How SRE Experience Shapes Product Thinking

With an impressive background in computer science from MIT and years of experience as a site reliability engineer at Google, Dina Levitan shares how she approaches the art of problem definition, and what she’s learned about the value of subject matter expertise versus disciplined product management skills. The episode also touches on Dina’s passion for consulting, her thoughts on work-life integration as a mom and leader, and practical stories about rapidly ramping up in new industries without being a deep domain expert. 

Key takeaways from Holly’s conversation with Dina Levitan, founder and principal of Chill Labs and lead product consultant at the Product Science Group, include the importance of centering the human experience in product development, the power of diverse and empowered teams, and why evidence-based strategies can unlock innovation, even in unfamiliar territory.  

Resources 

Visit Chill Labs where Dina helps companies build products that users want. 

Explore Dina’s personal site to explore her consulting and speaking services. 

Connect with Dina on LinkedIn 

Sign up for the "Automate Yourself" Newsletter at newsletter.chillaborate.com.

Follow Holly on LinkedIn 

Visit the Product Science Group website 

Explore Product Science Workshops and Courses 

Quotes from Dina Levitan:  

(00:01:31) "One of the questions I ask myself when I'm working on a product problem is how can I systematize the best practices and the issues that we're seeing here so that we can remove that problem and never have it happen again. That's one of those SRE principles that I like to keep top of mind..." - Dina Levitan

(00:05:21) "Whether it's in engineering or product management or life generally, understanding the true nature of a problem and its root causes is one of the most interesting and exciting pieces of the puzzle for me and motivates me to do my best work." - Dina Levitan 

(00:16:13) "I know that for me, one of the more fun aspects of the job is facilitating workshops and seeing how ideas from each participant build on top of each other and help us get to a clear path forward." - Dina Levitan 

Lab Notes :

Lab Note 608.1: Continuous Discovery & Delivery: Centering the human is key. 

Lab Note 608.2: Empowered Teams: Teams with diverse skillsets and perspectives foster greater understanding. 

Lab Note 606.3: Evidence-Based Product Strategy: Gathering evidence leads to sound product strategy even in areas where pre-existing expertise is limited. 

Lab Note 606.4: Building empowered teams requires both science and art. 

Lab Note 606.5: Empathy and contextual understanding remain uniquely human. 

Connect with the host, Holly Hester-Reilly: 

Website - https://www.productsciencegroup.com/ 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/product-science-group/ 

Product Science Podcast - https://www.productsciencepodcast.com 

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@productsciencegroup 

TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@productsciencegroup 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/productsciencegroup/ 

View the transcript and the full episode description on the Product Science Podcast website here.