Product vs. Project: Don’t Confuse the Two
Building a product and building a product within a project context may sound similar, but their deliveries and underlying goals are fundamentally different. Treating them as interchangeable can lead to disjointed outcomes, missed opportunities for innovation, and a lack of strategic focus.
Key Elements of Product vs. Project Thinking
To understand these differences better, consider the core elements that define product and project approaches:
Product Development:
- Long-Term Vision & Strategy: A product is designed with the future in mind, ensuring it can adapt and grow over time.
- User Feedback: Iteration is driven by what users need and expect, fostering continuous improvement.
- Scalability: Products are built to evolve alongside market demands and user bases.
- Market Research: Informed by trends, ensuring relevance and competitive advantage.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Involves multiple teams working toward a unified goal.
- Prioritisation of Features: Balances short-term wins with long-term goals.
- Product Lifecycle Management: Ensures sustainability and relevance over time.
Project Development:
- Clear Deliverables: Focused on predefined outputs.
- Scope Management: Boundaries are tightly controlled to avoid overreach.
- Timelines & Deadlines: Execution is time-sensitive and tied to specific milestones.
- Budget Management: Driven by financial constraints rather than long-term scalability.
- Resource Allocation: Teams are deployed based on short-term needs.
- Stakeholder Communication: Keeps everyone aligned on immediate goals.
This breakdown highlights the Feasibility, Viability, and Value focus of products compared to the Budget, Scope, and Time focus of projects, as shown in the diagram.
The Delivery Perspective
Product Development focuses on creating something that evolves, scales, and adapts over time. It’s driven by user needs, market trends, and the ability to iterate continuously. The delivery here isn’t just a set of features or functionalities, it’s a cohesive, long-term value proposition that aligns with a strategic vision.
In contrast, Project-Based Development prioritises delivering a predefined scope on time and within budget. Projects are finite, with clear deliverables and objectives that aim to meet immediate needs, often at the cost of preparing for future needs, adding to costs in the form of change requests later on. While projects can be part of a product’s lifecycle, their focus is narrower and often lacks the flexibility needed for iterative growth.
The Risks of Mixing Approaches
When product development is approached through a project lens, it often results in outcomes that miss the essence of product thinking. Here’s why:
- Lack of Iteration: Projects are constrained by timelines and budgets, which leave little room for iterative improvements based on real-world feedback. This can result in a product that meets the original requirements but fails to evolve alongside user needs.
- Disconnected Features: When building a product within a project context, the focus tends to shift to delivering predefined features rather than a cohesive solution. This can lead to a disjointed user experience and a product that lacks strategic alignment.
- Short-Term Focus: Project-based deliveries often prioritise immediate outputs over long-term outcomes. While this might work for fulfilling contractual obligations or addressing immediate client needs, it compromises the product’s ability to adapt and scale in the future.
What Makes Product Delivery Different?
In true product delivery, the focus extends beyond the launch. It’s about creating a foundation that supports ongoing improvements, innovation, and scalability. Key aspects include:
- User-Centric Iteration: Products are built with the understanding that user needs will evolve. Feedback loops, data analysis, and market trends drive continuous updates and enhancements.
- Strategic Roadmapping: Unlike projects, which focus on immediate milestones, products are guided by a roadmap that balances short-term wins with long-term goals.
- Holistic Integration: Product delivery considers the big picture, how features interact, how users experience the product, and how the product fits into a broader ecosystem. This creates a cohesive and scalable solution.
Incorporating Visual Clarity
The diagram above encapsulates these key elements, highlighting how each approach prioritises different aspects. For example, while products thrive on iterative feedback and scalability, projects are defined by clear deliverables and constraints. By understanding this distinction visually, teams can better align their methods with their goals.
Navigating Complex Scenarios
While the distinctions are clear, real-world scenarios often require a nuanced approach. It’s entirely possible to deliver projects within a product framework, provided those projects remain focused and aligned with the larger product vision. In these cases, projects become stepping stones that contribute to the overall product strategy without diluting its long-term goals.
However, if you find yourself building an entire product within a project context, it’s essential to treat it as what it is: a project. Recognising this distinction helps set realistic expectations about what can be achieved. A project-based delivery should prioritise the immediate goals and constraints, without assuming it will naturally evolve into a scalable, market-ready product. Any illusion that it might become a long-term product risks undermining the delivery focus and quality.
Finding Balance Between the Two
While the distinctions are clear, real-world scenarios often require a blend of both approaches. For example, a project might serve as the initial phase of a product’s development, delivering core functionalities while leaving room for iteration and growth.
The key is to ensure that project-based work doesn’t overshadow the strategic thinking required for product success. Here are some tips:
1. Define the Purpose: Be clear about whether you’re delivering a product or a project. Align the team’s mindset accordingly.
2. Prioritise Flexibility: Even within project constraints, build with flexibility in mind to allow for future iterations (where possible).
3. Keep the Vision in Sight: Ensure that short-term project goals align with the broader product vision.
Personal Take
A statement, I would credit to someone if I remember where it came from, that has always resonated with me is: "If you build a product for a single client who pays for it to be developed, you will build exactly what they want, but if you build a product for an entire industry, community, or network, you are building an actual product."
I’ve been fortunate enough to have experience in both these worlds, and I can honestly say that building a product is much more rewarding than delivering a product as part of a project. The biggest misconception I’ve encountered is thinking you can deliver a product as part of a project and still move the broader product needles. That’s simply denial. Each approach requires its own mindset, priorities, and strategy.
Let me be clear: I don’t fully advocate for combining these approaches. While it’s tempting to try to merge them, each has its place and purpose. That said, I’m older now, and with experience comes the understanding that some sectors demand bespoke, project-delivered products. It’s a reality that can’t be ignored, even if it diverges from traditional product management thinking.
Understanding these differences and learning to balance them is key to delivering not just outputs, but outcomes that drive meaningful progress.
Have you ever found yourself caught between delivering a project and building a long-term product? How did you navigate the trade-offs, and what lessons shaped your approach moving forward?
Extra Reading
If you're interested in diving deeper into the dynamics of product and project management, I simply love this post and other related posts by Marty Cagan.