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Event AgileDC Conference starts on Oct 26, 2026, 8:30:00 AM (America/New_York)
When the Product Operating Model Meets the System Underneath It
Location: Conference B - 10/26/26, 10:30 AM - 10/26/26, 11:15 AM (America/New_York) (45 minutes)
When the Product Operating Model Meets the System Underneath It
Stephanie Groot
Founder/Partner
703-801-5019
Stephanie Groot
Founder/Partner
703-801-5019

Stephanie Groot builds product organizations through M&A, executive impasse, Agile transformation, and scale. Over 20 years, she has led product management, Agile transformation, and change management across life sciences SaaS, DTC e-commerce, fleet management SaaS, and Salesforce-native platforms in the US and EMEA.
Stephanie founded Summit Bridge Solutions to extend that same discipline to companies navigating transformation. She advises clients across the full product lifecycle, from ideation through launch, with a focus on AI-driven enhancements, technology optimization, and process improvement. Her work spans product transformation, Agile coaching, executive coaching, and career development, helping leadership teams manage change while keeping their people engaged throughout the process.
As Vice President of Product Management at Velsera, a life sciences SaaS data platform, Stephanie was selected during an M&A to build a global product organization spanning the US and EMEA. She led a team of 65 across a $59 million portfolio, growing efficiency 20% and generating $26 million in new revenue within a year. When a major client refused to renew a multi-million-dollar contract and new customers demanded product innovation her team hadn't yet built, research showed that 75% of prospective customers would sign once the new feature shipped. But a full release carried the testing, review, and compliance delays that come with a regulated product. Stephanie led a strategic beta launch that balanced speed and risk: it secured an $11 million contract and grew the customer base 10% in four months.
Stephanie founded the Agents of Agile user group, now over 850 members, and mentors rising leaders through Women in Technology. She serves as a Miro Ambassador and holds credentials including Co-Active Coach Practitioner (CTI), Certified Scrum Professional (CSP-SM), PMI-ACP, SAFe Agilist, Certified Six Sigma Green Belt, and IDEO Design Thinking. Stephanie holds degrees in International Business and French from James Madison University.


n an M&A, I combined three organizations into one product team. Each group worked differently: one ran Agile, one had a hybrid approach, and one followed waterfall. Even the job titles, roles, and the definition of "done" all varied. My responsibility was to build a Product Operating Model for the team and the organization.

My takeaway from this experience was that hidden systems will undermine the Product Operating Model. The Product Operating Model you pick might look perfect on paper. You can rename teams, redraw boards, and redesign workflows. Yet, your product operating model will fail if the hidden system remains: how funding gets approved, what gets rewarded, and who actually decides. This is not team failure. It's a sign the real system was somewhere else the whole time.
Whether you are a coach, Scrum Master, Product Owner, or Project Manager, you have likely encountered this scenario. You may not set the rules, but you are expected to help everyone adapt to the new way of working.

By the end of this session, you will have an easy way to figure out which of those three things is not working in your organization, plus one first step to start fixing it.