33. Navigating the Maze: Finding Your Way with a Low Maturity Product Team

33. Navigating the Maze: Finding Your Way with a Low Maturity Product Team

Not long ago, cave paintings were found depicting a fierce battle between product managers and UX designers. True story. It seems everywhere you go, no matter the industry, the size of the team, the product they sell, there is a constant battle between product managers and the UX team.

There’s always a path forward

I’m excited to kick off the “From Chaos to Clarity” series this week with our first episode diving into low Product Team operational maturity.

When your product team doesn’t function like a well-oiled machine it can be extremely frustrating. It can feel like you’re constantly running around not knowing what to do. It can feel like you’re doing duplicative work. It can feel like no one wants you there.

That really sucks.

But there are some things you can do to make the relationship with your product team work for you, regardless of its level of operational maturity.

It won’t be easy. And it won’t be quick.

But you can make it better with some time, patience, and a healthy dose of perseverance.

Good humor helps too.

Topics:
• 05:58 – How does this impact the UX team?
• 07:43 – Who is on the product team?
• 10:24 – NN/g survey
• 11:33 – Examples of low product maturity
• 16:40 – The point is to work with what we have not change ht entire team
• 17:54 – It’s perfectly OK to quit
• 18:40 – Tips for creating clarity with low operational maturity team
• 19:22 – 01. Assume positive intent
• 20:16 – 02. Understand the players
• 21:00 – 03. Foster relationships and trust
• 22:14 – 04. Set the right expectations
• 24:13 – 05. Establish Clear communication
• 25:14 – 06. Find allies
• 26:21 – 07. Build bridges, not walls
• 27:43 – 08 Practice Followership
• 28:40 – 09. Normalize it
• 29:31 – 10. Show don’t tell
• 30:07 – 11. Adapt and be proactive
• 30:42 – 12. Seek feedback
• 31:35 – 13. Be patient

Helpful Links:
• UXers and Product Managers Both Say Others Intrude on Their Work | NN/g
• PM and UX Have Markedly Different Views of Their Job Responsibilities | NN/g
• How to stop the battle between Product Managers and Designers | UX Collective
• An Open Letter to Product Managers: From a UX Designer | Aha!
• What is a product management maturity model? | Aha!
• Hang Xu’s LinkedIn Posts
• 16. Playing the Game or How To Join a New Team



Thanks for listening! We hope you dug today’s episode. If you liked what you heard, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts! And if you really enjoyed today’s episode, why don’t you leave a five-star review? Or tell some friends! It will help us out a ton.

If you haven’t already, sign up for our email list. We won’t spam you. Pinky swear.

• Get a FREE audiobook AND support the show
• Support the show on Patreon
• Check out show transcripts
• Check out our website
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe on Spotify
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Subscribe on Stitcher

Support my caffeine addiction

Meet your host

Jeremy Miller

Designer // Host // Mentor

I’m Jeremy. I’m a product designer from New Orleans. Here are some things I want you to know about me:

But most importantly, I know you can’t build great software without great relationships.

So join me here and learn about how to build truly great software.

Meet your host:

No posts were found for provided query parameters.

Type at least 1 character to search