Speakers

Kevin Cheng

kevin_cheng

Workshop How to Become (or Work With) a Product Manager

You listen to all the stakeholders’ needs, consider the various priorities, and come up with a set of requirements for a product to address these needs. Then you work with the engineers to iterate and build the product, ensuring that it’s the best product possible. Does that sound like what you do? Then maybe you’re a product manager.

The role of a designer or information architect is remarkably similar to product management. So why does it always seem like one is the Dark Side of the other? Why does it feel like we can’t get a seat at the table when it comes to strategy decisions, and how come the two sides seem to always be in conflict?

This half-day workshop will help you understand what’s it’s like to be in product management, from the perspective of a designer. Based on my personal experiences of transitioning over the years from programmer to designer to product manager, I hope to bridge the gap between the two camps, and perhaps even help those who want to cross the bridge.

The workshop will be a mix of presentation and exercises which will teach you:

  • Some key differences between UX and product management, and maybe discover whether it’s really something you want to do.
  • What skills transfer over to product management.
  • How to use your skills to your advantage and be a better product manager.
  • What a day-to-day role of a product manager is.
  • The different types of product management roles.
  • A better understanding of a PM’s goals so you can work more effectively with one

Bio

Kevin is a product lead at Twitter where he managed the redesign of Twitter.com dubbed #NewTwitter. In addition, he's busy finishing his book See What I Mean: How to Communicate Ideas With Comics. Kevin enjoys crossing his passions in gaming, comics, design and technology and discovering what comes out the other end.

Previously, he was the Director of User Experience and Director of Product Strategy for the gaming social network Raptr and the designer for Yahoo! Pipes. He co-founded the user experience web comic OK/Cancel, and the online comic publishing network Off Panel Productions. He also co-created an iPhone augmented reality game where you can hunt ghosts and is much more careful about crossing streams.

© Adaptive Path 2013