Apidays Paris 2023 - Why can't you ignore Product Management as a No-Code engineer, Manon Mercier, No-Code

Apidays Paris 2023 - Software and APIs for Smart, Sustainable and Sovereign Societies
December 6, 7 & 8, 2023

Why can't you ignore Product Management as a No-Code engineer
Manon Mercier, Lead Product Builder / Product Manager at No-Code

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Transcript

1. PRODUCT MANAGEMENT + NO-CODE = _ 7th December 2023
2. Manon Mercier 💡Product Operations Manager 🛠️ Product Builder (Backend) 🎓 No-Code Product Teacher Freelancer | Ex @Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center
3. Who am I talking to ? 7th December 2023 How many Product Managers ? How many Software engineers / No-Code Makers ?
4. Why can’t you ignore product management as a No-Code engineer* ? *If you want to build useful & impactful products
5. I THINK THAT... THE WAY WE USE NO-CODE FOR BUSINESSES TODAY THE POTENTIAL OF NO-CODE TECHNOLOGIES FOR BUSINESSES
6. IN MY OPINION... IN ADDITION, IN TERMS OF TECH DEMOCRATIZATION, PROBLEM SOLVING & PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, NO- CODE HAS SO MUCH TO OFFER SO MANY PEOPLE, SO MANY ORGANIZATIONS, SO MANY SECTORS, SO MANY JOBS STILL DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE POWER OF NO-CODE TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES ALTHOUGH THEY COULD GET SO MANY BENEFITS FROM THEM
7. MY STORY... I COME FROM SOCIAL SCIENCES. I DIDN’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT TECH BEFORE IT REALLY CHANGED MY LIFE & MY WORKING CONDITIONS. A WHOLE NEW WORLD OPENED TO ME, A PASSIONATE ONE ! A FEW YEARS AGO, I ACCIDENTALLY DISCOVERED PRODUCT MANAGEMENT & NO- CODE IN A JOB, I BECAME A REAL FAN OF IT
8. THAT’S WHY NOW... MY CONCERN IS TO DEMOCRATIZE TECH TO EVERY SECTORS THAT NEED IT I DECIDED TO ADRESS CLIENTS, COMPANIES & STUDENTS THAT HAVE 0 TECH & PRODUCT MATURITY I’VE REALIZED THAT MY BIGGEST NEED WAS NOT JUST TO SHIP SOLUTIONS, BUT TO HAVE A REAL IMPACT ON MY USERS I WANT TO SOLVE REAL PROBLEMS, TO BUILD PRODUCT THAT MATTERS, THAT ARE USEFUL AND USED
9. HOWEVER, I’VE REALIZED THAT... NO-CODE IS BOOMING SINCE A FEW YEARS BUT, IS STILL SUFFERING FROM A LACK OF CREDIBILITY, INSTITUTIONALIZATION, & PROFESSIONALIZATION I SEE A LOT OF NO-CODE MAKERS SHIPPING PROJECTS & FEATURES, WITHOUT REALLY KNOWING WHY WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT THE REAL USERS’ NEEDS, ABOUT SCALABILITY, VALUE & CONSISTANCY OF WHAT THEY BUILD I SEE A LOT OF PROJECTS THAT COST TIME, ENERGY AND THAT AREN’T USED AT ALL, OR ARE SINGLE-USE PRODUCTS
10. SO, HERE IS THE OPPORTUNITY I SEE... AS NO-CODE ENGINEERS, IF OUR #1 GOAL EVERY DAY WOULD BE TO ONBOARD OUR USERS,TO UNDERSTAND THEIR NEEDS, TO SAVE THEIR MONEY & TIME, AND BRING THEM AS MUCH VALUE AS WE CAN MAYBE NO-CODE WOULD BE MORE PROFESSIONAL, MORE SERIOUS, MORE SCALABLE & RELIABLE MAYBE OUR PRODUCTS WOULD BE REALLY EFFCICIENT, QUALITATIVE, AND USED (With minimal effort)
11. MY HYPOTHESIS... WE NEED MORE PRODUCT MANAGEMENT IN NO-CODE ENGINEERING TO GET THERE
12. Why am I so attached to the idea that we need more Product Management to professionalize No-Code engineering ?
13. I’VE STARTED WORKING IN DIGITAL AS A PRODUCT BUILDER PRODUCT MANAGEMENT Think product strategy, vision & analyze users needs SOFTWARE ENGINEERING Build & monitor digital products NO-CODE PRODUCTS WHAT I UNDERSTOOD
14. NAVIGATE FAST FROM CONCEPTION TO DEVELOPMENT I’VE DISCOVERED THE POWER OF NO-CODE TOOLS FOR TECH TEAMS EASILY GO FROM IDEAS TO PRODUCT, BUILD PRODUCTS FAST SAVE TIME & MONEY, OPTIMIZE EFFORTS
15. USE SPECIFIC METHODOLOGIES & CRITICAL ANALYSIS, BE ORIENTED TOWARDS USERS & BUSINESS NEEDS / PAINPOINTS I’VE DISCOVERED THE POWER OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT FOR TECH TEAMS HELPS TO GET STRONG SUPPORT FROM USERS & BUSINESS TEAMS, CREATES STICKINESS & ADOPTION FOR PRODUCTS SAVE TIME & MONEY, OPTIMIZE EFFORTS
16. ME, DISCOVERING NO-CODE TOOLS & PRODUCT MANAGEMENT TOGETHER = THIS IS SO PASSIONATING & POWERFUL !
17. PRODUCT MANAGEMENT Think product strategy, vision & analyze users needs SOFTWARE ENGINEERING Build & monitor digital products NO-CODE PRODUCTS ME, DISCOVERING THE REAL WORLD OF PRODUCT AND NO-CODE
18. ME, GOING TO THE REAL WORLD OF PRODUCT AND NO-CODE = THIS IS SUCH A WASTE, THEY WERE MEANT TO BE !
19. Why is Product Management necessary to build impactful & useful No-Code products ?
20. LET’S GO BACK TO BASICS : WHO DOES WHAT ? DEVELOPERS Code / Program / Integrate Implement websites, webapps, apps, softwares... Communicate with peers devs Do research to find the right tools & solutions Do functional testing Write Documentation Monitor the stack : debug & refinement Are oriented to solve complex problems Do tasks that requires high level of focus IN CHARGE OF BUILDING & MAINTAINING PRODUCTS
21. PRODUCT MANAGERS IN CHARGE OF STRATEGY & OF CARRYING 360° PRODUCT VISION Understand, analyze & translate user needs into features Are oriented strategy, business & Product Market Fit Are data driven (KPIs/OKRs, metrics) Build vision & prioritize Think Roadmap & iteration loops (test & learn) Coordinate devs (& designers) teams Are decision makers, accountable for the whole product Communicate with stakeholders LET’S GO BACK TO BASICS : WHO DOES WHAT ?
22. DEVELOP DISCOVER DEFINE DELIVER LET’S GO BACK TO BASICS : PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE ©Insideproduct.co
23. ©The fountain institute LET’S GO BACK TO BASICS : PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
24. LET’S GO BACK TO BASICS : ADVANTAGES OF NO-CODE TECHNOLOGIES NAVIGATE FAST FROM CONCEPTION TO DEVELOPMENT EASY TO GO FROM IDEAS TO PRODUCT, BUILDING PRODUCTS FAST TIME & MONEY SAVED, EFFORTS OPTIMIZED
25. TIME & MONEY SAVED, EFFORTS OPTIMIZED Does not mean building useless products Does not mean creating 10 times more technical debt Does not mean working without methodology NO-CODE ≠ NO EXPERTISE ≠ NO SKILLS ≠ NO DESIGN, NO CONCEPTION ≠ NO QUALITY ≠ “QUICK & DIRTY” Does not mean 0 technical documentation
26. DEVELOP DISCOVER DEFINE DELIVER THIS DOES NOT WORK* *If you want to build useful & impactful products SHIPING FEATURES ≠ BUILDING PRODUCTS
27. ©The fountain institute THIS DOES NOT WORK* *If you want to build useful & impactful products
28. IN MY OPINION PRODUCTS WE BUILD WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO BUILD EFFICIENT PRODUCTS Define for who, why, how ? Development is a means, but not an end of itself
29. I DON’T BELIEVE THE IDEA THAT A PRODUCT BUILDER COULD REPLACE A PRODUCT MANAGER, A DESIGNER, AND A DEVELOPER Especially for complex products You cannot replace 3 brains by 1, neither 3 sets of skills by 1 NO-CODE ≠ MAGIC NO-CODE ISN’T THAT MUCH DIFFERENT THAN TRADITIONAL ENGINEERING You need the same resources, almost the same methods You can save some time during product’s delivery phase, but not by skipping product’s ideation phase
30. What are the benefits of including more Product Management in your No- Code projects ?
31. Facilitates communication, takes decisions & ownership With client, stakeholders... PMs speak both dev & client language Users’ needs are understood, which grows efficiency PMs know about a lot of use cases because they talk with a lot of different users Anticipates technical complexity Simplifies developer’s job ALLOWS DEVELOPERS TO FOCUS ON WHAT REALLY MATTERS ! Upgrade technical documentation & data tracking For a better transmission and impact measure What we ship is really used Because PMs do some research, make assumptions, test them, adapt and iterate
32. FOR MOST OF MY NO-CODE PROJECTS : 60% PRODUCT MANAGER 30% DEVELOPER 10% UX/UI DESIGNER = HAPPY CLIENTS, LONG TERMS COLLABORATIONS, SCALABLE PRODUCTS (& NOT ONLY MVPS & POCS !)
33. Time to conclude
34. TO BUILD QUALITY PRODUCTS, YOU NEED TO : SHOW EMPATHY TO YOUR USERS UNDERSTAND THEIR REAL NEEDS ANALYZE & SUMMARIZE THEM PRIORITIZE THEM, ESTABLISH A ROADMAP, THINK ABOUT MVPS FIRST TRANSLATE THEM INTO FEATURES COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR CLIENTS, USERS & STAKEHOLDERS MAKE YOUR PRODUCT WORK ! (This is a full time job, that requires specific skills & methodology)
35. Thanks for listening ! I wish you a great day, & a lot of collabs with PMs 🚀 7th December 2023