Justin Watt
About: Whereas attending college for psychology, Justin ventured into challenge & product administration the place he took half in inner merchandise creation for Shaw and IBM. He labored on initiatives with MetaLab on the aspect beginning in 2012 and formally joined the crew in 2015 the place his formal title is Venture Supervisor, which at MetaLab contains product administration as a spotlight. He’s labored on and launched merchandise for Fortune 10 firms and startups. When not doing this, he’s an enormous fan of working, music festivals, and steady studying in all issues product administration.
About MetaLab: MetaLab is an company specializing in constructing world-class digital merchandise for firms massive and small. They concentrate on A+ design and accomplice intently with their shoppers in technique, product administration, design, and improvement. Some notable work from the previous few years contains Slack, Notarize, Coinbase, and Sudo with many new, thrilling merchandise coming in 2016.
On the net:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wattjustin/
AMA Particulars:
Date: Tuesday, March 29
Time: 11AM PT / 2PM ET
Location: #ama channel
To affix in on the Q&A, try our Product HQ group!
Choose questions and solutions from the AMA:
How do you retain folks motivated who work ONLY on company work?
We hold groups motivated with plenty of freedom and the understanding that they will transfer to totally different initiatives over time. They’re not saddled with one and so they have a number of autonomy to each do the work they know they need to do together with elevating their hand once they need to dig into one thing else.
How do you distribute fairness/incentives to staff so that they really feel they’re a part of the crew when doing mundane stuff?
Fairness and incentives are available in many types for us. The mutual respect all members of the crew has blown me away, so there’s an inherent want to really feel a part of a crew. Outdoors of this, the groups in any respect ranges have a HIGH stage of enter into merchandise, so all of us really feel like we’re constructing one thing collectively. This creates a number of engagement and leads to very low employees churn right here.
So that you don’t really feel that there’s a misalignment of motivation? If I’ve a crew of three builders – we personal the product and eat sleep and breathe getting issues executed vs a consulting agency with it’s personal agenda and optimization methods round making as a lot cash as attainable?
This will sound too pie within the sky, however we rent individuals who need to construct cool stuff. That’s the place we differentiate between a consulting agency and product accomplice. We are inclined to work on merchandise that the crew is impressed by and needs to work on. This removes a lot of the misalignment of motivation. We put the product first, the whole lot else second in relation to the work.
What’s your prime tip for a challenge supervisor?
Ruthless prioritization. Particularly in an company setting: you haven’t any selection however to continuously reprioritize your to-dos. There are solely so many hours in a day.
What’s your prime interview query to ask junior to mid-level builders interviewing for a job in your crew?
“What requests make you essentially the most pissed off and essentially the most uncomfortable from these exterior of your developer teammates?” I discover this tells you numerous about how they take care of stress, conflicting priorities, and the way they have interaction with their work. It’s certainly one of many favourite inquiries to ask devs, however I discover that is one query that tells you numerous.
How a lot time do you spend on anyone product and the way do you go about addressing their particular person KPI’s?
PMs listed here are on not more than 2 initiatives. I’m at present on 2 and I’d say it’s a few 60/40 cut up. One requires extra product work because it’s a V1 product in order many right here know: that’s an even bigger endeavor in some ways. We measure our success by our shoppers’ success. We accomplice closely at a product stage so we share analysis, efficiency metrics, product KPI’s and many others. Begin and use that as a crew to make merchandise higher. Our objective is to accomplice with our shoppers for a long run and actually, we are saying no to many who need a “one and executed”.
I at present work in a digital company. How is PM work totally different in an company setting vs non-agency?
I’d say company vs non-agency is the competing priorities. We work on this by getting our groups closely embedded with our shoppers and making all of it really feel like one crew. Outdoors of this, I discover the distinction is tempo: company work is WAYYYY quicker shifting than non-agency work.
What makes an awesome consumer?
An excellent consumer is somebody who treats you as a accomplice, not a vendor. We do our greatest work after we collaborate as an alternative of getting prescriptive work fed our method. Whereas we respect the shoppers as we attempt to work cultural matches solely, we at all times take pleasure in working as a accomplice greater than something.
How do you differentiate challenge administration vs. product administration work at MetaLab?
They’re a really blended position at present. Venture aspect of the position is accountable for timelines and budgets and resourcing. Product aspect is accountable for roadmap, options, and technique. We’ve a technique division so it’s not a solo present the place individuals are unfold too skinny; it’s undoubtedly a crew sport.
What can smaller businesses ($1mm income) do to extend income? (exterior of elevating charges) – additionally, do you suppose it’s higher to concentrate on month-to-month retainers or one-time jobs?
Smaller businesses can concentrate on pursuing shoppers that can be very long time companions and have a product you need to develop with. The income comes out of that. I firmly imagine one-time jobs are one to avoid. If the “one-time” job is a way to construct a relationship in order to proceed working collectively, that’s nice. But when the intention is merely to do one thing and transfer on, it dilutes the funding your crew has in engaged on the product.
What was it prefer to work with Slack in the course of the design course of? What design ideas did they struggle for?
I wasn’t working instantly with MetaLab when Slack was being born, however I first met Andrew in 2012 and have executed some work on the aspect with him since that point. I’ll say that the groups principals on that challenge carry over to all of our initiatives: serve the meant person first.
We’re not robots and Slack doesn’t deal with folks as such. It has a “life” of its personal (aka persona) similar to the those who use it. Subsequently, it creates that connection and it’s grown from there.
The place do you see your self in 5 years?
Main a crew of Product Managers. I like engaged on product and searching for out new methods to carry “previous” methods of doing issues into the twenty first century. http://metalab.co/initiatives/notarize/ is certainly one of my most fav latest examples of this.
Are there every other industries or particular verticals that you just’ve personally been involved in in relation to bringing “previous” methods of doing issues into the twenty first century?
Automobiles are trendy within the grand scheme of issues, however my god the ergonomics, GUI’s, and UX of these GUI’s are so…dated. That’s one thing I’ve a eager curiosity in. Outdoors of that, issues which are managed by antiquated firms with antiquated methods of doing issues is an enormous curiosity. I look to looking, reviewing, signing for, and residing in a rented house/condominium a HUGE alternative. The methods through which you could possibly streamline that course of, make it simpler for each renter/rentee (not a phrase, however going with it) all through the entire course of from shifting in to shifting out is one thing I’d love to unravel for.
What’s your method to constructing a roadmap with a consumer? Even after we keep actually versatile, the consumer tends to need some type of agreed-upon characteristic set very early within the course of. How do you steadiness that?
We often get the entire intentions out of the best way first after which from there: who’re the meant/objective customers? What does success on this product appear to be? and many others… As soon as everyone seems to be on the identical web page there, I discover it’s a lot simpler to get buy-in on a product roadmap that serves these wants. There are at all times competing priorities – you simply should be proactive about that vs. reactive. Board members, competing stakeholder concepts, and many others. all should be accounted for. It’s a balancing act, however I discover that defining the person and success first are keys to roadmap success.
We use the technique time collectively to both reinforce a characteristic request or make it clear that’s not an excellent/excessive precedence proper now. Inquiries to a consumer/stakeholder resembling: what’s the enterprise worth for this characteristic? does it resolve an issue for the meant person? is it differentiated or aggressive out there? is it a constructing block to a significant, future characteristic?
Questions like this have a tendency to permit the consumer to determine for themselves if a characteristic they need is certainly a characteristic they want.
We are inclined to assign “Enterprise Worth” and “Technical Complexity” rankings to product options. That method, it’s clear if one thing is 4/5 worth and 1/5 tech complexity, we are able to all agree that we pursue that. If it’s 1/5 biz worth and 5/5 tech complexity, it tends to be straightforward: “let’s not do that proper now”
Tech feasibility is an enormous one. I’ve learnt the lesson the very arduous method: engineering groups have to be concerned no less than considerably on the technique/product roadmap part to outline if a characteristic (even at a excessive stage) is possible within the launch timeline.
How do you observe worker hours/work?
Harvest is our go-to for that. We respect the time that the consumer has paid us for and we respect the autonomy that we attempt to supply employees so we work to steadiness these.
How typically do you’ve got inner workshops regarding product and technique? Who’s concerned and are these recurring occasions?
We are inclined to do a number of inner, casual data sharing on Slack. We’ve a whole analysis channel in Slack the place PMs, Technique, and design leads put up issues typically and share ideas round product & technique there. As for precise workshops: that’s one thing we’re engaged on implementing. The crew has greater than doubled within the final 6 months, so it’s one thing we imagine to be important however simply have to seek out the time to make occur.
I admire the template of questions you’ve got given for speaking to a consumer/stakeholder. How have you ever gone about dealing with intense disagreement over technique? Physique language, or different stakeholders to again you as much as come to thoughts or communication kinds?
Due to the best way we attempt to border these questions (we’re working to construct an awesome product vs. turning it into an us in opposition to them method) I discover that the stakeholders are inclined to take it effectively. When it’s clear that the intention of the query is to serve their product greater than the rest, it dilutes the depth of the dialog. There have been events the place you simply know that there are particular hills you don’t have to die on however I imagine that goes for everybody working in product, in all places.
When shoppers rent your crew to go in and assist with product, what’s the massive ache level or want that they’re experiencing which ends up in their determination that it’s time to get critical about having company assist? In a method, what’s the drawback that Metalab, as a product, is tackling? How did work with firms like Slack come about?
Q2: Most work we do is referral from nice companions we’ve labored with prior to now together with that challenge. As for the opposite questions: There are such a lot of solutions to that, to be trustworthy. Generally it’s that the consumer doesn’t have the sources/capability to do the product work within the timeframe they need to get it executed, typically it’s that they’re new to the patron product business however have an awesome concept and wish help with product and execution of getting that to market, and typically it’s as a result of they’ve a big crew and we assist that enormous crew with complicated wants type out what makes the perfect product. I wouldn’t say there’s a typical cause, however a mixture of all of these.
If you happen to might suggest as much as 3 books/thought leaders to observe/articles for somebody new to the world of PM, what would they be?
E-book-wise, I’m an enormous fan of: Hooked & On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. Sure, a ebook on writing by Stephen King. That doesn’t appear vital however with the quantity of written communication {that a} PM has to do, that is a vital learn. As for articles, I’d level folks to medium.com and kind in “product supervisor”. There’s a wealth of sources and I feel it’s extra about what resonates with every PM. There isn’t any clear, one method to do issues. Each state of affairs we’re put in as PMs is totally different so I feel it’s discovering what works for you and studying from others alongside the best way.
That’s a imprecise reply, nevertheless it feels as many are searching for that one article or ebook or particular person to information them when it’s a set of steerage and insights from many various areas and making use of it in a method that works for you and your position and your crew.
At Meta Lab – you probably did end-to-end product improvement – so shoppers primarily come to you with an concept behind a serviette? what do you cowl within the first assembly?
It actually relies on the stage the consumer is at. I’ll put it this manner: with my two present initiatives, one is a Fortune 10 and one is a startup launching V1 of their product. Each needed to begin with a dialogue round: who’s the product for? what issues are they making an attempt to unravel? and what excites them in regards to the prospects of their concept/product? From there, you’ve got a good suggestion of what they need and what they’re making an attempt to attain. Then the product is fleshed out from there.
So regardless of the scale of the challenge & consumer, it relies on the stage the product is at and understanding what the objectives are.
How do you’re employed with founders or executives who’ve a powerful private opinion about product/characteristic, however it isn’t based mostly on person analysis/suggestions, solely on their intestine?
Illustrating very tactfully and respectfully why idealism and guts are proper far much less typically than analysis, person interviews, suggestions from goal teams, and many others.
Everybody has seen The Social Community and thinks, “His intestine was proper! Mine can be too.” However illustrating why that’s the exception, not the rule is vital.
Not that each one of our shoppers suppose that, however in all facets of product improvement, displaying why analysis, knowledge, and focused suggestions are the best way to go is important I discover.
Somebody who has a mature product and traction/DAU’s to assist their guts findings prior to now is a special story, however once more, that’s the exception, not the rule
And I discover with exec stage, pure bullet factors of findings are key. Give all of them the dates, however they need the outcomes, not the context of it. That’s purely private expertise, however helps promote the concepts higher I discover.
Each startup workplace wants a poster giving a 10-second explainer on affirmation bias and the right way to keep away from it.
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