Product Trios

Context

Modernization required a different way of working. The previous model had Product Managers driving roadmaps largely on their own, UX brought in after problems were defined, and Engineering brought in after solutions were mostly decided. Discovery happened in pockets. Delivery surprises landed late. The org could ship, but the muscle to learn together, decide together, and own outcomes together was uneven.

We needed an operating model that embedded the right perspectives into every decision that matters, from discovery through delivery, without adding a layer of process for its own sake.

Approach

I designed Product Trios as a model for how we lead product work at the team level: clear, shared ownership across Product, UX, and Engineering. Each trio is three people who lead the work together. The Product Manager owns the why. The UX Designer owns the what. The Engineering Manager owns the how. Accountability is clear, but the work is not sequential. The trio succeeds together or fails together.

I paired the trios with a coordinating layer: Group Leadership Trios. Each GLT is a senior PM, Design Manager or Lead, and Engineering Director, supporting two to five product trios within a shared domain. The GLT is responsible for strategic alignment, trio coaching, portfolio oversight, escalation support, and craft growth. The pattern mirrors and models the cross-functional dynamic we expect in the trios themselves.

What changed for each role

For PMs, the shift is from decider to co-leader. Less herding cats, more shared leadership. Discovery becomes a shared activity. Backlog grooming, planning, and roadmap conversations happen in the trio rather than alone. The PM is still accountable for product market fit, but is no longer expected to have all the answers.

For UX, the model is a promotion of perspective, not just craft. Designers are now in the room where the problem is shaped. They lead discovery, set experience-quality standards, and influence trade-offs as equal stakeholders in outcomes.

For Engineering Managers, the role widens from delivery coordination to product co-ownership. The EM brings the engineering voice to early product strategy, partners with Tech Leads to surface feasibility and architecture early, and connects the team to the customer’s reality rather than filtering it through PM.

How we launched

I wrote the foundational materials and ran the rollout: the What deck (the model itself), the People decks (a per-role pitch for PMs, designers, and EMs explaining the mindset shift), the How deck (a RACI walking through Opportunity, Strategy, Discovery, Definition, Design, and Delivery), and the GLT Leadership deck (the coaching layer’s responsibilities and cadences). I structured GLT cadences as a bi-weekly sync, monthly portfolio review, quarterly trio health review, and as-needed escalation, so the support layer was visible and predictable.

I launched all nine trios across the modernization portfolio and currently act as the design representative on the Group Leadership Trio for five of them. That gives me a recurring view across multiple domains rather than a single product area.

Reflection

The most important thing this work did was change the conversation. Once trios began co-leading discovery and the GLTs had visibility on what was actually moving, the questions in leadership reviews shifted from “who is doing what” to “are we solving the most valuable problems.” That is a small change in language and a large change in operating mode.

If I were starting again, I would invest earlier in coaching the harder cases. The model is straightforward to communicate; the day-to-day muscle of running a trio (who facilitates, how disagreements get resolved, when to test instead of debate) takes practice. The decks pitched the change well. The follow-through that actually changes behavior is the longer game, and it is the work I am still doing through the GLT seats now.