About Matthew Stublefield
I'm a product management consultant with 20+ years of experience helping technology companies fix delivery problems and build product strategy. I run Fieldway, a consulting practice focused on diagnostic sprints – structured, time-boxed investigations that find root causes and deliver actionable plans.
I work with growth-stage technology companies, typically between 10 and 80 people on the product and engineering side. My clients are usually VPs of Product, CTOs, or founders who know something's broken but can't see it from inside their own organization.
What I Do
I run two types of diagnostic sprints – structured, two-week engagements that find root causes and deliver actionable plans:
The Delivery Diagnostic Sprintis for teams that can't deliver on commitments. Sprints slip, defect rates climb, and the fixes you've tried haven't worked. I combine meeting observation, communication analysis, work system investigation, data analysis, and team interviews to find what's actually broken – then deliver a step-by-step implementation blueprint.
The Strategy Diagnostic Sprintis for companies whose growth has stalled and whose teams can't agree on what to build next. I research the target market, create detailed customer personas, identify specific problems to solve, and deliver a prioritized feature roadmap your team can start building against immediately.
Track Record
Stride – Ran a Delivery Diagnostic for an 80-person product team that was 5 months behind schedule with an 80% defect rate. The team tripled productivity within 90 days, cycle time dropped from 4-6 weeks to 5-7 days, and they shipped their first major release.
Tallo – Ran a Strategy Diagnostic for a 10-year-old career platform with plateauing growth. Delivered complete strategic direction for a new market in 2 weeks. The team was shipping features one month later. This is now an ongoing strategic product management engagement.
CoinDesk – Increased engineering throughput by nearly 3x while decreasing the defect rate by 15%. Separately, redesigned the cryptocurrency price page strategy, driving significant search traffic increases.
Adaptavist– Conceived the market strategy for Learn for Jira based on customer research and gap analysis. Led a strategic turnaround for an underperforming product line. Developed a documentation strategy that moved ScriptRunner's docs from primary uninstall reason to top 5 retention driver.
Big Four Agile Transformation – Led agile transformation programs across multiple business units at one of the Big Four consulting firms, coaching teams through the transition from waterfall to iterative delivery.
How I Got Here
I've spent my career at the intersection of product, engineering, and strategy. I started on the IT help desk at Missouri State University, moved into project management, and found my way to product management through leadership positions at media and technology companies. Eventually I realized that the most valuable thing I do is diagnose – figure out what's actually broken and why.
The diagnostic approach came from a pattern I kept seeing. Smart, capable teams stuck in dysfunction they couldn't identify from the inside. Leaders who'd tried new frameworks, new hires, and consultants, with nothing working. The root causes were always systemic, always invisible to insiders, and always identifiable through the right combination of observation, data analysis, and listening.
I've done this across technology, media, education, healthcare, and financial services. The industries change but the patterns repeat. Teams that confuse motion with progress. Organizations that treat symptoms instead of root causes. Leaders who need someone from outside the system to see what they can't.
Twenty years of pattern recognition across dozens of engagements is what makes the diagnostic work. I've seen most of these problems before – not exactly, but close enough that I know where to look and what the data means.
Outside of Work
I live in Springfield, Missouri, with my three sons. When I'm not diagnosing product teams, I'm probably reading, cooking, or trying to keep up with whatever my kids are into this week.
Let's Connect
Email matthew@fieldway.org to schedule a discovery call or ask questions about diagnostic sprints.