How can PMs build personalized products? In this episode of the Product Divergence Series with Ubiety Technologies CPO Nacho Andrade, bswift VP of Portfolio Strategy, End UX Paul Micheli speaks on building personalized product experiences. Paul shares his non-linear journey from biomedical engineering to UX to product management. He discusses the challenges of appealing to diverse personas and balancing competing priorities. Paul also offers advice on getting into product and handling pushback from stakeholders. Listeners will learn strategies for navigating complex product landscapes and advocating for their vision.
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Show Notes
- Benefits administration software need to provide personalized product experiences tailored to different user types and life stages.
- It’s important to balance resources between noisy clients, new strategic initiatives, and operational needs.
- Focus on why certain priorities are important and hold stakeholders accountable for decisions.
- Networking is crucial for career opportunities – join local meetups and mentor others.
- Consider a variety of paths like UX, engineering, or hybrid roles to transition into product management.
- Read books, take classes, and pursue hands-on learning to show interest in breaking into new fields.
- Instinct and qualitative user feedback can supplement quantitative data.
- Clearly communicate strategy and priorities to stakeholders while being open to feedback.
- Listen empathetically to client concerns and acknowledge their perspective.
- Involve subject matter experts in discussions to build understanding across viewpoints.
- Maintain a balance between addressing squeaky wheels and investing in strategic growth.
- Categorize work into “lights on”, next priority, and future innovation buckets.
- Measure success and check assumptions regularly to course correct as needed.
- Failure provides learning opportunities – find ways to push through obstacles.
- Beware of backseat product managers without accountability for decisions.
- Build business cases with dollar impacts to strengthen strategic arguments.
- Nintendo Switch exemplifies a smooth, versatile user experience across contexts.
- Companies may be too focused on fires and lack discipline for strategic roadmapping.
- The origin of companies like gaming platforms shapes their product visions.
- Commiserate with peers for support through challenges at any career stage.
About the speaker
I'm a Product Leader and User Experience Expert that focuses on providing great technology solutions. I have over 20 years of experience in the medical device and healthcare IT domains where my product development experience includes anesthesia machines, a critical care ventilator, two electronic surveillance applications, and electrosurgical generators. In recent years, I have grown and led a Product team that I built within a startup. I am currently the VP, Portfolio Strategy, End User Experience at the benefits administration company, bswift. Through this experience, I have developed a strong passion for identifying and understanding the problems that clinicians and other healthcare professionals experience with their technology on an everyday basis. Ultimately, I want to help great teams build great products.
About the host
Nacho is an Evangelist for all things product, advocating for innovation, diversity, and building amazing products. Nacho has spent over 10 years in product roles ranging from startups to enterprise in industries like education, healthcare, finance and gaming.