Old dogs can definitely learn new tricks. So can old SaaS teams.
Our work at Product Advisory Studio often includes working closely with product teams navigating growing pains, as well as mature teams experiencing sudden declines in performance and effectiveness. Before I started PAS, I noticed these issues were especially prevalent in teams you’d never imagine as having problems of this nature: well-established technology companies ultimately facing the pressures of transformation. One of my clients, a longtime leader in cloud-based data and analytics, was one such team.
Despite their technical depth and enterprise experience, the product team at this organization was struggling with a few common challenges we often see in legacy organizations: siloed work, misalignment between product and engineering, and difficulty translating business needs into actionable requirements. The result? A breakdown in trust between teams, a lack of confidence from the broader business, and a Product team that felt disempowered, with their hands tied when it came to releasing anything substantial or innovative.
After meeting with team leaders and stakeholders, I took stock of the problems they raised, and as I always do now, decided to craft a custom training program. Our engagement started with foundational upskilling, including practical techniques for prioritization, tailoring roadmaps for different stakeholders, and sharpening communication. But it quickly evolved. What began as a session on crafting product strategy became a deeper examination of how their strategy work was getting lost in a sea of outdated requirements documents- or simply skipped- leading to premature solutioning.
We introduced a simple but powerful tool: a living product strategy one-pager. It prompted the team to ask better questions upfront, including:
What is the desired end-state?
Who are we solving for, and why now?
What insights or data support this initiative?
What are the risks, and who’s accountable?
This wasn’t meant to be employed as a rigid template. Instead, it was a shared source of truth that brought product, design, and engineering together. By grounding each new initiative in business context and user pain points, the team finally had a framework that was adaptable, honest, and clear. This meant that solutioning was happening after problems were well articulated and feasibility was properly considered.
One of the biggest wins? The team replaced their legacy PRD with this strategy doc, and it stuck. For the first time, even long-tenured PMs said they felt empowered to lead from a place of clarity and cross-functional alignment.
I couldn’t be prouder of this team. The real reward for me has been seeing updates from the individuals who were in class: new promotions, fresh starts, and clever insights on how they’re now shipping better products with confidence.
We love doing this work. If your team is stuck in outdated habits and craving a more strategic, collaborative approach, let’s talk!