Better Together: Product and Engineering

CEO of the Product. Product “owner”. “The Business”. With terms like these, it is no wonder that the relationship between Product Managers and Engineers can be contentious at times. Better products get built when teams are collaborating and
working together across disciplines. Product managers and engineers provide needed balance to each other. But too often the balance gets shifted and an “us vs them” mentality emerges. The lack of trust erodes collaboration and keeps teams from
operating at a high-performance level. This talk aims to address some common misconceptions about product managers, and discuss how product managers and engineers can work better together to reach a common goal – building products people love.

Transcript

1. Better Together:

   Product and Engineering
   Emily Tate
   US General Manager
   Mind the Product
   @thedailyem
   

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2. @thedailyem
   

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3. @thedailyem
   

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4. @thedailyem
   

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5. `
   Building Great Product
   is a Team Sport
   @thedailyem
   

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6. We Have to Understand
   Each Other
   @thedailyem
   

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7. Where I’m Coming From
   @thedailyem
   

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8. ©2011 Martin Eriksson
   @thedailyem
   

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9. There will never be a
   shortage of good ideas
   @thedailyem
   

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10. There will never be a
    shortage of opinions
    @thedailyem
    

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11. FOCUS
    @thedailyem
    

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12. “What is the most valuable thing we
    can deliver next?”
    - Me, daily.
    @thedailyem
    

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13. @thedailyem
    

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14. Tips to Get the Most Value
    From Me
    @thedailyem
    

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15. -1-
    Shorten the
    Feedback Loop
    @thedailyem
    

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16. “Product management is
    decision making as a
    service”
    - Janice Fraser, SVP at
    Bionic Solutions
    @thedailyem
    

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17. A story is unclear
    @thedailyem
    

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18. A story is unclear
    A story is clear but taking a long time
    @thedailyem
    

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19. A story is unclear
    A story is clear but taking a long time
    A story is clear but an edge case can be
    handled multiple ways
    @thedailyem
    

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20. A story is unclear
    A story is clear but taking a long time
    A story is clear but an edge case can be
    handled multiple ways
    An edge case can be handled multiple ways
    and the story asks for the most difficult one
    @thedailyem
    

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21. You built something but it “feels weird”
    @thedailyem
    

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22. You built something, it breaks something
    else
    You built something but it “feels weird”
    @thedailyem
    

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23. You built something, it breaks something
    else
    You built something but it “feels weird”
    You built something and it works perfectly
    @thedailyem
    

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24. You built something, it breaks something
    else
    You built something but it “feels weird”
    You built something and it works perfectly
    You want some cupcakes
    @thedailyem
    

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25. But seriously,
    cupcakes.
    @thedailyem
    

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26. Skeptical Guy Says
    @thedailyem
    

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27. “My product manager is
    never available.”
    - You, probably
    @thedailyem
    

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28. @thedailyem
    

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29. Product Managers
    @thedailyem
    

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30. It is far more important to sit
    next to your dev team than
    your marketing team
    @thedailyem
    

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31. “We have bi-weekly demos
    and planning meetings.”
    - You, probably
    @thedailyem
    

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32. Demo should never be the
    first time a PM sees a
    completed story
    @thedailyem
    

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33. -2-
    Talk Technology
    With Me
    @thedailyem
    

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34. ©2011 Martin Eriksson
    @thedailyem
    

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35. I want to be your advocate
    @thedailyem
    

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36. Maintenance
    Feature Work
    Business Sees:
    Waste of Time and
    Money
    Stuff I Can Actually
    Sell
    Technology Sees:
    @thedailyem
    

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37. @thedailyem
    

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38. I want to avoid dumb
    decisions that make your life
    harder
    @thedailyem
    

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39. @thedailyem
    

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40. @thedailyem
    

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41. @thedailyem
    

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42. I want to know how things
    work so I can plan better in
    the future
    @thedailyem
    

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43. @thedailyem
    

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44. Skeptical Guy Says
    @thedailyem
    

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45. “It’s going to take way too long to
    teach my PM about our tech.”
    - You, probably
    @thedailyem
    

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46. @thedailyem
    

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47. “I don’t want my PM
    telling me how to do
    my job.”
    - You, probably
    @thedailyem
    

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48. Product Managers
    @thedailyem
    @thedailyem
    

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49. -3-
    Challenge Me
    @thedailyem
    @thedailyem
    

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50. Healthy Friction
    @thedailyem
    

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51. Your challenges force me to
    question my assumptions
    @thedailyem
    

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52. Your challenges force me to
    explain my reasoning
    @thedailyem
    

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54. Skeptical Guy Says
    @thedailyem
    

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55. “Why try? They’re not
    going to listen.”
    - You, probably
    @thedailyem
    

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56. Product Managers
    @thedailyem
    

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57. @thedailyem
    

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58. Keep challenges productive.
    Don’t be a jerk.
    @thedailyem
    

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59. I will challenge you too.
    @thedailyem
    

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60. -4-
    Be Transparent With Me
    @thedailyem
    

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61. What is Actually Happening:
    Week 1: ✅
    Week 2: ✅
    Week 3: ✅
    Week 4: ✅
    Week 5: ✅
    Week 6: ✅
    Week 1: ✅
    Week 2: ⚠
    Week 3: ⁉
    Week 4:
    Week 5:
    Week 6:
    My Scorecard Shows:
    @thedailyem
    

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63. Transparency Builds Trust
    @thedailyem
    

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64. Talk about the good, the bad,
    and the ugly
    @thedailyem
    

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65. -5-
    Give Me Some Grace
    @thedailyem
    

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66. TRUST
    @thedailyem
    

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67. We have to be on the
    same team
    @thedailyem
    

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68. Let’s do what
    we came
    here to do.
    @thedailyem
    

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69. Emily Tate
    US General Manager
    Mind the Product
    @thedailyem
    @thedailyem
    

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