In Escaping the Build Trap, Melissa Perri dives deep into one of the most common pitfalls in product management: focusing too much on delivery and not enough on delivering customer value. Through her insights and practical frameworks, Perri challenges product management professionals to reconsider their approach to building products. This book offers guidance to product owners, freelance product managers, interim product managers, and product consultants on shifting from a delivery mindset to a value-driven approach—one that aligns product outcomes with customer and business success.
Why the “Build Trap” Is a Trap
The “build trap” describes a situation where companies prioritize output over outcome. In this trap, teams are driven to release features and enhancements, sometimes without a clear understanding of whether these additions will truly serve the customer. Companies stuck in the build trap often measure success by the sheer number of features shipped rather than by the positive impact on customer satisfaction and business metrics.
Perri suggests that product owners, interim product managers, and even entire product management teams are often at risk of falling into this trap when their roles are seen as purely executional. Instead of being valued as strategic thinkers focused on customer needs and the product vision, they’re pulled into cycles of feature delivery. As Perri points out, the challenge is to turn product management from a task-oriented role into a strategic one that influences business outcomes.
The Product Kata: A Method for Continuous Discovery and Improvement
One of the practical frameworks that Perri advocates for avoiding the build trap is the Product Kata, a structured process for continuous product discovery. Inspired by the scientific method, the Product Kata encourages product teams to test assumptions and learn from their results iteratively. It’s a disciplined approach that product owners, freelance product managers, and product consultants can use to ensure that they’re constantly building with customer needs in mind.
The Product Kata consists of a repetitive cycle that includes setting a goal, understanding the current situation, identifying challenges, experimenting, and then reflecting on results. This framework allows interim product managers and product owners to focus on discovery and learning as much as delivery, ensuring that each feature or product decision adds real value. By adopting the Product Kata, companies can create a structured learning process that guides product decisions and keeps teams aligned with customer needs and business objectives.
Perri’s framework with the Product Kata allows for a proactive approach to understanding customer problems and validating solutions before significant investments are made. This methodology is especially valuable for freelance product managers and interim product owners who may come into a project with limited background knowledge and need an effective way to align quickly with the customer’s needs.
Building a Product-Led Organization
Another of the standout themes in Escaping the Build Trap is the concept of a product-led organization. Perri argues that to escape the build trap, product managers and product owners need to be empowered to make decisions based on customer feedback and business objectives. In a product-led organization, everyone—from leadership to freelance product owners and interim product managers—is aligned with the product’s purpose and its value to the customer.
This shift requires companies to view product management as a strategic function rather than just a delivery role. By placing experienced product consultants or a seasoned product management coach in the driver’s seat, companies can start to implement a product-led mindset that aligns all functions around customer value. This approach ultimately makes it easier to measure success by outcomes and customer satisfaction rather than output alone.
Perri’s Framework for Product Success
Melissa Perri introduces a four-part framework to guide companies in building products that deliver value:
1. Product Vision and Strategy
A clear product vision should serve as the guiding star for the product team. It sets the direction for all decisions, ensuring that the focus is always on solving the right problems. The strategy breaks down this vision into actionable steps, so freelance product managers, interim product owners, and product management teams have a road map aligned with long-term goals. At BlueHeads, we know that establishing a strong vision is fundamental to creating products that resonate with users.
2. People and Culture
Perri emphasizes the importance of culture and talent in creating a successful product organization. Companies need product management coaches and product consultants who can foster a culture that values customer insights and collaboration. A product-led culture encourages all team members, including interim product managers, to work together toward a unified vision focused on customer value.
3. Process
The process is critical in ensuring that teams can work effectively. Perri advocates for a discovery-driven approach that focuses on validating customer needs before development begins. By involving freelance product owners and product consultants early in the discovery phase, companies can ensure they’re building features that customers want and need. This method aligns the development process with delivering value rather than just meeting deadlines.
4. Metrics
Perri’s framework emphasizes metrics that track customer success over simple delivery metrics. She encourages product teams to use metrics that reveal whether customers are finding value in the product, which is often a better indicator of long-term success. Product owners and freelance product managers should be empowered to define these success metrics, using customer insights to adjust and improve the product over time.
Outcome-Oriented Metrics: Measuring What Matters
One of the critical shifts Perri recommends is moving from output-based metrics to outcome-oriented metrics. In many companies, success is measured by the volume of work delivered rather than the impact it has on the customer. Outcome-oriented metrics focus on the value provided to customers, such as customer satisfaction, product usage, and net promoter scores (NPS). These metrics reveal how well a product is meeting the real needs of its users.
For product owners, interim product managers, and product management coaches, outcome-based metrics provide a clearer sense of purpose and allow teams to focus on making a meaningful impact. This approach requires a deep understanding of the customer journey and a commitment to continuous improvement, both of which are central to the services offered by BlueHeads.
How BlueHeads Helps Clients Deliver Customer Value
At BlueHeads, we specialize in guiding companies toward a value-driven approach to product management, helping them escape the build trap and deliver true customer value. Our team of highly experienced freelance product managers, interim product owners, and product management coaches understands the challenges of balancing delivery with customer satisfaction. We work closely with our clients to develop product strategies that focus on outcomes, building a solid foundation for long-term success.
Our product consultants and interim product management professionals are experts in applying the principles Perri outlines in Escaping the Build Trap, including the Product Kata. By using the Product Kata framework, we ensure that your teams are continuously discovering and adapting to meet customer needs. We help companies create a product-led culture, align on customer-centric goals, and measure success based on customer impact rather than just feature output. With BlueHeads by your side, you can trust that your product team will remain focused on creating value for your customers, positioning your organization for sustainable growth.
Whether you’re struggling to define your product vision, need guidance on outcome-based metrics, or want to bring in a freelance product owner to drive a specific project, BlueHeads has the expertise to support your journey. Reach out to discover how we can help your product management team deliver real value and avoid getting caught in the build trap.