What are Objective-Based Teams (OBTs)?
An Objective-based team (OBT) is the unit by which we organize product delivery work. They are meant to be cross-functional and often operate independently as one self-sufficient unit, and they include all resources necessary for product delivery. Typically, an OBT comprises a Product Manager, FE/BE/Data Engineers, a UX Designer, and an Engineering Manager. Sometimes, this cross-functional structure expands to other business functions such as sales, marketing, or implementation.
You can find our OBT structure here, and our OBT directory here (Internal links)
We differentiate 3 types of OBTs:
- Product OBTs: (Also known as stream-aligned teams) are aligned to a flow of work from (usually) a segment of the business domain
- Platform OBTs: Provide a compelling internal product that accelerates the delivery of multiple Product OBTs
- Enabling OBTs: Provide support to other OBTs, and other business teams by detecting gaps and helping fill these gaps
Within OBTs, each player is responsibile for one, or sometimes more, of the following roles:
Product Manager (PM)
Explores the why and what
- Estimates impact pre refinement
- Builds measurable outcomes
- Prioritize the team’s backlog and builds the team’s roadmap
- Drives refinement and documents story and acceptance criteria
- Communicates commitments with customers and business stakeholders
Tech Lead (TL)
Defines the what and how
- Estimates effort pre refinement
- Decides on technical solutions
- Documents designs
- Participates in cross-teams and engineering-driven initiatives
- Owns timelines when required
Tech lead is not a position on our engineering paths. Instead, it is a set of responsibilities that senior engineers sometimes assume as part of their growth and development
Developer (Dev)
Builds all the things!
- Participates in refinement and estimating stories
- Delivers work assignments on time and on target
- Collaborates with teammates when necessary through pairing and other sessions
- Takes ownership to iterate and improve when possible
- Gradually gains and share codebase knowledge through pairing and documenting
Engineering Manager (EM)
Coaches and enables the team
- Coaches engineers’ growth and champions their promotions
- Plans required teams’ design and resources
- Facilitates and mediates teams’ meetings
- Manages and provides clear continuous feedback on engineers’ performance
- Provides a weekly 121 platform for engineers’ engagement and removing obstacles
If you have any doubt or question, please chat with your EM, or contact us in slack @dev-team-em, thank you! 🙏🏻