From UX to PM—How the Transition Happened: 

• Transitioned into project management organically when the former PM left—Tyler was already exploring Agile and had strong team relationships.
• Leaned into a design mindset to lead—asking questions, listening, finding patterns, and breaking down complexity.
• Learned the value of not needing all the answers—collaboration beats solo problem-solving.
• Project management, to him, is about creating conditions for great work, not controlling outcomes.

Making Agile Work for Designers:

• Tyler’s team was already working in a design-forward agile way from the start, often encouraging devs to adopt more iterative practices, not the other way around.
• Practice of “sharing before we’re ready” allows for earlier feedback and keeps iteration alive.
• Involve design early—in sprint planning and backlog refinement—to avoid isolation.
• Work slightly ahead of development to maintain flow without sacrificing quality.

Breaking Away from Waterfall:

• Made iteration non-negotiable by building habits like early sharing.
• Celebrated small wins instead of waiting for one big reveal.
• Iteration encourages shared ownership and cross-functional collaboration.
• Shifting from Waterfall isn’t a one-time change—it’s about consistent small practices that reinforce flexibility.

Keeping Creativity Alive in Fast Iterations:

• Creativity isn’t the job of one person—it thrives when shared across the team.
• Feedback and spontaneous working sessions fuel idea generation.
• Non-designers bring fresh perspectives that enhance creative problem-solving.
• A culture of openness and collaboration keeps creativity from getting lost in speed.

Design Mindset in PM Work:

• Leading like a designer means simplifying, listening, and focusing on clarity.
• Project management is about creating space for good work, not just managing timelines.
• Recognizing when complexity is self-imposed—and stepping back to clarify the real problem.
• Two core leadership principles: “share before we’re ready” and “everyone contributes to the solution.”

Notable Quotes

• “I still think like a designer because I still am a designer.”
• “Project management is about creating the conditions for collaboration and momentum.”
• “Share before we’re ready—that vulnerability is a strength.”
• “Iteration isn’t a process change, it’s a mindset shift.”
• “Creativity doesn’t live in isolation—it thrives in transparency and collaboration.”
• “Everyone on the team, regardless of title, has a role in getting us to the right solution.”

Reference Materials

• Agile methodologies (Scrum, sprint planning, backlog refinement)
• Design thinking principles
• UX research and collaboration practices

Chicago Camps hosts irregularly scheduled Tent Talks with people from all across the User Experience Design community, and beyond. Who really likes limits, anyway--If it's a cool idea, we'd love to hear about it and share it!

What is a Tent Talk? That's a great question, we'd love to tell you.

Tent Talks are short-form in nature, generally lasting from 10-20 minutes (ish) in a recorded format--we like to think of them as "S'mores-sized content" because that's pretty on-brand. Tent Talks can be a presentation on a topic, a live Q&A session about the work we do, or the work around the work we do, or really just about anything--we don't want to limit ourselves, or you.

You should send along an idea or topic of your own so we can learn from you, as well! You don't have to be a published author or a professional speaker on a circuit to be good at your job, so please, put yourself forward, and let's have some fun, talk, and share your experience with others!