In the absence of a product manager, I took the initiative to collaborate directly with the engineering team on our Operational Readiness Review (ORR) project. The goal was to create alignment around the end-to-end user experience, identify pain points, and drive data-informed decisions on feature prioritization. Through user interviews, persona development, and an experience map, I was able to distill key insights that shaped the product direction, enhanced cross-functional collaboration, and provided a foundation for future roadmap discussions.
Goals
- Align stakeholders on the holistic user experience and vision for ORR
- Identify opportunities for improving the ORR process through user-centered design
- Create actionable insights for feature prioritization and roadmap development
Process
Customer Interviews: Understanding User Needs
To understand the needs and pain points of different roles in the ORR process, I conducted customer interviews with engineers, review owners, organizational leaders, and subject matter experts (SMEs). These interviews helped uncover key insights into user priorities, task challenges, and role dependencies. I then analyzed the data, identifying major themes and sub-themes.
Note: The actual quote or observation has been replaced with placeholder text as this is only meant to illustrate process
Major Themes Identified
- Process Definition: Unclear process steps led to confusion and inefficiencies
- Content & Action Items: Difficulties in managing and tracking tasks
- Dependencies & Guidance: Lack of clarity in dependencies between roles and insufficient guidance throughout the process
- Reporting & Communication: Issues around reporting accuracy and the need for better communication channels
Sub-themes:
- Commenting and notifications
- Prioritization and tracking
- Time and effort management
- Question relevancy and user feedback
- Access and availability of ORR SMEs
Persona Definition
Getting Crisp on Customer Needs
Based on the interview insights, I created 7 distinct personas, each representing a different role in the ORR process. These personas were instrumental in understanding the nuances of each user’s motivations, pain points, and goals. The personas were reviewed and refined with the team before being finalized to ensure alignment and accuracy.
Each persona helped identify distinct needs and informed design decisions for improving the ORR process.
Experience Mapping
Visualizing the End-to-End Journey
Given the complexity of the ORR process and the large number of roles involved, I created a high-level Experience Map to visualize the end-to-end journey. This experience map served as a clear representation of how different personas interact with the process, highlighting key pain points, opportunities for improvement, and feature requirements.
Results and Impact
Alignment and Documentation
The research and deliverables provided crucial documentation that helped align the team on customer needs, product expectations, and the broader vision. Without a product manager, these materials became a critical tool in steering product decisions and feature prioritization. They also helped bridge communication gaps between engineering, leadership, and SMEs.
Driving the Roadmap: The insights gathered from the personas, experience map, and interview findings served as conversation starters for team discussions on the roadmap and feature prioritization. The data-driven approach facilitated clearer, more focused decisions on what to tackle first and which features would bring the most value to customers.
Team Impact
Informed Decision-Making: Enabled more informed discussions around product features and prioritization, even in the absence of a dedicated product manager.
Cross-functional Alignment: Improved communication between engineering, leadership, and ORR SMEs, fostering a shared understanding of user needs.