Summary
As product designers and product managers, working with each other can be confusing, frustrating, and sometimes causes conflict, especially as corporate expectations evolve and our roles increasingly overlap. How do we each play to our strengths, and still find a way to meet at the focus of our product; our users? In this talk, we will learn how our disciplines are both the same and differ, and how to become trusted partners towards our common goals, at any stage of our career.
Key Insights
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Project management focuses on outputs, assuming features are predefined, whereas product management prioritizes outcomes and continuous value delivery.
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Designers often start with research but must also master interaction, motion, accessibility, and content to fully shape product experience.
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Early exclusion of designers from planning leads to rushed, less informed design input and limited impact on product decisions.
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Design is often misunderstood as merely aesthetic, but encompasses deep user research, prototyping, and usability testing.
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Product managers coordinate multiple data streams to lead prioritization, delegation, and decision-making under business pressures.
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A strong, early collaborative kickoff with product managers helps unify assumptions, scope, and user focus for the whole team.
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Asynchronous communication and strict meeting agendas protect designers’ time and improve team efficiency.
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Building team rapport through rituals like kickoffs, retrospectives, and bonding events improves cross-functional collaboration, especially remotely.
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Documenting design decisions across multiple platforms (Figma, Jira) enhances transparency and cross-team understanding.
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Assuming positive intent and practicing curiosity over ego foster better relationships between design and product teams.
Notable Quotes
"Project management was focused on outputs, assuming the correct feature had already been defined."
"Product management asked how this feature can add value to the business and customers through rigorous testing."
"Design is a spoke on the wheel in waterfall; in agile, design becomes the wheel itself."
"I was reprimanded for speaking with a VP without clearing it with my manager, even though they were a user with valuable knowledge."
"Design is full stack: from research to visual language, interaction, content, accessibility, and usability."
"Product managers live deep in the weeds long before designers even join the team."
"Sometimes product managers don’t have enough authority to change headcount but are the first to flag it."
"Design is often the first role on a team to be eliminated, especially in newer startups."
"Collaboration, involving design early and often, turns adversarial relationships into alliances."
"Assume positive intent; we’re all in this together to serve the users and the mission."
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