Insights from JD.com Mall R&D Management: A Project Management Journey

Speaker Qian Zhilin has been with JD.com for over three years, bringing eight years of prior project‑management experience; she has led 53 projects, including single‑product page redesigns and the "Train‑Head One" initiative, and currently works on second‑hand and Toplife business projects.

Stage 1 – Follow Stage : As a newcomer, she closely followed the project team, quickly learned JD’s project‑management rules, and built relationships with product and development colleagues, eventually gaining the trust of the R&D leader and a supportive peer group.

Stage 2 – Coordination (Communication) Stage : With the growing number of Mall R&D projects, coordination tasks fell to project managers, who had to mediate between systems, maintain patience, and drive projects forward despite challenges, illustrating the critical role of project managers in large or complex initiatives.

Stage 3 – Guidance Stage : In 2016 JD introduced a BP (Business Partner) system to guide business in formulating reasonable requirements, promote R&D achievements, and achieve cost‑effective, win‑win outcomes. Qian, as a Mall R&D BP, experienced the pressure of translating rapid business innovation into feasible system demands, emphasizing the need for thorough communication, requirement analysis, and business‑rule guidance.

She notes that traditional project‑management methods no longer suffice; the approach must evolve to guide business partners, align development processes, and synchronize rhythms between business and R&D.

Stage 4 – Planning Stage : Rapid growth at JD led to diversified project forms, prompting a shift from single‑project focus to "project‑set" management. By standardizing priority demand scheduling and optimizing minor requests, information flow became clearer, team response faster, and overall collaboration efficiency significantly improved.

The article concludes with reflections: after four years of rapid growth, Mall R&D management must continuously upgrade its methods, enhance project‑manager capabilities, and maintain the unwavering dedication of the team to serve both business and development departments, switching seamlessly between visible and invisible support modes.