Product Operating System

Time horizon & artefacts

Parallel WIP limits · Retro

Bet Strategy · Goals

+5-6

Discovery Discovery · Jira

+3-4

Deliverable Delivery · Jira

+1-2

Sprint Prioritization · Jira

-2 to -1

Outcome Metrics · Jira

1 Strategy

Matures bets from proposal to commitment. Retires bets that no longer hold.

Cadence4w

OwnerFounders/CPO

Duration45-60m

Scope3-5 bets

Object matured

Bets and the Outcomes they encompass — Bets in Goals, Outcomes as Jira tickets

Inputs

Market signal & competitive shifts
Outcomes flat for 2+ cycles
Unexplained patterns from Metrics
Capability gaps

Outputs

Bets committed/retired (with Outcomes attached)
New Outcomes created (handed to Metrics for lifecycle)
Triggers Discovery candidates
Retired bets deprecate downstream work

Anti-patterns

Bet inflation — cap at 3-5
Vague bets without measurable propositions
Strategy as roadmap grooming
Skipping bet retirement

2 Discovery

Reduces uncertainty around Outcomes. Accepts candidates, reviews running discoveries.

CadenceWeekly

OwnerPM

Duration20-30m

Items8-12

Object matured

Discoveries — 4 modes: Research · Experiments · Spike · Instrumentation

Inputs

Unexplained signal from Metrics
Committed Bets & their Outcomes
Sales/CS/support patterns
Evidence from in-flight discoveries

Outputs

Accepted/rejected/returned candidates
Convergence decisions on running discos
Framings linked to specific Outcomes → Delivery
Ready Discoveries → Prioritization

Anti-patterns

Acceptance without framing
Skipping evidence review
Shaping into Deliverables here
Scheduling execution here (async PM call)

3 Delivery

Shapes Deliverable candidates toward Ready. Unblocks items currently in flight.

CadenceWeekly

OwnerPM/Eng

Duration20-30m

Items6-10

Object matured

Deliverables — features, bugs, tasks (standard Jira)

Inputs

Converged Discoveries
Bugs from CX/CS (matrix-routed, no Discovery)
Eng-initiated tech debt & tooling
In-flight items with blockers

Outputs

T-shirt sized items (S/M; L → split)
Each Deliverable linked to a primary Outcome
Ready pool for Prioritization
Resolved blockers, scope decisions

Anti-patterns

Round-robin status reporting
Technical implementation debate
Over-shaping at +3-4
Shaping without engineers in the room

4 Prioritization

Assigns sprint windows to Ready items. Demotes items not actually Ready.

CadenceWeekly

OwnerPM

Duration30m

Output+1 / +2

Object matured

Sprint — Discoveries & Deliverables assigned to +1 (firm) or +2 (directional)

Inputs

Ready Deliverables from Delivery
Ready Discoveries from Discovery (all 4 modes)
Sprint capacity for +1 and +2
Outcome impact & active Bets (alignment)
Bug matrix routing for new bugs
WIP limits from Retro

Outputs

Items placed in sprint +1 (firm) or +2 (directional)
Demotions back to Delivery / Discovery
Stale items killed (3+ cycles)

Anti-patterns

Shaping in the room
Pulling Ready → In Progress (executor's job)
Re-litigating the delivery/discovery split
Letting "Do Now" bugs become invisible

5 Metrics

Monitors Outcomes (Metabase / Amplitude). Routes observation back upstream.

CadenceWeekly

OwnerPM/Data

Duration30m

Items3-5

Object matured

Outcomes — Active / Monitor / Archived (Jira tickets, linked to Metabase & Amplitude)

Inputs

Active & Monitor Outcomes
New Outcomes from Strategy (lifecycle handover)
Live dashboards (Metabase, Amplitude)
Experiment results from shipped work
Instrumentation gaps surfaced

Outputs

Outcome state transitions (A → M → Archived)
Escalations to Strategy / Discovery / Delivery
Unresolved → Discovery candidates

Anti-patterns

Dashboard review theater
Conclusions on noisy 3-day blips
No routing of understanding
Outcomes with broken Metabase / Amplitude links

Retro

Tunes WIP limits — Retro's durable artefact. Reviews cycle time. Eng-owned, parallel to the POS. WIP limits feed back into Prioritization, shaping how aggressively each Sprint is loaded.

Cadence Every 2 weeks

Owner Eng lead

Artefact WIP limits

Details Cycle time review · WIP limit tuning · 1-2 named experiments per window

Improves how the team works — separate from what the team builds.

How the artefacts relate

From each artefact's perspective

Bet — strategic proposition (Strategy / Goals)

Bet → Outcome (Strategy) A Bet carries Outcomes that measure it.

Bet → Discovery (Strategy) Committed Bets trigger Discoveries.

Bet → Deliverable (Strategy) Some Bets directly trigger work without Discovery.

Bet ← Outcome (Metrics) Flat Outcomes question the Bet's validity.

Outcome — measurable target (Strategy creates / Metrics owns lifecycle)

Outcome ← Bet (Strategy) Created alongside the Bet.

Outcome ← Deliverable (executor) Shipped work moves Outcomes.

Outcome → Bet (Metrics) Validates or invalidates Bets.

Outcome → Discovery (Metrics) Unexplained signal triggers investigation.

Outcome → Deliverable (Metrics) Instrumentation gaps become work.

Discovery — uncertainty reduction (Discovery / Jira)

Discovery ← Bet (Strategy) Triggered by Committed Bets.

Discovery ← Outcome (Metrics) Unexplained signal becomes Discovery.

Discovery → Deliverable (Discovery) Converged Discoveries produce shaped framings.

Discovery → Sprint (Prioritization) Ready Discoveries get assigned a window.

Deliverable — features, bugs, tasks (Delivery / Jira)

As Feature

Deliverable ← Discovery (Discovery) From converged Discoveries.

Deliverable ← Bet (Strategy) Bets that don't need investigation.

As Bug

Deliverable ← CX/CS (matrix) Customer reports / production monitoring with S/P scoring.

Deliverable ← Outcome (Metrics) Instrumentation fixes from signal interpretation.

Outbound

Deliverable → Outcome (executor) Shipped work moves Outcomes.

Deliverable → Sprint (Prioritization) Ready Deliverables get assigned a window.

Sprint — time-bounded execution container (Prioritization / Jira sprint)

Sprint ← Deliverable (Prioritization) Ready Deliverables assigned via Prioritization.

Sprint ← Discovery (Prioritization) Ready Discoveries assigned via Prioritization.

Sprint ← WIP limits (Retro → Prioritization) WIP caps shape how aggressively each Sprint is loaded.

Sprint → execution (executor) Executor pulls from Sprint when ready.

WIP limits — flow control configuration (Retro / Jira board)

WIP limits ← cycle time (Retro) Tuned based on observed throughput and bottlenecks.

WIP limits → Sprint (Prioritization) Caps how much work gets assigned to each Sprint window.

WIP limits → execution (eng) Forces finishing before starting new work.

Bug triage matrix

CX/CS sets severity · PM confirms priority · matrix routes

Bugs enter through CX/CS or production monitoring. Rather than debating each case-by-case, we route them through a fixed matrix. CX/CS sets Severity from observable facts. PM confirms Priority from business context. The intersection produces an action; the action determines where the bug goes in the POS.

S1Critical · system down

S2High · painful workaround

S3Medium · easy workaround

S4Low · cosmetic

P0Emergency

Do Now

Do Next

P1High

Do Now

Do Next

Schedule

Backlog

P2Medium

Do Next

Schedule

Backlog

P3Low

Schedule

Backlog

Ignore/Reject

Severity (CX/CS)

S1 Critical Core capability broken, no workaround
S2 High Major impact, painful workaround
S3 Medium Minor impact, easy workaround
S4 Low Cosmetic, no functional impact

Priority (PM)

P0 Emergency Revenue / contractual / reputational risk <24h
P1 High Affects active customers or revenue this month
P2 Medium Meaningful UX impact, no immediate business risk
P3 Low Known issue, not affecting current business

Action → routing

Do Now Bypass Prioritization, in sprint 24h, logged
Do Next Sprint +1, SLA 2 weeks
Schedule Sprint +1 or +2, SLA 1 month
Backlog Delivery shaping queue, SLA 90 days
Ignore/Reject Not entered, customer notified

Pre-read & Output

Pre-read template

Posted 2h before, or item drops
Agenda + per-item decision question
Relevant data link + owner's recommendation
Escalations in acknowledged

Output template

Posted within 1h after
Named decisions, owners, due dates
Jira transitions + escalations out
Next review point

This is a living system. Optimize the system before optimizing any one station. Product Operating System · Pluggy · v1.0