Dependency Management
A key responsibility of a Product Manager is managing dependencies effectively. For the purposes of this discussion, we’ll focus on dependencies related to product code, excluding other types of dependencies, such as those involving cross-functional teams or stakeholder expectations.
Product code dependencies can manifest in various ways, such as:
Feature Interdependencies: Relationships between different features within a product.
Inter-Product Dependencies: Connections between multiple products within a product suite.
Cross-Pillar Dependencies: Dependencies between distinct product pillars, especially relevant in large enterprises with complex ecosystems comprising multiple product suites.
Effective dependency management requires a structured approach to align teams, avoid regressions, and deliver cohesive user experiences. In my experience, it tests critical PM capabilities like:
Planning: Anticipating dependencies, mapping risks, and ensuring smooth development cycles.
Negotiating/Influencing: Balancing priorities, driving alignment, and securing buy-in across teams.
Communicating: Proactively updating stakeholders, clarifying expectations, and minimizing misunderstandings.
Beyond these, managing dependencies requires:
Systems Thinking: Understanding how product components interact and assessing upstream/downstream impacts.
Prioritization: Making trade-offs to focus on critical-path dependencies while considering long-term goals.
Risk Management: Identifying risks and creating contingency plans for potential challenges.
Technical Acumen: Understanding dependencies' technical aspects and resolving bottlenecks with engineering teams.
Decision-Making: Resolving conflicts with data-driven decisions while balancing short- and long-term outcomes.
Conflict Resolution: Facilitating discussions to address disagreements constructively and find win-win solutions.
Attention to Detail: Tracking and documenting interdependencies to prevent misalignment or oversight.
Adaptability: Adjusting dynamically to shifting dependencies or unexpected blockers while maintaining progress.
Leadership: Keeping teams aligned, motivated, and accountable without micromanaging.
Mastering these skills ensures smooth execution and builds trust across teams, paving the way for successful product delivery.
Finally, let me share a practical example to illustrate how dependencies manifest and the relationship between Producer and Consumer teams.
As a Product Manager at Oracle, I served as the lead PM for Customer Data Management, specifically focusing on Trading Community Architecture (TCA). TCA was the foundational model for Accounts, Contacts, and Geographies, used across the entire Oracle application suite.
In this role, my team was a classic Producer team, responsible for "owning" core components (e.g., entities, APIs, and shared UIs) that other teams—Consumer teams—relied on for their products. For example, the Account object was utilized in different ways across product lines:
In FSCM, it modeled Suppliers.
In CRM, it represented Customers and Partners.
As a Producer PM, I quickly developed dependency management skills to handle the complexities of working with multiple Consumer teams. This involved:
Understanding needs across teams: Determining which aspects of the model belonged in the TCA core (Producer) and which were specific to a downstream product’s requirements (Consumer).
Managing timelines and expectations: Coordinating delivery schedules for TCA features that aligned with multiple product releases.
Navigating priorities: Balancing demands from competing Consumer teams, each with critical use cases and delivery timelines.
This experience taught me the importance of proactive communication, collaborative planning, and technical clarity in managing dependencies across interconnected teams in a large enterprise environment. It reinforced the value of building strong relationships with Consumer teams to ensure alignment and smooth delivery.
