On Wed, Nov 7, 2012 at 10:00 AM, Quim Gil quimgil@gmail.com wrote:
Whatever the result, I hope we end up with teams where software developers, sysadmins, product managers, designers etc are well mixed in focused teams going after clear common goals.
Absolutely. Teams are assembled cross-functionally to ensure that all required skills are present in a team. This will not change in the new structure. Indeed there are ways in which we need to do better (e.g. involving ops/architects earlier in the development process on major feature initiatives). The departments represent functional groupings, while teams are inherently cross-functional, which is a pretty conventional structural approach.
I've asked Howie to weigh in a bit on the definition and role of Product Managers, User Experience Designers, Visual Designers, Interaction Designers, Research Analysts, Community Liaisons and other functions grouped in Product. I'll write a bit more in this thread in a few days as well (about to head to Bangalore for the hackathon there).
All best, Erik