Org Design for Product

Conway's Law

"Organizations design systems that mirror their communication structure." Cấu trúc team quyết định kiến trúc sản phẩm — ngược lại cũng đúng (Inverse Conway Maneuver).

Team Topologies (Skelton/Pais)

• Stream-aligned team — own 1 user/business stream end-to-end.
• Platform team — build internal capability cho stream team.
• Enabling team — short-term expertise (ML, security).
• Complicated-subsystem team — deep specialty (payment infra).

PM org models

• Feature team — 1 PM per feature, fast ship nhưng silo.
• Product line — 1 PM per product, balance ownership và scope.
• Outcome team — 1 PM per outcome (vd: activation), mission-aligned.
• Platform PM — own internal platform với engineer là customer.

Span of control

• 1 PM Manager → 4–7 PM IC (sweet spot 5–6).
• 1 PM → 1 squad (5–9 engineer + design + QA).
• 1 Director → 3–5 manager.

Reorg signals & triggers

• Cross-team dependency >30% of work — re-bundle.
• 1 PM cover 3+ unrelated area — split.
• Platform team build features only 1 stream uses — privatize.
• Growth ngừng — scope khác need shift.

Reorg done right

1. Diagnosis — what's the actual problem?
2. Hypothesis — what structure fix it?
3. Stakeholder buy-in — manager, peers, exec.
4. Comms — clarity về role mới cho mỗi person.
5. Transition — 30–60 day handoff, not overnight.
6. Measure — check assumption after 90 days.

Common pitfalls

• Reorg liên tục — 6 tháng/lần → team morale crash.
• Copy paste structure từ FAANG without context.
• Bỏ qua người bị giảm scope — they will leave.
• Không clarify "who decides what" sau reorg.