Piyali Dey is a product manager with Microsoft. In this episode, she shares tips on getting into product management, including the skills new product managers need, how to leverage existing experience, and interviewing and networking tips. We also discuss what you can do to build your portfolio, how to avoid common resume mistakes, and whether you need certifications and specific education. Finally, we discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion in our product teams. Join us for another great product conversation.

Books
Hit Refresh
Becoming
Cracking the PM Interview
Hooked

About Piyali
LinkedIn
Twitter
Bio:
Piyali is currently a Product Manager at Microsoft and one of the Board of Directors at a non-profit called ProductBC. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her husband, 10-month-old daughter and two puppies. Before joining Microsoft, she earned her master’s degree in computer sc from North Carolina State University, USA and spent several years working in enterprise companies and startups as a software engineer.

Piyali is known across the technical community in North America as an active community event organizer and a relentless advocate for diversity and equality in tech. The past few years have seen her in various lead roles at major events and community groups including IEEE Women in Engineering and Grace Hopper Conference. Building communities and empowering minorities in tech are two of her biggest passions.

Burnout-chronic workplace stress that hasn't been successfully managed-is becoming more and more common. But what can we do about it? In this episode, we talk with experience designer Carien Moolman about her experience with burnout. We discuss the 3 predictors of burnout and what each of us need to overcome and avoid burnout in our careers. We also talk tips and tricks for avoiding burnout as product people.

We also dive into remote work, and how remote work has been in South Africa, where Carien is located. And we sprinkle in some lawn talk and predictions on Siri becoming our (humorous) robot overlord. Buckle up for a great conversation.

Article: How to survive a design career and avoid burnout

Carien Moolman:
Medium
LinkedIn
Bio:
Carien has been doing UX design (in South Africa) for the last 13 years. Before that, she designed microwave applicators to crack rocks. She has worked with banks, investment managers, insurers, a car manufacturer, a cinema, a maker of luxury linen, a fuel provider, some pretty strange loyalty programs and most recently, a fun startup building a platform for businesses who have field sales teams. She believes that tech should serve people and that Human Centered Design makes the world a better place. All her previous non-work-related interests have been replaced by raising two blonde toddlers, from whom she has learned more about human behaviour and decision making than all of the books combined.

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Dark design patterns are about manipulating users to do things that businesses want them to do, but that users may not want to do themselves. These patterns are as prevalent as they are evil. In this episode, we discuss some of the most common dark patterns and how different businesses and industries employ them. And why we need to be the voice to stop the manipulation.

Darkpatterns.org
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Burnout is a serious issue, and is becoming an increasingly common workplace phenomenon. But what can we do about it? In this episode, we identify the symptoms of burnout, the common causes, and what we can do to prevent burnout in ourselves and our teams. From taking breaks, to finding the right role and company, to taking control of our "why" and our time.

B-Hyve Smart Sprinker
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We've all launched features that succeed and features that failed. But why are some successful and others unsuccessful? In this episode, we look at some examples of good product features from our own experience and from other companies, as well as unsuccessful features to examine what makes a good feature and good experience, and what we can learn from success and failure. From Snapchat Stories to Facebook Home, we've got some great examples to dive into.

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In this episode, we are joined by Rachael Larsen, the new Head of Education at Product School. Rachael has been in technology and education for over 14 years, and has built software products that range from mobile apps to large enterprise systems. We discuss everything from "beta spring" weather to prioritizing in product and in life. We discuss tips for product managers, best advice, and some highlights and lowlights from Rachael's career in product.

Rachael Larsen (LinkedIn)
Inspired by Marty Cagan
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Managing your product career is critical to your success. It starts with applying a product mindset to your career, and taking that mindset to your job search and interviewing when that time comes. In this episode, we give our top tips on how to do that, from before you start looking for a job, to while your interviewing, to post interview tips.

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What is an MVP? Why is it important? Why is the idea of a minimum viable product so contentious? Are you building an actual MVP or just shipping crap and calling it an MVP? We tackle these questions and more as we discuss MVPs, their history, what an MVP really is, and how to use them in product development.

User personas have been around for a long time. Creating them can be an excellent exercise and a useful tool for UX design and product teams. But are they always the right answer? And what about when the rubber meets the road? Personas can be great in theory, but in practice can fall short. In this episode, we explore the ways to use personas and the ways they can fall short, along with what to do for your teams.

Links

• Design of Everyday Things
• The Inmates are Running the Asylum

Being a product manager or UX designer can be great. But it can also suck. In this episode, we discuss the best and worst elements of working in product management and product design. From the highs of creating a strategy and solving real user problems to the lows of fighting constant bureaucracy and cranking out features, we tackle the reality of our favorite (and least favorite) parts of the job. 

Links:

• Jeff Bezos and Amazon
• Product Thinking vs Project Thinking