The Rise of the Product Ops Function

Welcome and Introductions

Rina Alexin | 00:00–03:30
Hi everyone, welcome to today’s Productside webinar—“The Rise of the Product Ops Function: Scaling PM Excellence.” I’m Rina Alexin, and I’m thrilled to have you all joining us from around the world. Drop a quick hello in the chat and let us know where you’re tuning in from.

We’re talking today about one of the fastest-growing areas in product management—Product Operations. Why it’s becoming essential, what great looks like, and how to build it right for your organization.

Kenny Kranseler | 03:30–05:00
Thanks, Rina. I’m Kenny Kranseler from Productside, where I focus on helping product organizations scale alignment and execution. I’ve been in product for nearly two decades, and I can tell you—every company hits a point where great product strategy alone isn’t enough. That’s where Product Ops comes in.

About Productside and Webinar Overview

Rina Alexin | 05:00–07:20
If this is your first time joining us, a quick word about Productside. We’re an outcome-driven product partner—our mission is to help teams connect their strategy, structure, and systems so they can deliver measurable impact.

Today we’ll unpack what Product Ops really is, how it evolved, and what leading companies are doing differently. You’ll also hear stories from our client work—where Product Ops transformed chaos into clarity.

The Problem: Scaling Product Without Scaling Confusion

Kenny Kranseler | 07:20–11:00
Let’s start with the why. As product organizations grow, alignment becomes harder. PMs spend more time chasing data, syncing across teams, and reconciling different roadmaps than actually driving outcomes.

The irony? Growth creates the very friction that slows teams down. Product Ops emerged as a solution to that chaos—a way to scale clarity, not bureaucracy.

Poll #1 – What’s Driving Your Need for Product Ops?

Rina Alexin | 11:00–12:30
Let’s take a quick poll—what’s driving your need for Product Ops right now? Is it scaling headcount, inconsistent rituals, lack of data visibility, or executive pressure for predictability?

Kenny Kranseler | 12:30–13:20
Looks like “data visibility” and “executive pressure” are leading. Totally makes sense. Those are often the inflection points when companies realize they need dedicated Product Ops.

What Is Product Ops (and What It Isn’t)

Rina Alexin | 13:20–18:00
Let’s get clear: Product Ops is not admin support for PMs. It’s a **force multiplier**—a strategic enabler that makes the entire product org more effective.

The best Product Ops teams focus on three pillars:
1. **Data & Insights:** Making the right data accessible and actionable.
2. **Tools & Systems:** Streamlining workflows for consistency and speed.
3. **Rituals & Alignment:** Driving consistency in planning, prioritization, and measurement.

If you’re just doing templates, you’re missing the point. Product Ops is strategy enablement.

Why Product Ops Is Rising Now

Kenny Kranseler | 18:00–23:00
Product Ops is rising because product management got too complex to scale manually. Remote work fragmented communication, AI accelerated velocity, and data exploded. Teams needed a function to stitch it all together—to create operating leverage.

Think of Product Ops as the connective tissue between product strategy and product execution.

Case Study: Scaling Alignment at a Fintech Company

Kenny Kranseler | 23:00–27:30
We worked with a 200-person fintech company where every PM was building their own templates and frameworks. Nothing lined up. They introduced a single Product Ops team—three people—to centralize metrics, streamline rituals, and align OKRs. Within one quarter, stakeholder satisfaction improved 40%, and roadmap cycle time dropped by half.

Poll #2 – Where Does Product Ops Sit in Your Org?

Rina Alexin | 27:30–29:00
Next poll—where does Product Ops sit today in your organization? Within product, under operations, or shared across departments?

Kenny Kranseler | 29:00–30:00
Interesting—most of you said “within product.” That’s a good sign. Product Ops should serve product, not just coordinate it.

The Product Ops Maturity Curve

Rina Alexin | 30:00–36:00
There are four stages we see:
1. **Ad hoc:** One PM moonlights as Product Ops.
2. **Foundational:** Dedicated team centralizes templates and data.
3. **Strategic:** Ops drives portfolio-level insights and cross-org rituals.
4. **Transformational:** Ops shapes culture—enabling autonomy and accountability at scale.

How Product Ops Enables PM Excellence

Kenny Kranseler | 36:00–42:00
The best PMs thrive when Product Ops clears the path. Ops owns the systems that make decision-making faster and easier—data pipelines, feedback loops, and learning cadences.

When PMs don’t waste cycles on process debt, they can focus on what really matters—problem discovery, customer empathy, and outcome delivery.

Product Ops Metrics That Matter

Rina Alexin | 42:00–47:00
How do you measure success in Product Ops? Forget vanity metrics like “number of reports created.” Focus on *velocity, decision quality,* and *engagement health.* Those indicators show whether the organization is running on insight instead of inertia.

Poll #3 – What’s Your Top Product Ops Challenge?

Rina Alexin | 47:00–48:30
Let’s check in—what’s your top Product Ops challenge today? Is it defining scope, getting buy-in, scaling systems, or measuring impact?

Kenny Kranseler | 48:30–49:00
“Getting buy-in” wins by a landslide. Totally normal. The key is to show ROI—measure what chaos costs, and Product Ops pays for itself.

Case Study: Product Ops as Culture Change

Kenny Kranseler | 49:00–53:30
We worked with a global SaaS company struggling with “initiative fatigue.” Everyone was busy, nobody was aligned. Product Ops introduced a unified quarterly planning cadence and portfolio reviews. Within six months, focus scores increased by 45%, and burnout dropped.

Building Your Product Ops Team

Rina Alexin | 53:30–57:30
If you’re hiring for Product Ops, look for three traits: systems thinking, communication clarity, and data literacy. Don’t just look for ex-PMs—great Product Ops pros often come from analytics or operations backgrounds. What matters is their ability to connect dots across the org.

Q&A: Reporting Structure and Career Path

Rina Alexin | 57:30–01:02:30
Question from Alisha: “Who should Product Ops report to?” Great one. Tom’s rule of thumb—report to the CPO if your goal is alignment, or to Operations if your goal is standardization.

Kenny Kranseler | 01:02:30–01:05:00
And on career paths—Product Ops is evolving fast. We’re seeing directors of Product Ops become VPs of Strategy and Portfolio Management. It’s a natural evolution.

Closing Remarks and Resources

Rina Alexin | 01:05:00–01:08:00
That’s a wrap for today! Huge thanks to Kenny and everyone who joined. You’ll receive the replay, slides, and Product Ops Starter Kit in your inbox tomorrow.

Kenny Kranseler | 01:08:00–01:09:00
Thanks all! Keep building systems that scale clarity. See you at our next webinar—“Designing Org Models That Drive Impact.”