Summary
Product Operations builds the foundation for product and delivery excellence by reinforcing product strategy with metrics, infrastructure, business processes, and best practices. It brings operational discipline to large, complex programs, enabling product managers to maximize the value and outcomes their teams deliver. In this talk, Ivana Ng, Director of Product at Nava PBC, will draw on her experiences co-building modern, user-centered ProductOps and Product Management practices at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs, to show what ProductOps looks like in reality, and how it can level up your program.
Key Insights
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Nava is a public benefit corporation that prioritizes social impact alongside profit.
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The project with CMS required scaling the team from 100 to 185 personnel in three months.
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Product operations help facilitate rapid onboarding of team members from various subcontractors.
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Establishing clear processes upfront ensures collaborative efficiency across a large workforce.
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Shared tools are crucial for collaboration among multiple contracting teams, especially in government projects.
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Data-driven decisions minimize the risk of negative impacts on millions of users reliant on government services.
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Incorporating user feedback throughout the development lifecycle fosters continuous improvement.
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Teaching government partners product thinking promotes longevity in positive changes even after contracts end.
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Product briefs improve consistency and quality in feature development across diverse teams.
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Success metrics must be built into product design to effectively measure outcomes.
Notable Quotes
"Nava is dedicated to modernizing government services and measuring success by public impact."
"We want to see public institutions earn trust by effectively responding to people's needs."
"The government expects us to establish large teams while also shipping software immediately."
"We had to stand up a mid-size company to deliver on this contract—three new team members per day."
"Processes enable collaborative efficiency, especially when onboarding new team members quickly."
"Shared tools streamline collaboration and boost productivity in large projects."
"Data integrated at every phase of the product development lifecycle ensures successful outcomes."
"Product operations build capacity within government agencies for sustained change beyond our involvement."
"Running experiments based on real user data leads to improved service delivery and compliance rates."
"Product operations help us scale projects successfully and embed user-centered methodologies in government culture."
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