VP of Product
The VP of Product is an important role in Product Management, but the specific responsibilities can vary significantly depending on the size and structure of an organization. For example, the VP might be the top of the Product function within a company, or there can be multiple VPs who report into a CPO – in which case the VP role is actually pretty similar to something that would be called a Director of Product somewhere else.
From this perspective, it may actually be more helpful to think about the level within the Product hierarchy that this individual plays, more than the named title. For example, are they at the top of the pyramid or a layer or two below?
Acknowledging that every Product organization is structured a little bit differently, the following depicts what is a typical structure that you’ll find at 2/3s of organizations. In such an org, the VP of Product, is the top of the pyramid. There may be a few Directors who are responsible for products or product areas and they in turn support teams of Product Managers who are doing the day-to-day tactical work.
What the VP of Product Is
In this sort of a structure, the VP of Product is responsible for the product team overall, including making sure their Directors are successful, evaluating big bets, representing the product to executives and the board, organizational design, and ensuring a good product team culture.
They define the overall structure of the team and align their Directors to go after key areas within that structure, while ensuring the group remains aligned with the biggest opportunities and organizations goals and expectations.
It is also worth noting that a VP of Product is also typically responsible for User Experience research and design, within this sort of Product org. So it is not uncommon to see UX reporting into the VP of Product.
What the VP of Product is NOT
A true VP of Product is typically operating across the entire portfolio and doing diplomacy and opportunity assessment work. They are less frequently planning roadmaps or managing individual Product Managements, which is something more associated with the role of a Director of Product. But above all, a VP should not be responsible for individual contributor work, director with Scrum teams, such as writing user stories and grooming the backlog.
Hopefully this gives a good understanding of the role of a VP of Product. The role can look more like a CPO when it is the top of the Product pyramid, or more like a Director of Product at another organization, when there is a CPO above the VP. So it is really important to consider the level/layer of the organizational pyramid, as well as the actual responsibilities of the role, and not assume too much from the title alone.
