What is the ideal relationship between platform and feature teams?

This question seeks to assess your understanding of the structure and interaction between distinct teams within a tech company. Platform teams typically provide tools and infrastructure that other teams, such as feature teams, use to build and deliver their products. Your answer should highlight your understanding of these roles and how you foster collaboration and synergy between such teams. You may want to touch upon the value of cross-team communication, shared objectives, delineation of responsibilities, and how these teams can mutually benefit each other.

In my view, the ideal relationship between platform and feature teams resembles that of strong partners - each contributing to the same overall objective, but through distinct roles. Platform teams create and maintain the underlying infrastructure, tools, and services, thereby enabling feature teams to focus on developing the application features that drive user satisfaction and business value.

This arrangement entails clear communication and understanding between the teams. As a product owner, for instance, I always facilitated regular sync meetings to ensure feature requests were properly understood and met by the platform team, and that any updates or changes from the platform team were well communicated to the feature teams. A cooperative, symbiotic relationship benefits all teams involved and most importantly, the end user.

From my perspective, an ideal relationship between platform and feature teams is akin to that of a service provider and a client. The platform team builds and maintains a robust, scalable infrastructure on which the feature team depends to develop the product's features.

This doesn't mean that one is subordinate to the other. Rather, it's a relationship anchored on mutual respect, clear communication and a shared understanding of the project goals. For instance, in my previous role, we used to have regular meetings between the teams to harmonize and align our goals and expectations. Clear delineation of responsibilities, combined with open feedback channels, enabled us to handle potential issues proactively, thereby fostering a more efficient and collaborative working environment.