# Adopting the product operating model at Priceline > Source: > Published: 2026-07-10 15:38:54+00:00 Listen and watch now on ** YouTube, Apple, and Spotify**. In this episode of the Engineering Enablement podcast, I sit down with Sejal Amin, Chief Technology Officer at Priceline, and Pedro Gutierrez, Senior Director of Software Engineering, to discuss how Priceline adopted a product operating model and the role developer experience played in making that transformation successful. We explore why the company moved away from a project-based approach, how DX metrics and developer feedback helped uncover organizational bottlenecks, and why a phased rollout, clear communication, and empowered engineering managers were critical to building trust and improving developer experience. We also discuss creating a dedicated developer experience team, lessons learned throughout the transformation, and how Priceline’s product operating model has helped the organization adapt to AI-driven software development. **Some takeaways: ** **Developer experience as a driver of organizational change** **Developer experience data can reveal organizational problems that traditional engineering metrics miss.** At Priceline, DX signals uncovered organizational bottlenecks—including handoffs, dependencies, and team friction—that ultimately led the company to adopt a product operating model.**Developer experience should be treated as a strategic capability, not just an engineering metric.** Rather than measuring developer satisfaction in isolation, Priceline used DX insights to guide structural changes that improved autonomy, delivery, and engineering culture. **Adopting a product operating model** **Reducing dependencies gives teams greater ownership.** Priceline shifted from a project-based organization to cross-functional product teams, reducing handoffs and giving teams the people and capabilities needed to own outcomes end to end.**Autonomy requires visibility into team health.** DX metrics gave engineering managers a clear view of the obstacles affecting their teams, allowing them to improve local workflows while staying aligned with broader organizational goals. **Turning developer feedback into action** **Developer experience surveys should lead to action—not just measurement.** Managers reviewed survey results, completed a triage process, created quarterly action plans, and measured whether those improvements had an impact in the next survey cycle.**Small workflow improvements can have an outsized impact.** DX data helped teams reclaim focus time, identify tooling regressions after migrations, surface cross-team dependencies, and address day-to-day friction before it became systemic. **Building trust in developer experience metrics** **Clear communication is essential for adoption.** Leaders consistently reinforced that DX metrics existed to improve teams rather than evaluate individuals, helping build confidence in the process from the outset.**Trust grows when developers see meaningful change.** Acting on feedback quarter after quarter encouraged greater participation, strengthened psychological safety, and made developer experience part of the organization’s culture. **The evolving role of engineering managers** **Engineering managers became owners of developer experience.** Managers were expected to understand DX data, improve their team’s DXI each quarter, and make developer experience part of their regular operating rhythm.**Developer experience became part of everyday engineering leadership.** DX metrics were discussed openly in all-hands meetings and other forums, making developer experience a visible measure of organizational health rather than a one-time initiative. **Preparing engineering organizations for AI** **AI changes where bottlenecks occur—not whether they exist.** As AI accelerated code generation, Priceline used its product operating model and developer experience data to identify where constraints had shifted and respond accordingly.**A strong operating model helps organizations adapt to AI.** Autonomous teams, continuous measurement, and visibility into developer workflows allowed Priceline to embrace AI while continuing to improve flow across the software development lifecycle. **In this episode, we cover:** ([00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w)) Intro ([01:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=67s)) Meet Sejal Amin and Pedro Gutierrez ([01:47](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=107s)) How Priceline’s developer experience journey began ([04:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=295s)) Lessons from Priceline’s first developer experience surveys ([06:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=415s)) How DX improved Priceline’s developer experience surveys ([09:47](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=587s)) Identifying the causes of organizational slowness ([12:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=753s)) How the product operating model changed the way Priceline works ([14:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=850s)) Priceline’s phased rollout with DX ([18:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=1094s)) How DX insights drove organizational changes ([19:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=1173s)) Why Priceline improved developer experience before org change was complete ([22:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=1338s)) How clear communication builds trust ([24:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=1465s)) Early results from Priceline’s Core Four ([25:38](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=1538s)) Creating a culture of continuous feedback to build trust ([27:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=1660s)) What has changed in the engineering manager role ([30:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=1810s)) Resources for learning about the product operating model ([32:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=1960s)) What Pedro learned from implementing DX ([34:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=2091s)) The developer experience team ([35:59](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=2159s)) How AI tools have impacted Priceline’s teams ([37:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=2240s)) How the product operating model supports AI-driven development ([39:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-O1wrEjx6w&t=2353s)) Final advice for engineering leaders **Where to find Sejal Amin:** • LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sejal-amin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sejal-amin) **Where to find Pedro Gutierrez:** • LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedro-gutierrez-b6605422](https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedro-gutierrez-b6605422) **Where to find Justin Reock:** • LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinreock](https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinreock) **Referenced:** • [Measuring developer productivity with the DX Core 4](https://getdx.com/research/measuring-developer-productivity-with-the-dx-core-4/) • [Transformed: Moving to the Product Operating Model (Silicon Valley Product Group)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119697336?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback)