019re at the very beginning of a project, compiling a shared knowledge base is<\/em> easy\u2026 because you\u2019re treating alignment as your Step 0.

    If you\u2019re already in the midst of product development, however, it\u2019s a different story. Odds are the idea of backtracking to Step 0 from Step 3 or 4 will not be very well received, especially if your team\u2019s already been frustrated by some of the indicators of misalignment we described earlier.

    Instances like this are where we\u2019ve found a product sprint<\/strong><\/a> can help. While sprints are not perfect by any means, they\u2019re a great ice-breaker for teams that are stuck somewhere in the middle of product development.\u00a0

    Sprints provide structure and the opportunity to validate ideas by building a viable prototype of your product in a low-stakes environment.\u00a0

    Put another way, sprints give your team a shot at earning a much-needed win\u2014and getting some pretty valuable insight that reinvigorates them for the real deal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\tDo or do not. There is no try.<\/h2>\n\tThe consequences of a lack of alignment can be dire, resulting in wasted time, effort, and resources. However, simply aiming for agreement isn’t enough. True alignment goes beyond shared opinions; it’s about fostering a collective understanding of the overarching vision and values driving your project forward.

    By prioritizing alignment from the start, as your Step 0, and continuously nurturing it throughout the product lifecycle, you’ll not only mitigate the risks associated with misalignment but also empower your team to pivot and adapt in the face of changing priorities and circumstances.\u00a0

    In doing so, you’ll lay the foundation for     building digital products<\/a> that resonate with users, drive business objectives, and ultimately, achieve success in the ever-evolving digital landscape.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n
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    \n\t\t\tEngineering\t<\/h2>

    \n\t\t\tGenerating digital product ideas\t<\/h3>

    Continuous innovation is the holy grail of product development.\u00a0It\u2019s the key to standing out in an increasingly competitive and crowded environment. And it\u2019s a\u00a0real challenge<\/em>\u00a0to achieve.\u00a0

    In this download, DEPT\u00ae\u2019s digital experts walk you through our approach to developing strategic, high-impact product concepts that will keep your business moving forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tDownload your copy\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n<\/a>\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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