Cross-Functional Teamwork in Action: A PM’s Experience

Introduction

Managing a product from ideation to launch requires cross-functional collaboration, strategic planning, and adaptability. As a Product Manager in the Terra Learning Bootcamp, my team and I were tasked with overseeing the development of a fully functional Quiz App within a tight timeline. This post highlights our approach, challenges faced, and key takeaways from the experience.

Project Overview

Our objective was to develop a Quiz App that met business objectives and adhered to best design and development practices. The project required coordination between:

• Product Managers (PMs) – Ensuring the roadmap was followed and timelines were met.

• Product Designers (PDs) – Creating the UI/UX based on the requirement document.

• Frontend Engineers – Implementing the designed screens.

• Backend Engineers – Setting up the database and integrating endpoints.

• Quality Assurance (QA) Engineers – Testing the application for bugs and performance issues.

Project Structure and Team Alignment

Initially, we had an unbalanced team structure (2:2:1:1:1 ratio). To ensure efficiency, our boot camp manager, Damilare Oyetade (Drey), suggested merging the PM and PD teams. This resulted in a 1:1:1:1:1 structure, ensuring a smoother workflow across all teams. Execution Timeline

Monday – Team Merging & Planning

• Merged teams for better collaboration.

• PMs developed a project tracker with assigned tasks and deadlines.

Tuesday – Finalizing Documentation & Kicking Off Design

• The Product Specification Document was finalized.

• PMs were assigned to specific teams.

• The design team started working on UI screens based on the PRD.

Wednesday – Midway Checkpoint

• The design team completed 50% of the screens.

• PMs reviewed designs to ensure alignment with the PRD.

• Frontend Engineers began implementing approved designs, while Backend Engineers started integration.

Thursday – A Major Setback in Alignment

During the daily standup, we discovered a misalignment between the design and development teams. The original agreement was to build a web-based application optimized for mobile, but the designs followed a mobile-first approach instead.

Upon realizing this, Drey extended the deadline from Friday to Saturday, giving the team extra time to make corrections. This led to:

• The design team reworking the screens.

• The frontend team adjusts implementations accordingly.

Friday – Development & Integrations

• The frontend team finished implementing the revised screens.

• The backend team completed endpoint integrations.

• A build was pushed to the QA team for testing.

Saturday – Final Testing & Refinements

• The QA engineers ran tests and reported bugs.

• Final fixes were made, and the product was prepared for launch.

Project Documentation

To provide more insights into our process, here are key documents that guided our execution:

• 📌 Roadmap

• 📌 Product Specification Document

• 📌Launch Plan

• 📌 Live Landing Page

Key Takeaways

1️⃣ Cross-functional alignment is crucial – Ensuring that all teams share the same understanding of project requirements prevents major setbacks.
2️⃣ Agility in project management is key – The ability to quickly adapt to challenges helped us recover from the design misalignment.
3️⃣ Effective documentation enhances efficiency – A well-documented Product Specification document, roadmap, and launch plan made it easier to track progress and manage expectations.

Final Thoughts

This experience reinforced the importance of strategic planning, adaptability, and teamwork in product management. Despite the challenges, we successfully delivered a functional Quiz App by leveraging collaboration and quick decision-making.