8 Dysfunction of the Product Management

Last two decades, I have been working with substance product development

In all the places I have worked in the domain of Consumer Electronics, Banking, Healthcare, Aerospace, Building Automation, Power automation, Industrial Automaton, Oil & Gas, and Retail under real-time mission-critical product development to large-scale application development I have witnessed universal patterns.

“There is 8 Dysfunction of product management”

Though it is not easy to manage these 8 building blocks of outstanding products and solutions

I have been studying these 8 dysfunctions in product management.

Let us talk about 4 foundations of the outstanding products ( Internal to the organization)

1. Inept Culture for Product Development

2. Inept Leadership for Product Development

3. Inept Team for Product Development

4. Inept Process for Product Development

and the next 4 are ( Extraneous towards the market)

5. Inept Technology for the Product

6. Inept experience for the Product

7. Inept Marketing for the Product

8. Inept Customers for The Product

Now , please go back to your own industry and validate the product and solution you are working on, how well all these factors are in place

In product coaching, all these factors are influencing the scalability of the products

Let us share a recent small town story,

My friend, who is willing to automate the milk distribution in the local neighborhood, I have asked to sketch all 8 dysfunctional areas.

In a simple one-page paper, he has created all these 8 blocks sketched and discussed around.

He runs a small shop that sells milk, curd, and various dairy products throughout the day.

Each morning, starting at 4 a.m., he and his assistant load up milk and curd packets and head out on their delivery route, covering a 3 to 4 km radius of homes.

By the time they return at 9 a.m., they’ve made their rounds, dropping off orders based on the physical coupons customers leave outside their doors.

But this system isn’t foolproof.

He often has to guess how many packets to take, trying to predict the needs of families within the 3 to 5 km stretch.

Whatever is left over, he stores in his shop’s freezer, hoping to sell the rest throughout the day.

Lately, the challenges are starting to pile up. Some days, customers complain they didn’t get all the milk they requested.

Sudden spikes in demand leave him scrambling, unable to meet everyone’s needs. To make matters worse, his delivery boy has been stealing coupons, leading to missed deliveries.

He’s had to replace the boy multiple times, but with slim profit margins, paying a higher salary is out of reach.

His tools aren’t helping either. He’s stuck using an old, rented bike for deliveries, which slows him down and often leads to spoiled milk due to mishandling.

Customers are starting to ask for more specialized products — fat-free milk, thick curd, and toned milk — but he doesn’t have the infrastructure or budget to accommodate these requests.

He knows he needs to make changes. He dreams of using technology to streamline the process, reduce mistakes, and give his customers exactly what they want.

But for now, he’s caught in a daily struggle, trying to balance demands with the limitations of his current setup.

How can he overcome all these?

He began addressing the challenges one step at a time, starting by shifting his focus entirely to what mattered most — the customers.

Every day, he made sure their needs came first, carefully listening to their requests and making it his mission to deliver exactly what they wanted.

He no longer saw milk delivery as a routine task but as an opportunity to build trust.

Each packet had to be perfect — no more missing deliveries, no leaking cartons, and absolutely no errors.

Every order needed to arrive just as the customer expected, fresh and complete.

Instead of waiting until the coupons ran out, he started connecting with customers weekly.

His once-distant approach transformed into one of active engagement, asking if they were satisfied and learning from their feedback.

He became proactive, seeking out ways to improve, rather than waiting for complaints.

To stay ahead, he embraced technology, using a mobile app to track orders and manage demand precisely.

He could now see what was needed at a glance and deliver without a hitch. No more guessing or last-minute rushes — everything was smooth and well-coordinated.

Behind the scenes, he streamlined his delivery process. Mistakes that once plagued his business became rare, and the system was so efficient that he could predict customer needs and keep the shop freezer stocked to perfection.

With growing profits, he turned his attention inward. He started rewarding his shop assistant, ensuring they felt valued for their hard work. His focus wasn’t just on increasing sales but on creating an environment where everyone — from the employees to the distributors — could benefit from the success.

As the business expanded, so did his vision. He didn’t just want to serve his existing customers; he wanted to reach further, from 3 km to 10 km, employing more staff, scaling profits, and sharing the wealth with those who helped drive the business forward.

What began as small improvements for a milk vendor had snowballed into a complete transformation — each step overcoming a common dysfunction in product management.

Imagine applying this same mindset to building a health care products — it’s clear the potential for growth is endless.

I have seen it is much tougher!!

What do you think?

You get more from this book — The Product Owner Guidebook