Summary
No doubt you’ve heard of empathy mapping– the simple, yet powerful tool often employed by product teams to attain a deeper understanding of what their customers think and feel in order to deliver a better user experience. In this interactive, two-part activity, we’ll put product managers in the place of the customer, mapping the motivators, external and internal influences, and actions that make them tick. By the end of this exercise, you’ll have gained insights into who your PM is, and how you can best connect with them! Note: Part 2 of this activity will take place during the second half of the day.
Key Insights
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Empathizing first with product managers, not just end users, enhances cross-team collaboration.
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Product managers struggle with balancing competing priorities set by executives and stakeholder demands.
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Influence without formal authority is a core challenge for product managers in driving execution.
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Using empathy maps to detail what product managers see, say, do, and feel surfaces nuanced understanding.
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There is often a tension between product managers and designers over roadmap inclusions and prioritization.
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Categorizing features into exploratory, validation, and quick fixes helps clarify discovery and delivery workflows.
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Product managers face pressure to deliver on time despite often lacking sufficient resources.
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Collaborative digital tools with features like voting, highlighting, and real-time reactions foster engagement in empathy exercises.
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Breaking down assumptions into direct quotes helps make empathy maps more concrete and realistic.
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Synchronous activities followed by asynchronous affinity mapping help teams refine insights and prioritize improvements.
Notable Quotes
"It’s so important to not seek control, but understanding."
"Putting product managers in the place of the customer is a great first step towards collaboration."
"Managing competing priorities with product strategy execution is tricky."
"Product managers influence without formal authority, carrying a lot of pressure and accountability."
"This work does not fit our product program."
"Almost all designers have this story of wanting something prioritized and being told it’s not on the roadmap."
"Everyone is trying to get something onto the roadmap without worrying about the impact on other priorities."
"Categorizing new features into exploratory, validation, or small fixes helps everyone see what needs to be addressed differently."
"Product managers aren’t tyrants blocking doors but people under pressure with limited ability to force action."
"It’s important to capture quotes directly to make empathy assumptions more specific."
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