Product Momentum Podcast

Sophia Prater is CEO of Rewired UX and the creator of the Object-Oriented UX (OOUX) Certification. In this episode of Product Momentum, Sophia joins Sean Murray and guest co-host Jon Daiello to discuss OOUX and the many ways it can help product teams deliver better design, more efficiently than ever. As Sophia explains, “OOUX is like the backbone of the design process that allows all these other disciplines to hang on to.” And the ORCA process – that is, Objects, Relationships, CTAs, and Attributes – is the ‘how’ of the OOUX philosophy. Jon, a Senior UX Manager at Paychex, shares Sophia’s enthusiasm for integrating OOUX principles into his team’s design practice. Together, they explored how OOUX is reshaping the design landscape and empowering product teams to deliver exceptional user experiences. Here’s what you’ll learn:Breaking Down Functional Silos with OOUXOOUX provides a structured approach to design that breaks down functional silos by focusing on the objects and relationships that users interact with. OOUX encourages cross-functional collaboration by creating a shared language among the trio of product, engineering, and UX. “Object-oriented UX is gonna help designers communicate with our developers and PMs. And it’s actually going to help us internally as a team. If we don’t understand internally what the objects are, if we don’t have a shared language on what the things are, then how are we gonna make it clear to our users?” ORCA: Boosting Process Efficiency Through UnderstandingOne of the standout benefits of OOUX is its ability to boost process efficiency. Not only does OOUX promote that reusability of shared artifacts, but it helps product teams save time and resources by building only those things that users need and want – and by not buildingthe things users do not need or want. “The ORCA process is a tool for understanding,” Sophia explains. “Understanding the scope and making sure it’s really clear. Understanding the mental model, the data structure, and all the constraints – technical and otherwise. ORCA allows us to truly become systems thinkers,” she adds. “That’s what the world needs. We want to be creating real solutions that solve real problems. Our system lies within a system of systems. So we need people thinking in systems. And that is what the ORCA process gives you.” Slowing Down to Go Fast – with Less WasteWhen product teams dedicate time early in the process to define objects, relationships, and processes, Sophia says, they not only reduce the risk of costly errors later in the cycle. They also quickly discover “all the stuff they don’t need to do. “OOUX helps you get everything on the table, with everyone looking at all the puzzle pieces collaboratively,” Sophia says. “When we do that, we realize we don’t even need half of this stuff — the stuff that’s just gonna drag us down. When we got rid of that, we realize we can go so much faster.” Jon Daiello is a Senior UX Manager at Paychex, leading design teams across Platform, Design Systems, and UX Strategy. He’s passionate about building strong designers, sharing insights on his website and other platforms. ITX’s Product + Design Conference is just around the corner, on June 25-26. Get your tickets here, on our P+D Conference landing page! The post 166 / Sophia Prater, on Object-Oriented UX: The Backbone of the Design Process appeared first on ITX Corp..

If you’ve spent any time navigating the intricate world of product management, you’re likely familiar with the constant balancing act the role requires. Heather Inocencio is the founder and CEO of The Product Consult, a team of product managers helping companies innovate and scale. In this episode of Product Momentum, Heather joins Sean and special guest co-host Sheila Herbert to share her recipe for how fractional product management works – and where it works best. When fractional PMs join a new organization, approach the opportunity with curiosity, Heather advises. Use that curiosity as a conduit for building trust with your new stakeholders. That way – echoing the words of Bruce McCarthy in episode 156 of Product Momentum and in a recent blog post with Sean Flaherty – you can fairly represent each stakeholder’s needs and motivations. Here’s what else you’ll learn: A Balanced Approach: Customer Obsession + Business Value Find the right balance between being customer obsessed (as described by Christian Marek in episode 162) and delivering value to the business. Meeting user needs is paramount, Heather says, but product managers are also responsible for delivering on the broader business strategy. “Product people are constantly being pushed that they must be ‘customer obsessed.’ And I couldn’t agree more,” Heather explains. “But we have to tie that obsession back to the work we’re doing: the features we’re delivering and the platforms we’re expanding. Then we have to explain how those user behaviors are tying back to adding real business value.” Understanding Fractional Product Management By providing organizations with product management expertise – without the commitment of a full-time/long-time hire – the fractional approach helps both startups and small- to mid-sized businesses that need senior-level product leadership but may lack the resources or consistent demand to justify a permanent position. “At The Product Consult, we embed with clients either full-time or fractionally,” Heathers adds. “And we do hands-on product management work, whether it’s me or someone on my team. To the client, it feels like we’re part of their team. It’s a great way for a company to add skills to the team that they don’t have.” Trust: The Key Ingredient in a Recipe for Product Success A thread woven throughout the conversation was Heather’s take on building trust across stakeholder groups. Trust is no longer a “nice-to-have” in product management; it’s fundamental to the success of any relationship. She shared her recipe for success – the key ingredient of which is trust – which starts with product managers building connections that transcend superficial collaboration. “The one difference in product management versus other roles at a company is that we touch every aspect of the business,” Heather points out. “Trust enables teams to navigate tough conversations, align on priorities, and execute with clarity.” Sheila Herbert is VP, Product at Butler / Till, headquartered in Rochester, NY. Sheila’s expertise and passion for people-first product leadership add a dynamic layer to our discussion. ITX’s Product + Design Conference is returning to Rochester, NY on June 25-26. Get your tickets here, on our P+D Conference landing page! The post 165 / A Recipe for Success: Heather Inocencio, on Fractional Product Management appeared first on ITX Corp..

Luke Stiles is a product advisor and consultant who helps build products and grow companies, focusing on widespread adoption of Generative AI. On June 25, he will facilitate a workshop at ITX’s 2-day Product + Design Conference (June 25-26). In this episode of Product Momentum, Luke joins Sean and Dan to talk about topics ranging from GenAI’s impact on product management and the need for domain expertise to the value of prototyping and NBA superstar Steph Curry. He concludes the conversation with a hopeful declaration regarding the enduring essence of human creativity in collaboration: AI will enhance, rather than replace, the value of humanity. And if you’re looking for some solid book recommendations to fill out your summer reading list, Luke offers some terrific options! Here’s what else you’ll learn: Accelerating time to valueGet up to speed on the current narrative surrounding generative AI and its implications for product management. What Luke sees most often is AI’s ability to take somebody with deep domain expertise and allows them to really optimize. “The product manager is responsible for gluing a lot of things together,” he adds. “And when you get into that T-shape mode, there’s an opportunity to require fewer inputs from people along the way. AI offers a huge opportunity to reduce the number of handoffs so that we can just accelerate what you’re doing as product managers with these tools.” Prototyping with AIAI tools are already helping product teams to bring better and more fully-baked ideas to the design process, no doubt helping us move faster to critical decision points. But at the same time, Luke explains, we run the risk making the same mistakes we’ve always made with prototypes, saying, “well, that looks like we’re done.” And the answer is, ‘probably not.’ Prototypes are not finished products; they still need to be sold, he adds. Stakeholders still need to understand their value. ‘The Value of Humanity Will Go Up’Our chat with Luke concludes with a discussion on the AI’s role in helping us cross functional boundaries, to understand different rules sets, and – perhaps most urgently – to grasp AI’s impact on the future of human creativity and collaboration within the product development process. “Human desire is infinite,” Luke assures us. “And humans desire being with other humans.” AI will not change that. “The value of humanity will go up. And I believe that deeply.” Want to hear more from Luke Stiles? Register now for ITX’s Product + Design Conference, which returns to Rochester, June 25-26. See the complete list of workshop facilitators and keynote speakers on our P+D Conference landing page! The post 164 / Luke Stiles, on GenAI: ‘The Value of Humanity Will Go Up’ appeared first on ITX Corp..

Vitaly Friedman is an author, the UX Lead with the European Parliament, and editor-in-chief of Smashing Magazine. On June 25, he will facilitate a workshop at ITX’s 2-day Product + Design Conference. In this episode of Product Momentum, Vitaly joins Sean and Dan to share his insights about tackling the unique challenges of UX design in enterprise-level environments. Tune in to hear the following: It’s OK to be a disruptor of legacy systems in enterprise organizations “Legacy is like that ‘magical box’ that we’re afraid to touch,” Vitaly says. “No one really knows how it works, and the people who set it up decades ago are now gone and left with no proper documentation.” But it’s OK to be a disruptor of legacy systems and the political hierarchies that created them as long as you show the value you can bring and approach your task with a risk management mindset. “Start with smaller projects; ask users and stakeholders to review your unfinished work; and always remember that your ‘disruption’ affects a lot of people who need that tool quite literally to do their work.” Start small, build trust, and focus your vocabulary on the language of your stakeholders. As part of your research, ask stakeholders to show you their product and to walk you through it. Listen carefully to the words they use to describe it – and how frequently those same words are used. Says Vitaly: “You can get a better understanding of what’s important just by listening to how they talk about it and how much the features or workflows or ways of working mean to them as well.” For humans, with humans, by humans. Designing software is a people business, so Vitaly encourages UX professionals to “observe the relationships between stakeholders” so that you can learn about the people inside the organization who believe in and want to support UX initiatives. “There’s a good chance some UX projects benefited them and helped them be successful,” Vitaly adds. When you find the people who deeply believe in UX, tell them the story about the project you’re working on. “Once you make them aware, they will move mountains for you and support your efforts,” he says. Product + Design Workshop: How can UX designers welcome AI into their environment? In his workshop at the ITX Product + Design Conference, Vitaly will introduce to attendees some of his recent experimental work. “We designers expect a lot from AI, and we believe there’s a lot of things AI can do to help us build great products,” Vitaly says. “But the reality is that AI is really weird. We’re accustomed to software being rather predictable and reliable: if you click on a button, you get the result you’re expecting. But sometimes – like 10-15% of the time – AI can be unreliable.” In the workshop, Vitaly will discuss “those little things” that are important to us designers – and make them better with assistance from AI. ITX’s Product + Design Conference returns to Rochester, June 25-26. Check out the complete list of workshop facilitators and keynote speakers on our P+D Conference landing page! The post 163 / Vitaly Friedman, on UX Design + AI in Enterprise Environments appeared first on ITX Corp..

Christian Marek is Vice President of Product Management at Productboard. He has applied his years of experience in technology and finance while leading product management efforts at Facebook, Google, and Docusign. In this episode, Christian joins co-hosts Sean Murray and Dan Sharp to explore how AI tools are revolutionizing product management by enhancing customer obsession and meeting user needs effectively. Here’s what we cover: What does it mean to be “customer obsessed”? And how do I know if I am? Customer obsession is more important than ever before, Christian says. He shares three critical questions to help you determine whether your organization can call itself, “customer obsessed.” How AI supports Product Managers Many PMs see AI as a tool that drives efficiency, helps teams go faster, and reduces waste. And it does. But when properly integrated into your workflows, AI tools also enhance decision-making by streamlining your team’s collection of customer insights. Product managers can leverage AI to quickly analyze customer interactions and feedback, allowing them to identify key problems and prioritize features based on data-driven insights. Next-level Product Management The role of product managers is evolving with AI, enabling them to focus more on strategy and vision rather than just feature specifications. “PMs who embrace AI,” Christian says, :will be able to scale themselves significantly and to think more about their organization’s vision, business strategy, and high-level execution.” Product managers are quickly adapting to this growing level of influence and enhancing their contribution to team and organizational success. Obstacles to AI Adoption Companies often face hurdles in adopting AI – sometimes due to internal resistance and the need for cultural shifts regarding data sharing and privacy. Ask yourself: is my company, and my company’s data, prepared to take advantage of AI’s capabilities? ITX’s Product + Design Conference returns to Rochester, June 25-26. Be sure to check out the complete list of workshop facilitators and keynote speakers on our P+D Conference landing page! The post 162 / What Does It Mean To Be ‘Customer Obsessed’?, with Christian Marek appeared first on ITX Corp..

Cassidy Fein is currently leading growth for Autopatch within Windows Servicing and Delivery at Microsoft. Based in NYC, she has over 10 years of experience driving product innovation, scaling teams, and delivering customer-centric solutions. Throughout her career, she’s demonstrated a passion for empowering the next generation of product leaders, especially through her teaching with Mind the Product. In this episode, Cassidy sits down with Product Momentum co-hosts Sean Murray and Dan Sharp to take a closer look at product strategy – and its execution. Using Nvidia as an example, Cassidy describes how the chip maker applied three core tenets of strategy, as outlined by Richard Rumelt in his book, Good Strategy, Bad Strategy, to become one of the world’s most valuable companies. They are: First, declare your hypothesis that gets at the root cause of the problem. Next, apply a guiding policy – your overall approach to solving it. Finally, execute a coherent action that not only makes sense to your team, but also aligns with everything your team is driving toward. Here’s what else you’ll learn from Cassidy: What Good Strategy Looks Like Cassidy explores the characteristics of good and bad strategy, and explains how knowing the difference can empower teams. There’re a couple ways to look at this, she says. “First, a good strategy should be easy to understand,” Cassidy adds. “You shouldn’t have to have a deep, complex understanding of your space and the technology within it to be able to explain it to someone else. A good strategy is also actionable; it includes all the things you and your team are doing to ladder up to fulfill that strategy.” Creating a Local Strategy When the overarching company strategy is unclear, teams should work to create their own local strategy. “I try to empower folks to understand how, by creating a local strategy, they can make their teams understand what it is that they’re trying to accomplish. As long as you’re able to protect your local area, protect your space, and make sure that that it’s cogent,” Cassidy explains, “you’re likely to have better success.”  The Consultant’s Mindset When product managers adopt a consultative mindset – i.e., understanding their market, competition, and how their products generate revenue – it helps in making strategic decisions that align with business objectives. “Thinking like a consultant, especially for product managers in a junior position, means being up to date on the competitive analysis of similar products in the market, of your pricing and packaging, and how your sales team is incentivized.” Usability vs. Business Value Cassidy addresses the tension between usability and business needs, making clear it’s not an either-or question. A successful product, she says, should meet customer needs while also driving revenue for the business. “The question of which is more important is a bit of a fallacy,” Cassidy explains. “I don’t think we get to choose between the two. If we’re going after a successful product, we need to find the right balance between the two.” Continuous Learning and Improvement Our conversation concludes with Cassidy’s recommendation for resources that product managers can utilize that will enhance their strategic thinking and storytelling skills. ITX’s Product + Design Conference returns to Rochester, June 25-26. Be sure to stay up to date with all the latest updates on Keynote Day agenda and speakers. Learn more here! The post 161 / 3 Core Tenets of Product Strategy and Execution, with Cassidy Fein appeared first on ITX Corp..

Sarah Doody, CEO of Career Strategy Lab, sat down with Product Momentum co-hosts Sean Murray and Dan Sharp to offer advice to UX designers out there who are frustrated by the volatility in today’s job market. Treat your career like a product you’re designing, Sarah says, and focus on the essential skills you need in a turbulent job market. This is what you’ll learn: Job Searchers. Think of your career as a Product. Sarah offers 3 pro tips:Think about how you’re designing your career? Marketing your career? Selling your career? Cut out the noise. Maintain a balance between collecting information and acting on it. Vet the people who offer career advice. Ask for evidence that shows their advice actually works. Expand your search beyond big tech. These days, every company is a “tech company,” so look to industries like Finance, Healthcare, Education, and Travel for opportunities. Focus on the timeless skills that will remain useful for years to come – e.g., communication skills, business acumen, relationship-building vs. software-specific skills that will continue to change. Hiring managers. Refine job descriptions to focus less on “kitchen sink” responsibilities and more on the day-to-day. Consider applicants who may have gaps, but whom you can train to fill that skill set. Product managers. Include your UX Researcher in the conversation, starting on Day 1. There’s a growing recognition that UX research enhances the user experience and reduces rework. Engage with Users. Maintain a consistent pulse on user feedback through community engagement and research cadences to inform product development. ITX’s Product + Design Conference returns to Rochester, June 25-26. Our first 3 keynote speakers have been announced! Learn more here! The post 160 / Designing Your Career: Pro Tips for Navigating Today’s Job Market, with Sarah Doody appeared first on ITX Corp..

In this episode, AgilityInsights’ Trisha Hall joins Paul Gebel for a first-ever joint podcast for Product Momentum — here, with Trisha’s Illuminating Insights. Trisha leads the enterprise solutions and government contracting team at AgilityInsights, and Paul is a VP of Delivery at ITX as well as long-time host of Product Momentum. In this inspiring conversation between friends and colleagues, Paul and Trisha explore the deep connection between organizational agility and the delivery of business value. They also discuss the role AI can play to generate user insights that help product teams convert strategy to desired outcomes. AgilityInsights’ Rebrand + Platform EvolutionAs Trisha explains, AgilityInsights (formerly known as AgilityHealth) recently went through a rebrand that included an extensive evolution of their platform and managed services AgilityInsights is better positioned to help business leaders gain insights into the value their teams are delivering. “We can’t continue to create these spinning tornadoes of work inside of our information technology organizations,” Trisha adds. “We’re focused on how we can use the data we gather to deliver value to our client organizations.” Not surprisingly, AI has found a role to play here. Leveraging Data to Facilitate ConversationArmed with more than 12 million data points in their team health radar alone, AgilityInsights is working with AI tools – embedded directly into their platform – harvesting this customer feedback to help business leaders understand where they need to lean in and which obstacles need to be removed so that their teams can continue to excel. Importantly, a human remains in the decisionmaking loop. “It’s really about having that conversation with leaders about what is most valuable – not whose project is most important. Those are two very different things.” ITX’s Product + Design Conference returns to Rochester, June 25-26. Interested in learning who will be keynoting? Find out here! The post 159 / How Agility Connects Organizational Strategy to Value Delivered, with Trisha Hall appeared first on ITX Corp..

Tami Reiss, also known as The Product Leader Coach, brings together the strategy, process, and mindset tools we need to perform our roles as product leaders with the ability to think and communicate like an executive. A coach is able to see the whole field, and they’re watching us, their player, from an outsider’s perspective. “Beyond that,” Tami says, “a coach is a great sounding board; the higher we go in our careers, the less we can turn to our bosses for advice. They’ve either never done our specific job, or we don’t want them to think we don’t know how to do it.” A coach can also help product leaders avoid these critical mistakes: Lacking a Clear Vision. “One of the biggest mistakes made by product leaders is failing to ensure there is a clearly defined vision,” Tami explains. Vision – that “story of the future” we’re trying to create in the world – helps people internalize what the world will look like because of the things we are building.” Insufficient Understanding of Finance. “The biggest jump product leaders have to make is understanding how to translate customer value into business value,” Tami says. Product leaders who lack financial acumen may face challenges in managing budgets, justifying investments, and driving profitable growth. Overlooking Inorganic Growth. “Product people spend their entire careers finding problems, building solutions, and launching products that solve those problems,” Tami offers. But they overlook the fact that sometimes you’re not going to be the person to build the solution.” Inorganic growth means you might have to find a partner; you might have to acquire the solution; or you might be acquired. Inorganic growth is about business growth, Tami concludes. It’s not about  product growth. Prefer the video experience? Check out the Product Momentum YouTube channel to catch our conversation with Tami Reiss and all our recent guests! Save the date! ITX’s Product + Design Conference returns to Rochester, June 25-26. Find out more! The post 158 / Top 3 Mistakes Product Leaders Make – And How To Avoid Them, with Tami Reiss appeared first on ITX Corp..

Katie Dove is an applied behavioral scientist and managing director of Irrational Labs, a  product design and behavior change lab. She and her team help companies like Airbnb, Microsoft, and Uber answer the question, Why do our customers behave like they do? and then help them design creative solutions that work. We caught up with Katie for an in-person chat at INDUSTRY; in our conversation, we discussed: Human Value in Products. Katie unpacked the notion of amplifying user value – human value, to be more precise – stressing the importance of understanding user behavior and needs, rather than just focusing on economic value. “When I talk about human value,” Katie explains, “I’m actually talking about what’s created for the user in the moment of using a product or an experience online. And so I contrast this a little bit with economic value. When you do that in product,” she adds, “people will come back more, they’ll be more loyal, and they’ll increase their engagement.” The Power of Feeling Known. It’s crucial for users to feel recognized and known by product builders. In fact, during her talk, Katie pointed to research that says it’s more important that the consumer feels known than it is for the consumer to know us. As product leaders, we can boost our users’ sense of feeling known through personalized experiences and interactions that build trust, loyalty, and engagement. Companies like Duolingo are successful because “one of the very first things they do is get to know you,” Katies adds. They go from knowing nothing about their user to knowing a lot by guiding them  through their onboarding quiz, which asks about the user’s preferences and increases their expectation that things will be tailored to their needs.” Balancing Personalization and Privacy. How do we balance our desire to personalize offerings with our users’ desire for privacy? One way, Katie explains, is by being transparent about data usage and actually asking users questions to ensure they feel comfortable with how their data is being used. “By asking questions, you’re doing two things,” Katie says. “You’re giving people the opportunity to have some agency in the process, and you’re making it explicit what you’re collecting and why.” Katie also points to Irrational Labs’ Three B model of behavior change. It involves Conducting a Behavioral audit, which maps out all the steps required to get to that key behavior Exploring the user’s psychological Barriers to performing that behavior, and Increasing the Benefits of taking the desired action. Be sure to catch the entire episode to learn more from Katie Dove about using behavioral science and psychology to help your team drive user value. Save the date! ITX’s Product + Design Conference returns to Rochester, June 25-26. Find out more! The post 157 / Applying Behavioral Science To Drive User Value, with Katie Dove appeared first on ITX Corp..