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
2. @thedailyem
3. @thedailyem
4. @thedailyem
5. ` Building Great Product is a Team Sport @thedailyem
6. We Have to Understand Each Other @thedailyem
7. Where I’m Coming From @thedailyem
8. ©2011 Martin Eriksson @thedailyem
9. There will never be a shortage of good ideas @thedailyem
10. There will never be a shortage of opinions @thedailyem
11. FOCUS @thedailyem
12. “What is the most valuable thing we can deliver next?” - Me, daily. @thedailyem
13. @thedailyem
14. Tips to Get the Most Value From Me @thedailyem
15. -1- Shorten the Feedback Loop @thedailyem
16. “Product management is decision making as a service” - Janice Fraser, SVP at Bionic Solutions @thedailyem
17. A story is unclear @thedailyem
18. A story is unclear A story is clear but taking a long time @thedailyem
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
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
21. You built something but it “feels weird” @thedailyem
22. You built something, it breaks something else You built something but it “feels weird” @thedailyem
23. You built something, it breaks something else You built something but it “feels weird” You built something and it works perfectly @thedailyem
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
25. But seriously, cupcakes. @thedailyem
26. Skeptical Guy Says @thedailyem
27. “My product manager is never available.” - You, probably @thedailyem
28. @thedailyem
29. Product Managers @thedailyem
30. It is far more important to sit next to your dev team than your marketing team @thedailyem
31. “We have bi-weekly demos and planning meetings.” - You, probably @thedailyem
32. Demo should never be the first time a PM sees a completed story @thedailyem
33. -2- Talk Technology With Me @thedailyem
34. ©2011 Martin Eriksson @thedailyem
35. I want to be your advocate @thedailyem
36. Maintenance Feature Work Business Sees: Waste of Time and Money Stuff I Can Actually Sell Technology Sees: @thedailyem
37. @thedailyem
38. I want to avoid dumb decisions that make your life harder @thedailyem
39. @thedailyem
40. @thedailyem
41. @thedailyem
42. I want to know how things work so I can plan better in the future @thedailyem
43. @thedailyem
44. Skeptical Guy Says @thedailyem
45. “It’s going to take way too long to teach my PM about our tech.” - You, probably @thedailyem
46. @thedailyem
47. “I don’t want my PM telling me how to do my job.” - You, probably @thedailyem
48. Product Managers @thedailyem @thedailyem
49. -3- Challenge Me @thedailyem @thedailyem
50. Healthy Friction @thedailyem
51. Your challenges force me to question my assumptions @thedailyem
52. Your challenges force me to explain my reasoning @thedailyem
54. Skeptical Guy Says @thedailyem
55. “Why try? They’re not going to listen.” - You, probably @thedailyem
56. Product Managers @thedailyem
57. @thedailyem
58. Keep challenges productive. Don’t be a jerk. @thedailyem
59. I will challenge you too. @thedailyem
60. -4- Be Transparent With Me @thedailyem
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
63. Transparency Builds Trust @thedailyem
64. Talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly @thedailyem
65. -5- Give Me Some Grace @thedailyem
66. TRUST @thedailyem
67. We have to be on the same team @thedailyem
68. Let’s do what we came here to do. @thedailyem
69. Emily Tate US General Manager Mind the Product @thedailyem @thedailyem