Prodity: Product by Design

It's critical we continue our learning and development as product managers and UX designers. But it can be hard when our jobs take up so much time day-to-day. What are some of the best ways to continue professional progression? We dive into that topic and more on this episode.

Professional Learning:

• Podcasts
• Webinars, Publications and Newsletters: Product Thinking, Product by Design
• Books
• Conferences
• Training
• Mentoring

Other Links:
Evans Woodshop
Instagram

Links:

• Presentation Link: Google Slides

Choosing the right things to work on is often the hardest part in any role, especially product development. Whether it is strategic initiatives, product features, or backlog items, we have to ensure we're saying yes to the right things and saying no to the wrong things. In this episode we tackle a framework for making those hard decisions and how to incorporate the various prioritization methods (from MoSCoW to User Story Mapping) into your process. If you like this episode, you can find more information at https://productthinking.substack.com/p/strategic-prioritization

Product roadmaps can be an extraordinary tool, or an extraordinary pain. It all depends on how we create them and use them. In this episode, we tackle product roadmaps, what they are, what they aren't, and how to get the most out of your roadmap. We also sprinkle in some pumpkin spice, because we all love pumpkin spice.

Notes:

• What a roadmap isn't
• What a roadmap is
• What is its purpose
• What are the principles in creating a roadmap
• What are the components of a roadmap
• Who should be involved

Links:
Product Roadmaps: Love, Hate (& Hate) article
Twitter thread

If you like Netflix, Audible, motorcycles, movies, or online shopping, we've got examples from all of the above and more. Join us for a thorough analysis of key usability principles and how many of the products you use incorporate them (or don't).

Links from the episode:

• 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design
• Google slides from our show
• Slidesgo Templates

In this episode we have a great conversation about product strategy, where design fits in strategy, and how to involve your product team, including UX designers in the strategy and vision.

• Where does strategy fit?
• What are the major headaches for product managers?
• What difficulties are there in getting support for product strategy?
• How can we create the product vision, strategy and measure it to ensure success?

We also tackle other important questions:

• Star Trek, Star Wars, or Battlestar Galactica?
• What is a Timberking 2000 and why Kyle needs one

Why don't teams have designers?

What can you do if you don't have a designer?

• Get inspirations from wherever you can
• Find tools and libraries to leverage
• Utilize UI kits

What if you have a little budget for contract work?

• There are some good options such as Upwork
• Understand and be upfront about your budget, timeline and scale

Links from our discussion:

• Collect UI
• Dribble
• Adele UXPin
• Jakob Neilsen 10 Heuristics of UI Design
• Canva Presentation Templates

We cover an array of topics, including

• Jordan's background before design
• How he got into design
• How he moved into product design from graphic design
• How is background contributed to the move
• What he wished he knew before

What is inclusivity?

How does it align with accessibility?

Why is inclusivity important in product design and development?

How can we begin to identify and overcome some of our own blind spots?

References:

• Why does Siri sound white?
• Census Data

Very few of us take a straight-line path into product management, and Chris is no exception. He talks about how his background helped prepare him for a career in product management, and what he learned along the way to help him be successful.

A few things Chris wishes he knew coming into product management:

1. Product managers often make decisions without all the information. How can we better prepare for this?
2. Not everyone understands the value of product management. How can we do better?
3. Product management is incredibly fun. As much hard work as it is, there are few careers as rewarding.

Listen for a ton of other great information on moving into product management, the origin of Doritos, hamburgers, and using tacos to gauge your purchasing habits.