How the Figma PM Team Builds Products and Processes: Insights and Advice

How the Figma PM Team Builds Products and Processes: Insights and Advice

The Figma PM team is known for their successful product development process and the innovative products they create. One of the key factors that contribute to their success is their cross-functional brainstorms. They believe that great ideas come from input from all directions, traversing teams, and pinging across desks (or laptops) before reaching their final form. This culture of trust, reflection, inclusion, and transparency is what sets their PM team apart.

Brainstorms are an essential part of the PM experience at Figma. However, they can often become frustrating when clear decisions or action items are not established. To combat this, the team has implemented exercises to draw out team alignment on product direction. One of these exercises is called "Buy a Feature" prioritization. As a product manager, prioritization is a core part of the job. The tough part is figuring out what to green-light and what to put on hold. The team at Figma has found that mapping prioritization to time and resources helps everyone to "invest" in different product ideas or focus areas. It gives them a sense of how much people would invest in an area, rather than just having a stack-rank list.

To further promote alignment and collaboration, Figma PMs use an alignment scale. Each teammate logs their opinions by placing their built-in FigJam profile picture stamp somewhere on the scale. They can then make comments and use them to discuss. This exercise not only helps with visibility and prioritization but also gives everyone a chance to provide deeper insights on the work they all do.

In addition to work-related discussions, the Figma PM team also takes time to discuss personal updates. They ask each other what they've been thinking about in their personal lives and what they're worried or excited about. This may not seem like a major priority for a high-level meeting, but it's the foundation of building trust and culture among PMs. When the team knows what someone is dealing with at home or whether a PM is particularly concerned about an aspect of a feature, they can address those challenges head-on and prevent them from becoming blockers.

Reflecting together is another intentional practice that the Figma PM team has incorporated into their process. Retrospectives, or retros, are an integral part of the product development process. They provide an opportunity to think critically about what went well and what could be improved. The team at Figma retro every shipped product and has found stability in having retros at regular intervals, regardless of project timelines. They have even instituted a process of reflecting every six weeks to ensure continuous improvement.

A valuable retro goes beyond simply recording what went well and what didn't. It opens up room for people to give praise and get recognition. It's a good forcing function for recognizing good work and airing out frustrations. Figma PMs use the "start, stop, continue" framework for their retrospectives. This framework helps them identify what actions they should start doing, stop doing, and continue doing to improve their processes and products. It promotes a culture of reflection and allows for adaptation as processes and companies change.

To ensure that everyone's voice is heard and meaningful insights are extracted, the Figma PM team asks focused questions during retrospectives. Some of these questions include:

• Do we feel that we're building the right things?
• Are we doing this in the best way possible?
• How effectively and efficiently are we making decisions?
• How well are we working with other functions?
• How strong has our PM culture been?

In conclusion, the Figma PM team has built successful products and processes through their culture of trust, reflection, inclusion, and transparency. They prioritize alignment and collaboration through exercises like "Buy a Feature" prioritization and the use of alignment scales. They also value personal updates to build trust and address challenges head-on. Reflecting together through retrospectives allows them to continuously improve their processes and products. To implement these practices in your own team, here are three actionable pieces of advice:

1. Prioritize alignment and collaboration: Incorporate exercises like "Buy a Feature" prioritization and alignment scales to ensure everyone's input is considered and to drive team alignment on product direction.

2. Foster personal updates and discussions: Create space for personal updates and discussions during team meetings to build trust and address challenges that may impact the team's work.

3. Implement regular retrospectives: Make retrospectives a regular part of your product development process. Use frameworks like "start, stop, continue" to identify actionable steps for improvement and promote a culture of reflection.

By following these practices, you can create a culture that fosters collaboration, trust, and continuous improvement within your own product management team.