When teams in tech discuss how to organize work, you’ll often hear about the project operating model and the product operating model. These terms describe two very different ways of building and maintaining software. Understanding the difference is useful for engineers, product people, and managers alike.
What is a project operating model?
In a project model, the company forms a temporary team to deliver a defined scope of work. The project has a clear start and end. It may be a new feature, a redesign, or an app for a specific client. Once the work is delivered, the team usually hands it off to support or maintenance, and the team moves on to something else.
Success in this model is judged by traditional measures: on time, on budget, in scope. It works well when the goal is clear and fixed, and when the software is unlikely to change much after launch.
What is a product operating model?
In a product model, the team is long-lived and focused on a product or a specific area of one. That product might be a web-based learning platform, a mobile fitness app, or a booking system. The same team continuously designs, builds, releases, and improves the product over time.
Here, success is measured by user outcomes: active users, task completion, performance, user satisfaction, or retention. Teams release frequently, respond to feedback, and iterate based on usage data. The team owns the product experience, not just the code.
Example: a mobile food delivery app
Imagine a company building a food delivery app. In a project model, the team might be formed just to build the restaurant search feature. They deliver it in two months, then hand it over and disband. Any improvements or bug fixes go through a new support or delivery process, possibly with a different team.
In a product model, there could be a permanent Search & Discovery team. They own everything related to finding restaurants and dishes on the supported platforms. This team continuously improves search speed, result quality, and relevance. They can A/B test filters or recommend new restaurants based on user behavior. The same team stays with the feature as it grows, breaks, and gets rebuilt.
Why companies adopt the product model
The product operating model is better suited to software that evolves quickly. It supports:
- Fast iteration and frequent releases
- Better ownership and accountability
- Real-time learning from users
- Cross-functional collaboration across design, development, QA, and product management
It aligns well with Agile and DevOps practices, where teams are expected to deliver small improvements often, and respond to change quickly.
Project models still have a place
The project model still works well for fixed-scope work: a one-time migration, a client app with a clear end date, or compliance tasks that don’t need long-term iteration. For these, creating a dedicated project team may be more efficient and lower overhead.
Choosing between them
The product model is ideal when software needs to be continuously improved, adapted, and supported over time. The project model is better when you’re building something that’s mostly static once delivered. The key is not choosing one approach for everything, but knowing which one fits the work in front of you.
Software developer. Defender of Kaer Morhen. Based in the U.S.