LogoZeroBlockers
Login
Subscribe

Product Teams

Product Teams

Analysing a Successful Product Vision: SpaceX

Apr 6, 2026

•

11 min read

Analysing a Successful Product Vision: SpaceX

The SpaceX to Mars video is a masterclass in narrative marketing. In a way a rocket company is no different to any other form of transport but the positioning elevates them ‘out of this world’ (sorry). This isn't just about getting from Point A to Point B. It's about positioning SpaceX as the architects of our multi-planetary future rather than just a rocket company. Let's break down exactly how they do it and why it is so effective.

Rory Madden
Rory Madden

Product Teams

The 4 Risks of Empowering Teams

Jan 19, 2026

•

8 min read

The 4 Risks of Empowering Teams

It's not all smooth sailing when you shift from Waterfall or Water-Scrum-Fall to truly empowered teams. There are four key challenges that you need to be aware of, and work around, to effectively manage the transition to autonomous product development.

Rory Madden
Rory Madden

Dependencies

+1

The 4 Types of Team Dependencies That Kill Performance (and How to Spot Them)

Jan 12, 2026

•

6 min read

The 4 Types of Team Dependencies That Kill Performance (and How to Spot Them)

Dependencies remove autonomy, which kills accountability. Once you have handoffs you allow people the wiggle room to throw up their hands and say "I did my job". We need to remove dependencies if we want teams to be accountable for outcomes - and that start with identifying the different types of dependencies that can exist.

Rory Madden
Rory Madden

Dependencies

+1

Why We Need a Brook's Law for Teams

Jan 5, 2026

•

6 min read

Why We Need a Brook's Law for Teams

In 1975, Fred Brooks published "The Mythical Man-Month," introducing what became known as Brooks' Law: "Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later." Brooks observed that communication overhead grows much faster than productive capacity when you add people to complex projects.The same is true for adding more projects into a portfolio.

Rory Madden
Rory Madden

Alignment

+2

How to Run an Effective Quarterly Planning Session for Empowered Teams

Dec 15, 2025

•

3 min read

How to Run an Effective Quarterly Planning Session for Empowered Teams

Quarterly planning aligns Product Teams with Stream Teams through collaboration, not control. The Product Team shares their vision and strategy, while Stream Teams determine how to achieve it. This approach preserves team autonomy while ensuring everyone works toward common goals. Done well, quarterly planning enables product teams to focus on impact, navigate dependencies efficiently, and continuously learn. Done poorly, it can result in misalignment, overcommitting, or a lack of accountability.

Rory Madden
Rory Madden

Dependencies

+1

Slow Product Development? Dependencies are the Cause

Oct 21, 2024

•

6 min read

Slow Product Development? Dependencies are the Cause

Brooks' Law highlights the problem of the exponential increase in communication between team members as team size grows. We need a similar concept for dependencies between projects as the number of parallel projects grows.

Rory Madden
Rory Madden
ZeroBlockers

ZeroBlockers

Helping teams remove the blockers that hurt the effectiveness and efficiency of software development.


Home

© 2026 Socially Motivated Ltd.
Report abusePrivacy policyTerms of use
beehiivPowered by beehiiv