Other SME's
In addition to the core members, many other roles could be required depending on the needs of the aligned value stream.
Business Specialists
The purpose of having business specialists on the team is that they can provide the team with the necessary business knowledge and expertise to ensure that the product is solving the right problem and that the product is being marketed and sold effectively.
For teams whose value stream includes acquisition or engagement, a Growth Specialist is particularly valuable — someone who understands positioning, customer language and distribution, ensuring that the team's work reaches the people it was built for. Growth and marketing specialists are coached by the Marketing Lead on the Product Team (or the Product Manager on smaller products) and supported by the Marketing Enabling Team.
| Specialist Area | Specialist Role |
|---|---|
| Growth / Marketing | Growth Specialist |
| Growth / Marketing | Marketing Operations Specialist |
| Sales | Sales Manager |
| Sales | Customer Success Manager |
| Finance | Financial Analyst |
| Legal | Legal Advisor |
| Customer Service | Customer Service Representative |
| Customer Service | Support Manager |
Technical Specialists
The purpose of having technical specialists on the team is that some products require more specific skills than the core team members can provide. Some examples of technical specialists that could be required are:
- Front-End Developer
- Back-End Developer
- AI Engineer
- Data Scientist
- DevOps Engineer
- QA Engineer
- Security Specialist
- Cloud Architect
Anti-Patterns
- SMEs define the product instead of the customer: Allowing SMEs to dictate product features and direction based on their expertise rather than actual customer needs and feedback.
- Too large of a team: Having an excessive number of team members, including multiple SMEs, complicates communication and coordination.
- Technical requirements drive the solution: The solution's design and development are led by technical constraints or capabilities rather than by user needs or business goals.
- Resistance to change: SMEs may be resistant to new ideas or approaches that challenge their expertise or the status quo which could stifle innovation, or prevent the team from exploring potentially valuable new directions.