Optimizing collaboration and efficiency across your product function in the modern workplace

This article is based on Annemarie’s appearance at the Product-Led Summit in Amsterdam, 2024.

Optimizing collaboration and efficiency is the cornerstone of a successful product team.

I'm Annemarie Malik, Product Lead at Robin, a company dedicated to creating intuitive software for recruiters. Over the past year, my team and I faced significant challenges that forced us to rethink how we worked, collaborate, and deliver value.

Through a bold experiment called the Zero Bug Project, we uncovered practical strategies for transforming team dynamics, fostering accountability, and driving results in ways that exceeded our expectations.

In this article, I’ll share the insights we gained from this journey. From redefining ownership and creating a culture of connection to implementing sustainable frameworks for long-term success, these lessons have reshaped how we operate as a team and a company.

A development team in crisis

Picture this: a highly efficient development team delivering features seamlessly, bugs caught early in QA, and a data-driven roadmap guiding progress.

A year ago, this felt like an unattainable dream for my team. I was six months into my role at Robin and just finding my feet when our Head of Development had to take time off unexpectedly. This left a development team struggling to cope.

Bugs multiplied, the backlog swelled, and new releases routinely broke something critical. Stakeholders were frustrated. The team, wanting to do better but lacking clear structure, grew demoralized. And I, too, felt the weight of the chaos.

It became clear that a quick fix—like a two-week sprint to squash bugs—wouldn’t cut it. What we needed was structural change to make the team more scalable and self-sufficient.

The zero bug project: Hitting pause to fix the foundation

The first step was getting buy-in from the business to press pause on our roadmap. Given our struggles, it was clear we weren’t delivering effectively anyway, so taking time to focus on the fundamentals made sense.

We launched what we called the "Zero Bug Project," a bold 10-week experiment designed to overhaul how we worked.

The goal was audacious: eliminate all bugs in the backlog, prevent new bugs from reaching clients, clean up the codebase, and set up processes like AI-driven code reviews and automated testing. We even wanted more accurate project estimations going forward.

When we announced this plan to the team, their initial reaction was shock—zero bugs are practically heresy in engineering circles. But after the disbelief wore off, they rallied.

They spent the first two weeks brainstorming, planning, researching, and aligning on how they could achieve this ambitious goal. What started as an overwhelming challenge quickly became an exciting mission.

The results were remarkable. Our last four major releases went live without significant bugs. We reduced our average bugs to 14 per quarter, resolving most within 48 hours. And for the first time in months, we were delivering features on schedule. While there’s still plenty of room for improvement, the transformation over those 10 weeks was astonishing.

What made it work: Five key factors

Reflecting on this success, we wanted to understand what made the Zero Bug Project so effective. Here are five factors that stood out:

Project length: Ten weeks struck the right balance—long enough to make a real impact but short enough to maintain urgency and focus. The defined timeframe kept everyone motivated and on track.
Ownership: We gave the team full ownership of the process. They weren’t just implementing directives from above; they were designing the approach, setting priorities, and deciding how to achieve the goals. This autonomy was empowering.
Team dynamic: The challenge united the team. Facing a shared goal encouraged collaboration and fostered a sense of camaraderie. Brainstorming solutions together led to a stronger, more cohesive dynamic.
Culture: We cultivated a culture of experimentation and learning. Instead of fearing failure, the team embraced the opportunity to try new approaches, knowing they had the company’s support.
Accountability: Clear goals and regular check-ins ensured accountability. Everyone understood their role in achieving the team’s objectives, which drove both individual and collective responsibility.

The Zero Bug Project was born out of necessity, but its impact went far beyond fixing bugs. It showed us what the team was capable of when given the right environment to thrive.

Since then, we’ve taken the principles that made the project successful and embedded them into our day-to-day operations.