1. © 2021 Cognizant
What does it take to transform into a
product-centric IT organization
Raja Bavani
July 31, 2021

2. Today’s Speaker
Raja Bavani
Associate Vice President
Cognizant Digital Engineering

3. Agenda
1 Why product centricity is critical for IT
organizations
Transforming consumption and
engineering landscapes
What does it take to transform into a
product-centric IT organization
Discussion
2
4
5
What does it take to transform
into a product-centric IT
organization
Key factors of product centricity
3

4. Product centricity is required to
 gain competitive edge by embracing
the new possibilities delivered by
digital technologies and
 create unparalleled end user
experience through compelling digital
products and services that deliver true
customer value.
Why product centricity?
1

5. Gartner conducted a survey…
1. Fully adopt within the next 3 years
2. Fully adopt within the next 3 to 5 years
3. Fully adopt in a longer term (5+ years)
4. No timeline but we plan for partial adoption
5. No plan to adopt
What are your organization’s plan
for using a product-centric model
for software delivery (versus a
project-centric model)?

6. The survey found that …
What are your organization’s plan
for using a product-centric model
for software delivery (versus a
project-centric model)?
85% have adopted
or plan to adopt a
product-centric
delivery model
Source: https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2019-02-19-gartner-survey-finds-85-percent-of-organizations-favor-a-product

7. Product centricity in IT organizations
• becoming an ISV
or product
engineering
business
• mimicking product
companies
WHAT IT IS WHAT IT’S NOT
• embracing a
cultural shift and
adopting product
mind set
• becoming
customer-centric
and design-led
• Innovation and
ideation focused
• pivoting with
new business
models
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8. Over the past decades, the consumption
landscape of IT applications has evolved.
And the engineering landscape has
transformed too, resulting in opportunities.
Transforming consumption
& engineering landscapes
2

9. Transforming Consumption Landscape
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Tech savvy
w orkforce for
ADM and Ops,
traditional project
based roles
Internal focus,
support and run
the business,
optimization
Tech tow ers and
silos, provide and
support infra and
applications,
business enabler
Employees,
Vendors, Partners
Basic Expectations,
IT Applications
(Monoliths)
Technical
Excellence, Full
Stack, Agile
Mindset, Product-
Centric Roles
External focus
(Vs, Ps, Cs ),
enable and
transform
business
BizDevOps,
communities of
practice, strategic
business partner,
multi-speed IT,
built to transform
Employees, Vs,
Ps, B2C, B2B
Holistic
Expectations,
IT Products &
Services
Transformation
triggered by an
ever expanding IT
user base, and
their needs
Traditional IT Digital IT
Evolutionary
IT Users and User
Expectations
Workforce and Roles
Organizational Basis
Focus Areas

10. Architecture and Design
Technology Stack
Life Cycle and Teams
Infrastructure,CM, and
Automation
Transforming Engineering Landscape
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Transformation
triggered by
emerging
technologies and
evolutionary
methods
Monolithic,
Stateful,
Centralized,
Big Upfront
Microservices,
Stateless,
Distributed,
Evolving
Java, .Net,
RDBMS, SQL,
Application Servers
BI, Warehouses
Polyglot, Open
Source, Framew ork
Driven, Bigdata,
AI/Analytics, Data
Lakes
Waterfall, Iterative,
QA Phase, Manual
Testing, Large
Project Teams
Agile, XP, DevOps,
Lean Startup, TDD,
2 Pizza Team,
Pods
On-Prem, ITSM,
Limited Scaling,
Low Automation
Hybrid Cloud, CI/CD,
Auto-Scaling,
High Automation
Traditional IT Digital IT
Revolutionary

11. User expectations have expanded.
Software applications produced by IT teams have to be
as good as commercial products in all dimensions,
spanning availability, usability, performance, scalability,
fault-tolerance, privacy and security.
This warrants a laser-sharp focus on enriching user
experience, high quality, maintainability, better ROI and
speed-to-value.
Key factors of
product centricity
3

12. Product Centricity - Key Factors
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Requirements
Engineering
Discovery, Insights
Personas, Customer Journey Mapping
Epis, User Stories
Product Backlog, Roadmaps
Continuous Collaboration
Lifecycle
Processes,
WoW (Way of
Working)
Customer
Experience
(UI/UX, NFRs)
Design Thinking
Customer Feedback
Continuous Improvement
Engineering
Practices
Budgeting
Lean Budgeting
Product Line View
People (Skills,
R&R, Rewards,
Collaborative
Culture)
Integrated Agile-DevOps
(Scrum, Lean, Kanban,
SAFe, LeSS, Biz-Dev-Ops)
Pair Programming
Refactoring
CI/CD
Test Automation
DevSecOps
Lean Startup Culture
Full Stack Engineers
Product Managers
Engineering Managers
Engineering Labs
1
6
2
3 4
5

13. Elements of project- and product-centricity
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Facets Project Centricity Product Centricity
Positioning of IT IT as a cost center
Potential to transformIT into a service centeror
profit center.
Budgeting
Budgets allocatedfromproject to
project
Product-specificbudget.
Flexible budgeting as product evolves andscope for
optimization.
Release Cycle 3 to 12 months
Short iterations (1-4 weeks)andfrequent releases
in a long-termproduct lifecycle.
Team Association Teams move fromproject to project Teams stick to a product and gaindeep expertise.
Work Prioritization
Limitedend-userfeedback to drive
prioritization
Continuous prioritizationandagility withfrequent
end-userfeedback andfocus onspeed-to-value.
Value Alignment
Perceivedas a black-box due to
inadequate value alignment with
business and lack of visibility
High level of collaborationamongdevelopment,
operations business andend-users leading to an
effectivefeedback loopandvalue alignment.

14. Progressive CIOs want their IT
organizations to shift from program- to
product-centric thinking. We need a
systematic approach or a play book.
Where do we start?
A systematic approach
4

15. Make
Product Centricity
a strategic theme.
Play 0:
Setup a CxO Level
Steering Committee

16. 16
 Identify and involve success-criticalstakeholders.
 Ensure transparency.
 Let your culture drive the strategy.

17. Play 1.1: Identify
Capabilities, Product
Lines and Products
Play 1:
Reimagine Organizational Structure
Customer Facing
Capabilities
Operational
Capabilities
Deliver value to customers Needed to operate and deliver
value to other stakeholders
TWO TYPES OF CAPABILITIES

18. Validation Questions
For each capability, try these validation questions
1. What is the context and purpose?
2. What information is consumed and/or produced?
3. Who are involved?
4. How does it work or provide services?
5. What technologies are required to support this capability?
6. What are the risks, constraints and dependencies?
7. What is the ROI?
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19. Play 1.1 Identify Capabilities, Product Lines, & Products
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Business Capabilities are key to create competitive advantage and deliverstrategic goals.
Identify
Business
Capabilities
Prioritize
Map to
Product
Lines
Identify
Products
e-Commerce Priority-1
e-Commerce Platform
or Product Line
Merchandizing
Catalog Management
Marketing
Order Management
Fulfilment
Customer
Management
Example

20. How can we deliver
customer facing and
operational capabilities
in a product-centric way
through three key dimensions –
people, process and platform?

21. The Three Dimensions
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People
Organizational Change
Management
Business-IT Partnership
Product-Centric Roles
Alignment of IT Org Structure
Culture & Enablement
Communities of Practice
Processes& Tools
Agile-DevOps Transformation
New Ways of Working (adopt Agile,
DevOps, Lean Startup)
Lean Budgeting and Product Line View
Engineering Excellence
Customer Centricity
Platforms
Technology Transformation
Cloud Engineering
Cloud Native Development
Product-Centric App Transformation
Enterprise DevOps, Enterprise Architecture
Innovation Labs

22. Plays continued…
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1. Re-Imagine
Organizational
Structure
2. People 3. Process 4. Platform
1.Identify Capabilities,
Product Lines, and
Products
1.Strengthen the Business-
IT Partnership
2.Identify, Define and Initiate
Product-Centric Roles
3.Align IT Org Structure
4.Start Enablement
Programs & Build Product-
Centric Culture
5.Establish and Nurture
Communities of Practice
1.Strengthen Agile-DevOps
Adoption/Transformation
2.Infuse Lean Startup
Principles
3.Embrace Lean Product-
Centric Budgeting
4.Promote Engineering
Excellence and Adopt
Supportive Tools
5.Value Customer Centricity
1.Embrace Cloud Engineering &
Build a Modern Infrastructure
2.Adopt Micro Services
Architecture and Cloud Native
Development
3.Implement Capability-Lead
Application Transformation
4.Align Enterprise DevOps and
Enterprise Architecture
5.Invest in Innovation Labs and
Knowledge Management
Source: 17 Must-Do’s to Create a Product-Centric IT Organization, Cognizant

23. Play 2.1 Strengthen the Business-IT Partnership
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Product Delivery – Sponsored thru Business Capability Budget
IT Infra & Assets & Operational Capabilities – Sponsored thru IT Budget
Positioning of IT: Enabling Function Co-Sponsored Strategic Force
Shift in Funding: Project Level Capability or Product Level
Create
CxO Level
Synergy
Partner
with
Business
Leaders
Jointly Own
Product
Delivery
(Business
& IT)

24. Play 2.2 Identify, Define and Initiate Product-Centric Roles
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Application
Portfolio Leader
Program Manager
Project Manager
Scrum Master
Business Analyst
Developers
Database Admin
Testers
Infra Engineer
Network Engineer
Capability Leader
Product Manager
Engineering
Manager
Full Stack Engineer
UI/UX Designer
Automation Expert
DevOps Architect
DevOps Engineer
Site Reliability
Engineer
Agile Coaches

25. Play 2.3 Align IT Organizational Structure
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IT Infra & Assets
Capability Leader
Operations Capability
Leader
Business Capability
Leader 1
Business Capability
Leader 2
CIO CxOs
(CEO, CFO, COO, CIO, CDO,…)
Product Line
Directors
IT Directors
Product Line
Directors
Product Line
Directors
Product Managers
IT Directors Product Managers Product Managers
...
...
...
IT Shared Services (DBA, BI, Cloud Engineering, Agile/DevOps, Security, Automation,…)

26. Play 2.4 Start Enablement Programs & Build a Product-Centric
Culture
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Enablement
Programs
Product Manager
Engineering Manager
Full Stack Engineer
DevOps Engineer
DevOps Architect
Site Reliability Engineer
Agile Coach
Product
Management,
Design Thinking,
Agile Methods,
Agile Engineering
Practices, Lean
Startup, DevOps,
DevOps Tool Chain,
Cloud Engineering,
Cloud Native
Development,
UI/UX,
Site Reliability
Engineering
Self-Paced Group Learning | Hands-On Exercises | Expert Sessions | Case Study Based Learning | Mentoring | Coaching
Product-Centric Skills
Mode of Learning

27. Play 2.5 Establish and Nurture Communities of Practice
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Agile-DevOps
Community
Product
Managers’
Community
Digital Architects’
Community
Reliability &
Resilience
Community
Individuals or a set of local SMEs connect to form cohesive global
communities. They transformconversationsto collaboration. And
focus on learning, sharing, & innovating together.

28. Play 3.1 StrengthenAgile-DevOps Adoption/Transformation
Consider one
wave at a time
Invest in
Coaching
Assess
Maturity
Establish
Collaborative
Governance
Aim for
Enterprise
Agility
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Ensure Strategic Intent & CxO Sponsorship | Invest in Agile Coaches & DevOps Architects | Engage Trusted Partners

29. Play 3.2 Infuse Lean Startup Principles
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Lean Startup is an approach
for continuous innovation.
Entrepreneurs are everywhere. Identify them. Initiate Lean Startup approach.
Entrepreneurship is Management. Innovation is a key lever of business growth.
Practice Validated Learning. Run experiments on each element of your vision.
Build-Measure-Learn. Build MVP. Measure. Learn whether to pivot or persevere.
Do Innovation Accounting. Prioritize work. Setup milestones. Measure Progress.
1
2
3
4
5

30. Play 3.3 Embrace Lean, Product-Centric Budgeting
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MVP 1
MVP 2
MVP 3
Initial
Budget $
Additional
Budget $
Allocate Budget to Product
Teams.
Make it progressive and
flexible based on strategic fit.

31. Play 3.4 Promote Engineering Excellence and Adopt Supportive
Tools
Prioritize and
Promote Engineering
Practices thru
Communities
Baseline Reference
Architecture and Tool
sets for Agile-DevOps
Ways of Working
Automate
Engineering
Governance
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Agile Requirements Engineering | Evolving Architecture | Collective Code Ownership | Pair Programming | Refactoring | TDD | Automation | CI/CD

32. Play 3.5 Value Customer Centricity
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Balance Product Centricity and Customer Centricity
Continuous Collaboration | Design Thinking | Customer Journey Mapping | Feedback & Customer Insights | Data Analytics
Build customer
focused
leadership &
culture at all
levels
Apply Design
Thinking to
understand
and design
customer
experience
Collect metrics
that matter &
empower the
frontline to get
the voice of
the customer
Thru
feedback,
drive
continuous
improvement

33. Play 4.1 Embrace Cloud Engineering & Build a Modern
Infrastructure
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Strategic Intent | Investment in Cloud | Cloud Migration | Optimized Utilization | Performance Monitoring
Define/Refine
Cloud Strategy
Invest in Cloud
Infrastructure
& Tools
Monitor &
Optimize Opex

34. Play 4.2 Adopt Microservices and Cloud Native Development
Start
• Identify and Initiate Pilot
Projects
• ApplyAgile-DevOps &
Lean Startup Principles
Learn
• Measure Impact
• Retrospect
• Practice Continuous
Improvement
Scale
• Identify additional
projects
• Maximize the ROI of
micro services
architecture and cloud
native development
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35. Play 4.3 Implement Capability-LedApplication
Transformation
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Perform
APR
(Application
Portfolio
Rationalization)
Perform
Value
Stream
Mapping Transform
Applications
Build
Greenfield
Productsto
Fill White
Spaces
For each capability,
Verify &
Optimize
Value
Stream
Go to the
next
capability
Prioritize
Business &
Operational
Capabilities

36. Play 4.4 Align Enterprise DevOps and Enterprise Architecture
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Create, Refine
or Upgrade
Enterprise
Architecture
Create
Enterprise
DevOps
Blueprint or
Reference
Architecture
Align
Enterprise
DevOps and
Enterprise
Architecture
Perform
Regular
Reviews or
Upgrades

37. Play 4.5 Invest in Innovation Labs and Knowledge
Management
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Innovation
Invest Manage
Emerging
Platforms
Knowledge
Artefacts
Software
Assets and
IPs

38. Discussion
5
Do you have any
questions? Let us discuss.

39. Top five success factors
1 2 3 4 5
Executive
sponsorship
Top-down
portfolio
transformation
Enterprise wide
role development
plan
Comprehensive
OCM plan
Workforce
Enablement
Unwavering
executive
commitment –
‘Never give up’
attitude
Reorganizing
application portfolios,
org structures,
funding, etc. to
product-focused
value streams,
decentralized
persistent teams
(Metrics driven
dashboards)
Mapping the entire
organization to new
roles with
comprehensive role-
based training plans
Availability of
experienced leaders
identified as
‘Change Agents’,
Incentives to middle
management to
encourage risk-
taking and achieve
metrics,
communities of
practice
Enabling workforce
to form T-shaped
teams and inducting
Full Stack Engineers
within portfolios
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40. Summary
What does it take to transform
into a product-centric IT
organization
1 Why product centricity is critical for IT
organizations
Transforming consumption and
engineering landscapes
What does it take to transform into a
product-centric IT organization
Discussion
2
4
5
Key factors of product centricity
3
Any Questions?

41. Thank You