Where is the resistance to adopting a product line approach usually found?

It can come from almost anywhere, but we observe that often it shows up at the middle-management level. Many times the front-line staff members recognize the benefits of doing things the new way because they're the ones who must implement and re-implement almost identical applications multiple times. Conversely, senior management tends to have the vision and see the financial bottom lines. This is by no means always the case, however. We also know of an organization in which senior management was preoccupied with buy-outs and mergers, and middle management stepped in and initiated the transition to product line practice; when senior managers turned their attention inward, they discovered to their surprise that their company was building software in an entirely new way.  more

Although it can come from almost anywhere, it often shows up at the middle-management level. Many times, the folks in the trenches recognize the benefits of doing things the new way, because they're the ones tasked with implementing and re-implementing almost identical applications multiple times. Conversely, senior management tends to have the vision and see the financial bottom lines. That is by no means always the case, however. We also know of an organization in which senior management was preoccupied with buyouts and mergers, and middle management stepped in and championed the transition to product line practice. When senior management turned their attention inward, they discovered to their surprise that their company was building software in an entirely new way.  more