AMA: GitLab Group Product Manager, Urvi Chetta on Building a Product Management Team

Prioritization is hardest and most important problem to solve when you are Product Manager #1 in a company. Because in early stage startups, it can be really choatic with changing needs and market conditions, I don't recommend following RICE or any other standard prioritization framework. In my opinion, Product Manager with most product sense will succeed the most here. Product sense is a combination of deep understanding of jobs-to-be-done for users, continuous user interviews and deep market k ...Read More

More often than not, we are in scaling phase as a company/group when trying to expand from 1 PM to multiple PMs, I want to ensure that following is in place: Clearly defined roles & responsibilities for PM What outcomes we want to drive what processes we want to develop what skillsets are must have and nice to have for the PMs Clearly defined interview / hiring process Well-defined onboarding process Clearly outlined process for PMs to add value: Well defined product validation and product e ...Read More

There are many different ways to create an effective PM org structure. It really depends on the company, their strategy and values. At Gitlab, PM team organization led by CPO. VP of Product reports into CPO. Directors and Sr. Directors report into VP. Group Managers report into Directors/Sr. Directors. IC PMs report into Group Managers or directors. Highest level of IC is Sr. Staff Product Manager. CPO has Technology, Revenue, Sales and HR counterparts in the C-level who all report into the CEO. ...Read More

I leverage different channels & format of communication depending on what I am communicating and who the audience is. Here is few different types of updates I use consistently: Product Execution Updates: A summary of how execution to executives/VPs is going with high level status update emails periodically ( weekly/monthly) with metrics/insights charts. A more deep-dive for major milestones / releases / events where I cover wide range of topics including PR updates, perceptions around releas ...Read More

Here is my process to building a well rounded PM team: Goals: Start with what space/market am I operating in, what product I want to build, what are our weaknesses / Strengths. This allows me to understand if I need a PM that has strong domain expertise or someone with background in psychology. Hiring / Onboarding: come up with must-have and nice-to-haves for the PM hires and craft out a thoughtful interview process that is based on evaluating core PM skills and personalities. Feedback loop: The ...Read More