From Design to Management: Part I
Here I paint a realistic picture of making the change, quoting an industry expert.
© Succession Picasso/DACS 2018. From Apollo Magazine
Having lead product design for 3 years, I was offered to move to product management within the company. Broadly, I knew what to keep in mind while I transition from a product designer to a product manager –
Retain empathy and the habit of talking to users
Change to broader thinking vs deeper thinking
To get a deeper understanding of what to expect in a management role, I was glad to be connected to Deepak Malani – of Mosaic Wellness, more known to us as the parent company of Man Matters.
A little about him – He graduated from BITS Pilani, Goa and IIM Kolkata. He worked at Microsoft and moved to RedBus as Business Growth associate and eventually, Product manager. Today he heads product at Mosaic, a wellness platform.
How was it for you to transition from product design to management? What are the first things you would advise a designer who wants to follow the same path?
“Let me begin by saying that I work very closely with product designers but I have been a PM through and through.
What I can say is, it is not people management. It is individual work. Nobody rallies behind you, you have to be proactive.
There is an expectation to be sound with analytics, understanding funnels in and out - from search, booking, post purchase etc
I emphasize the need for razor focus grip on analytics.
A strong grip on product experience - that will be your strength, if you’ve been a product designer.
Good communication skills - you’re expected to drive teams toward a common cause and be able put forward your point of view clearly.
Strong execution skills – collaborating with stakeholders, how to solve business problems, timelines for rollout, go to market plans.
Intermediary checks to see you are adhering to timelines.
At the beginning – Execution is key and communication goes hand in hand. Second most, analytics. Third, product sense.”
(Great clarity! However, I would disagree with the last point and vouch that product sense should be first. If you don’t understand the product, you may end up only focusing on boosting numbers in the short term, and ignoring the long term vision. I experienced this first hand with a product manager I was working with.)
Why would you advise a designer against moving to management?
“It is a thankless job. When the numbers are good you get the recognition, and when the numbers are bad you end up taking onus.
All teams have to work closely with each other, because PMs are in the centre you hear the PM’s name more often. People inadvertently assume that the PM is working the most.
If you break down all the phases of product design, take a step back and understand what parts of the stages did you enjoy doing the most and would want to do day in day out.
The way it has been portrayed it is quite glorified, you are a mini CEO and you are responsible to drive the product. To a certain extent that’s true but there is a lot of grunt work that is brushed under the carpet.
50% of time, you are collaborating, talking to teams etc. Balance you do user research and data analysis.
It’s a fantastic role but we need to be cognizant of realistic responsibilities.”
You said if the numbers aren’t good, you end up taking the onus… so if the start up doesn’t end up doing well, does it reflect badly on you?
“Since you decide a hypothesis, and it doesn’t do well, it is on you.
But reorganisation, restructure, etc isn’t in your hands. And the industry understands that.
There will be few hits and misses, but keep in mind that the ratio of wins to misses should always be high.”
I’m working with a start up and we are just setting up our product management team. What should we keep in mind?
“Unless you don’t have product leadership available, it is going to be hazy.
Teams are clueless on how to execute, and will rely on founder on guidance and direction. In that case be careful, as you’ll tend to become project manager not a product manager, if the plan is to set up a product function from scratch.
It would be easier if you had someone experienced from the industry to join the company and grow the team.
People become clueless if there is no mentor. You’ll have to put more investment to understand what product management is.
You also need to be able to okay with vagueness and unclear chatters.”
Since we don’t have an in-house mentor, what do you think will help speed up the self-learning process?
“There are a lot of courses in the market, start with taking up a course. It will set your foundation strong through theory and practical. Pick up the skills and apply to a real job.
Iterate, rinse and repeat. For free courses look at product folks, Beginner to PM course. For paid UDEMY, Upgrad, GrowthX, Appraised.
Go to a course where you can network with other product folks. You will be doing assignments and workshops together. Lot of group work is there.
It is a weekly affair generally. Later it is about understanding where you need more depth.”
What if I make the change and realise that product management isn’t for me and I want to go back to design?
“Going back to design will not reflect badly.
Business and product analyst, as well as product designers have thrived well in product management. Be super good at at least 1 or 2 of the skills we discussed earlier.
Especially analysis and empathy.”
If you have decided “Chalo Try toh marte hai”..
“Once you have decided, minimize negative implications.
Get clear alignment on how will role will pan out. What are the immediate and long terms priorities.. How are you measuring the outcomes?
For instance if they say redesign the app, redesign is not the goal, it is a means to drive conversion.
Set that alignment well in advance with the management and it will be clear to take the path forward.”
(Always check with your CEO what you’re focusing on this quarter; Is it growth, monetization or retention? Instead of engagement, focus on monetization features)
On a larger note.. a happy one for designers!
“Purely in terms of job market, design is always in demand because everyone needs a designer who will be able to do that.
PM’s are not like that, they come when startups go to a certain level. OR they join at a very junior level when they just need someone to execute things.
PM roles start from Series A or Series B companies only. B will be where your function is well defined.”
(Kudos to being a designer who is forever in demand <3)