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Introduction
Alisa Vaz: Thank you for joining us today. My name is Alissa Vaz, and I’m joined by my co-host, Ana. For those of us that are new, welcome. Our monthly meetup is here to serve the needs of the growing product operations community. We connect our network by putting on informative meetups on the newest topics in the world of product and product operations.
We provide networking opportunities to meet like-minded folks. We also host a virtual space on Slack to ask questions and tap into the communal wisdom. So, if you’re not there yet, please join us today. Anna will be dropping a link in the chat for you to do so. What I love most about this community is how global we are and how easy it is to connect with people across the world in these events. Let us know where you’re joining from today—type it in the chat. I always love to see where people are.
While everyone is saying hello, I just want to make a few notes about today’s session. As always, this session is being recorded and will be shared later. Our format for today’s session will be a panel discussion followed by Q&A. So, if you have questions at any point during our meetup today, don’t feel shy—please type them into the chat. We’ll either take them live if it’s appropriate or address them during the dedicated Q&A session afterward. Because of the number of participants, I ask that you keep your mic muted. Great—let’s see who’s in the chat.
Alisa Vaz: We’ve got Jakarta, San Francisco, a lot of London. Toronto, Canada, Jacksonville, Florida—amazing! Hello from Portugal, as always. Awesome. We’ve got an amazing session lined up today, and it would not be possible without Dragonboat. Dragonboat helps entire product teams prioritize and deliver impact across their portfolio of products. It provides a single platform to manage your entire product operating model. So do check it out at dragonboat.io/productops—Anna will drop that link in the chat for you.
Today, we’re here to talk about product operations and how it drives revenue. Our panel of experts will explore how product operations does that by focusing on three critical aspects: the importance of good strategy, the power of innovation and experimentation, and the benefits of GTM focus and cross-functional collaboration.
Introducing the Panelists
Alisa Vaz: Our panel today will be led by Lindsey Shea, an experienced strategic planner, operational mastermind, and product leader. Lindsey has championed product operations at companies like Twilio and Rapid. She transforms teams and drives product success. Lindsey, welcome to the discussion!
Lindsey Shea: Thank you, Alissa. I’m happy to be here. I love seeing some familiar names in the chat. I see Jeff, my old boss Hudak, and Gabby, who many of you know has quite the voice in the industry nowadays. I love what I do, and I love having conversations about what I do—so this is a perfect forum for me.
As Alissa said, we’ll start with introductions and a discussion before moving to Q&A. Keep your questions in mind as we speak. I’ll start by introducing the panelists. Let’s go left to right: Alex Nichols, tell us about yourself.
Alex Nichols: Thanks, Lindsey. Hi, everyone. My name’s Alex Nichols. I’m based in Seattle, and I’m the Director of Product Ops at Eventbrite. I’ve been here about six months and previously spent years at Microsoft and GitHub building out the Product Ops function. I’ve stayed in Product Ops because of my passion for product management and the systems that support and scale it. I also enjoy exploring what makes a successful product launch and bringing things to market.
Lindsey Shea: Great. Next, Dave Dunning, over to you.
Dave Dunning: Thanks, Lindsey. Hi, everyone. I’m Dave Dunning, based near Chicago. I work at CDK Global as the Senior Director of Product Strategy and Operations. I fell into this role about a year and a half ago, figuring out what Product Ops was, and I think I’ve found my footing now. I really enjoy bringing products to market, seeing ideas progress through the PDLC (Product Development Lifecycle), and driving revenue growth.
Lindsey Shea: Fantastic. Last but not least, Miguel.
Miguel Elizaga: Thanks, Lindsey. Hey, everyone. My name is Miguel. I’m based in the Bay Area and graduated from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. My Product Ops career started at Twilio in cloud financial operations, then evolved to roles at Rapid and now Asana, where I focus on cross-functional initiatives, operational efficiency, and data enablement. Outside work, I’m a gym rat, love grilling meats, and am into cars. Excited to share my experiences today.
Opening the Panel Discussion
Lindsey Shea: Thank you, everyone, for the introductions. Before we dive into the main discussion, I want to call out something important: notice the companies our panelists represent. Consider the scale of their organizations, their team structures, and how these factors influence their approaches to Product Ops. Scale and culture are significant factors in how Product Ops functions. So as we go through today’s session, think about where your company is in its lifecycle and how these insights might be applied appropriately.
Let’s kick things off with a question for Dave. How can Product Ops help align the product strategy with overall business objectives to maximize revenue potential?
Aligning Product Strategy with Business Objectives
Dave Dunning: Thanks, Lindsey. From our perspective at CDK Global, being a product-led organization means we own the strategy around revenue growth. While we don’t directly generate revenue like the sales team, we create the strategic framework for achieving it.
Alignment is key—whether it’s a quarterly sprint or a multi-year plan. It’s about creating a shared vision and ensuring the entire organization is rowing in the same direction. For example, when we launch a feature, we consider its immediate impact and how it builds on future opportunities. This long-term vision minimizes surprises and helps everyone plan toward a unified goal.
Lindsey Shea: Great points. Alex, Miguel, anything to add?
Miguel Elizaga: I agree with Dave. Product Ops acts as the bridge between R&D teams and customers by providing clarity on processes, tools, and data. But it’s not just about setting up frameworks—it’s also about teaching the organization to prioritize effectively. I’ve seen teams try to do everything at once, which dilutes impact. Product Ops can help focus on fewer, high-value initiatives for better outcomes.
Alex Nichols: Absolutely. I’ll add that planning isn’t just about the big-picture annual cycles; it’s also about the ongoing, regular touchpoints. At Eventbrite, we’ve implemented weekly and monthly check-ins with product leaders and cross-functional teams. These keep metrics and roadmaps front and center, ensuring alignment with broader organizational goals.
Balancing Revenue Growth with Quality
Lindsey Shea: Great segue, Alex. Let’s dive deeper into balancing revenue growth with other critical aspects like quality and user experience. How can Product Ops ensure this balance?
Alex Nichols: At GitHub, we focused on iterative releases—starting with private betas and scaling up to general availability. This approach allowed us to test metrics with a small group and ensure we weren’t compromising quality or user experience as we scaled. Establishing clear release pathways ensures confidence in delivery without sacrificing standards.
Miguel Elizaga: From my experience, Product Ops must bring visibility to the balance between feature work and addressing bugs or tech debt. A product strategy that overemphasizes new features can lead to significant customer dissatisfaction if bugs go unaddressed. Leadership needs to set clear priorities, and Product Ops can provide the tools and metrics to monitor this balance effectively.
Dave Dunning: I’ll piggyback on Miguel’s point. Balancing tech debt, new features, and bug fixes is a constant challenge. At CDK, we’ve seen how the company’s stage—public vs. private, for example—drives decision-making. Aligning the strategy top-down and ensuring execution through visibility across teams helps us navigate this balance.
Driving Innovation and Experimentation
Lindsey Shea: Let’s shift gears to innovation. How can Product Ops balance the need for innovation and experimentation with the goal of driving revenue growth?
Alex Nichols: I’ve seen two approaches. Some companies dedicate specific teams to experimentation and speculative bets. These teams validate ideas and feed successful ones into the main product portfolio. On the other hand, I’ve worked in environments where every product team incorporates some level of innovation into their workflows. I’ve found the latter approach to be more effective—it spreads the responsibility for innovation across the organization and ensures alignment with broader goals.
Miguel Elizaga: At Asana, experimentation is embedded in our product development lifecycle. After PMs draft specs, they decide whether an experiment is necessary to validate their hypotheses. Data science teams handle the technical aspects of the experiments, freeing PMs to focus on other priorities. This lightweight, well-defined process empowers teams to innovate without adding unnecessary overhead.
Dave Dunning: For us, innovation is tied directly to revenue goals. Leadership sets targets—say, $30 million in new revenue—and Product Ops facilitates alignment by encouraging teams to explore ideas that support those objectives. Whether it’s new features, pricing strategies, or market expansion, the focus remains on measurable outcomes.
Enhancing Collaboration with Sales and Marketing
Lindsey Shea: Collaboration with sales and marketing is critical for successful go-to-market strategies. How can Product Ops ensure alignment with these teams to maximize revenue impact?
Miguel Elizaga: At Rapid, we addressed alignment challenges by creating a release management playbook. This standardized processes for documentation, marketing, and sales enablement. We also increased visibility into the release schedule, allowing GTM teams to prepare materials in advance rather than reactively. Lastly, Product Ops served as embedded release managers, ensuring smooth execution and adherence to the playbook.
Alex Nichols: Similarly, at GitHub and Eventbrite, we introduced launch coordination ceremonies. These brought together product, marketing, sales, and support teams to review upcoming releases. By aligning on timing, messaging, and readiness, we turned individual feature launches into cohesive marketing moments, enhancing their impact.
Dave Dunning: I’ll echo Alex and Miguel—alignment is key. At CDK, we run regular reviews with GTM teams to track revenue forecasts against product roadmaps. This ensures that delays or changes in feature launches are accounted for and don’t derail overall business objectives.
Managing Short-Term Revenue Focus and Churn
Audience Question: “Short-term revenue focus can lead to customer dissatisfaction and churn. What strategies have you used to address this?”
Lindsey Shea: Great question. As Product Ops professionals, it’s our job to flag potential risks. If churn rates are rising, we need to bring attention to the issue and ensure it’s factored into strategic discussions. Transparency and open communication are essential, even if it means raising uncomfortable topics.
Dave Dunning: At CDK, we monitor churn closely through monthly reviews. We analyze reasons for customer losses—whether it’s pricing, feature gaps, or other issues—and use this data to inform our roadmap. Addressing churn proactively can turn a potential loss into an opportunity to improve retention and grow revenue.
Alex Nichols: I’ve found that building customer trust is paramount. At GitHub, we introduced a public product roadmap to improve transparency and set realistic expectations. This not only helped with retention but also fostered stronger customer relationships.
Navigating Changing Business Priorities
Audience Question: “How do you maintain product leadership when company focus shifts from growth to retention, or when C-suite priorities change rapidly?“
Dave Dunning: This is one of the toughest challenges. Product Ops can play a critical role in managing these pivots by maintaining alignment and minimizing disruption. Using a consistent strategic framework ensures that changes are implemented thoughtfully and with as little negative impact as possible. It’s about softening the pivot for the teams on the ground.
Alex Nichols: I’ve seen success when product leaders tie short-term adjustments to long-term strategies. For example, even if we’re prioritizing retention this quarter, we don’t abandon innovation or longer-term goals. It’s about maintaining a balance and ensuring that teams see how these shifts fit into the bigger picture.
Miguel Elizaga: In these scenarios, clarity of strategy becomes even more critical. Product Ops can help by creating feedback loops and establishing forums where concerns can be raised and discussed. This ensures that decisions are informed by both top-down directives and bottom-up insights.
Closing Remarks
Alisa Vaz: Thank you to our panelists for sharing such thoughtful insights. I especially loved hearing how Product Ops can bring clarity and alignment across an organization. It’s great to see so many shared experiences and strategies emerging within this growing community.
Before we wrap up, I want to remind everyone about Dragonboat’s upcoming Accelerate Summit on July 23rd. It’s a free virtual event designed for product operations leaders, featuring playbooks and insights from top companies like Google and Toyota. You can sign up at dragonboat.io/accelerate—Ana has shared the link in the chat.
Lastly, if you’re not already part of our Slack community, join us to continue the conversation. Thank you all for attending today’s session, and we look forward to seeing you next time. Have a great day!
Panelists: Thank you, everyone! Take care and have a great rest of your day!
