Feature factories or value creators? Why product centricity transforms Agile and DevOps
In the era where agile software delivery, cloud, data and AI have become core enablers of business strategy, many organizations continue to struggle with late deliveries, budget overruns and dissatisfied stakeholders. The rapid growth of generative AI (Gen AI) promises to further transform technology delivery. One such example is the Atos tool Polaris AI that can accelerate every step of the software development lifecycle by leveraging autonomous AI agents.
However, many underlying problems aren’t due to the speed of delivery, and in this article, we aim to demonstrate this. We also explore how organizations can unlock the potential of their delivery teams by embracing a product-centric approach that values outcomes over outputs.
Delivering outputs but missing outcomes
Despite widespread cloud and Agile adoption, many businesses still perceive their technology organizations as unable to keep pace with business expectations. In many cases, this disconnect stems from a fundamental difference in mindset. Software, cloud and data engineering teams are viewed as service providers, focusing on the delivery of outputs and requests, while Agile emphasizes the creation of value through measurable outcomes.
Following Agile practices, embracing modern infrastructure, and investing in data platforms will not answer the question of how best to measure value.
Without clearly articulating what value means in the context of cloud cost optimization, data accessibility, platform resilience or AI-enabled insights, Agile teams become mere feature factories, churning out functionalities that have been requested by stakeholders. The result is a backlog of unfulfilled requests, frustrated stakeholders and a sense of disillusionment with Agile practices and investments.
Introducing Gen AI tools to increase productivity is likely to only expose these issues faster if the fundamental causes aren’t addressed.
Shifting from project-centric to product-centric
To close these gaps, organizations need to transition from a project-centric mindset to a product-centric operating model. This shift involves a fundamental change in how organizations view their cloud, software, data and AI teams, recognizing them as value creators rather than order takers.
In a product-centric model, the focus shifts from delivering outputs to achieving outcomes. Teams are empowered to solve problems and deliver value, rather than simply complete a list of tasks or features given to them. This requires a clear understanding of the product’s vision, strategy and target customers for teams to prioritize initiatives based on their potential impact on customer value.
Customers can be internal or external, for example, the Cloud Platform team’s customers will be the delivery teams who build applications on the platform. The principle still applies that the value of what they deliver must be defined and measurable, for reasons such as ease of deployment, resilience of service, and optimization of cost.
Embracing the product manager as the value driver
The role of a product manager is pivotal in this product-centric approach.
Product managers need to be empowered to become subject matter experts, understanding the product or services domain, its value proposition, and the needs of its customers. They collaborate closely with the delivery team, providing strategic direction and ensuring development efforts align with the overall product vision.
Product managers also play a crucial role in defining success metrics, ensuring the team’s efforts are measured against tangible outcomes rather than just the volume of outputs. This focus on outcomes aligns the team’s work with the organization’s business objectives, fostering a culture of value creation.
Think big, start small
Transforming into a product-centric cloud native and data driven organization is a journey that requires cultural shifts, organizational alignment, and a commitment to continuous improvement. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, but the following steps can guide your organizations in the right direction:
- Get executive endorsement: Secure your leaders’ sponsorship to embed product-centric thinking into cloud, data, and AI initiatives.
- Define value: Clearly articulate how cloud investments, data platforms, and AI projects translate into business outcomes that the teams are responsible for delivering.
- Coach the organization: Educate the wider spectrum of stakeholders across teams on the benefits of a product-centric approach, emphasizing the shift from outputs to outcomes.
- Empower product managers: Elevate the role of product managers as strategic decision-makers and value drivers, enabling them to guide their teams effectively.
- Foster collaboration: Encourage close collaboration between product managers and the delivery team (cloud architects, data engineers, and AI specialists), ensuring alignment on goals, priorities, and success metrics.
A practical first step is to identify a single cloud, data or AI-enabled product or service as a candidate for this model. Demonstrating success in one domain builds the case for scaling the approach across the enterprise.
Cloud, data and Agile frameworks have become the mainstream approach and adopting good practice is essential in modern development. However, this alone will not unlock a team’s ability to generate value. Organizations need to move towards product centricity to consistently deliver value with product management teams working hand in hand with the delivery teams to continually adapt, update and improve the product that they are responsible for.
Transformation can begin on a small scale but the key to success is ensuring the product discovery and delivery teams have the necessary tools and talent which will empower them to truly shift from delivering outputs to delivering outcomes.
Partnering for future-ready outcomes
Digital transformation partners can be a viable option to consider when seeking to unlock the transformative power of cloud, data, AI, Agile and DevOps by shifting your focus to a product-centric model. Besides speed and agility, they deliver tangible outcomes for quick comparison of their value add.
Atos’s digital solutions deliver business agility, continual optimization, innovation at speed and growth for customers. It has empowered global organizations on their modernization and transformation journeys and provided transformation expertise across the full cloud and modern infrastructure, and data and AI spectrum.
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Posted on 06/10/25
