Product Momentum Podcast

Luke Stiles is a product advisor and consultant who helps build products and grow companies, focusing on widespread adoption of Generative AI. On June 25, he will facilitate a workshop at ITX's 2-day Product + Design Conference (June 25-26). In this episode of Product Momentum, Luke joins Sean and Dan to talk about topics ranging … The post 164 / Luke Stiles, on GenAI: ‘The Value of Humanity Will Go Up' appeared first on ITX Corp..

Vitaly Friedman is an author, the UX Lead with the European Parliament, and editor-in-chief of Smashing Magazine. On June 25, he will facilitate a workshop at ITX's 2-day Product + Design Conference. In this episode of Product Momentum, Vitaly joins Sean and Dan to share his insights about tackling the unique challenges of UX design … The post 163 / Vitaly Friedman, on UX Design + AI in Enterprise Environments appeared first on ITX Corp..

Christian Marek is Vice President of Product Management at Productboard. He has applied his years of experience in technology and finance while leading product management efforts at Facebook, Google, and Docusign. In this episode, Christian joins co-hosts Sean Murray and Dan Sharp to explore how AI tools are revolutionizing product management by enhancing customer obsession … The post 162 / What Does It Mean To Be ‘Customer Obsessed'?, with Christian Marek appeared first on ITX Corp..

Cassidy Fein is currently leading growth for Autopatch within Windows Servicing and Delivery at Microsoft. Based in NYC, she has over 10 years of experience driving product innovation, scaling teams, and delivering customer-centric solutions. Throughout her career, she's demonstrated a passion for empowering the next generation of product leaders, especially through her teaching with Mind … The post 161 / 3 Core Tenets of Product Strategy and Execution, with Cassidy Fein appeared first on ITX Corp..

Sarah Doody, CEO of Career Strategy Lab, sat down with Product Momentum co-hosts Sean Murray and Dan Sharp to offer advice to UX designers out there who are frustrated by the volatility in today's job market. Treat your career like a product you're designing, Sarah says, and focus on the essential skills you need in … The post 160 / Designing Your Career: Pro Tips for Navigating Today's Job Market, with Sarah Doody appeared first on ITX Corp..

In this episode, AgilityInsights' Trisha Hall joins Paul Gebel for a first-ever joint podcast for Product Momentum — here, with Trisha's Illuminating Insights. Trisha leads the enterprise solutions and government contracting team at AgilityInsights, and Paul is a VP of Delivery at ITX as well as long-time host of Product Momentum. In this inspiring conversation … The post 159 / How Agility Connects Organizational Strategy to Value Delivered, with Trisha Hall appeared first on ITX Corp..

Tami Reiss, also known as The Product Leader Coach, brings together the strategy, process, and mindset tools we need to perform our roles as product leaders with the ability to think and communicate like an executive. A coach is able to see the whole field, and they're watching us, their player, from an outsider's perspective. “Beyond … The post 158 / Top 3 Mistakes Product Leaders Make – And How To Avoid Them, with Tami Reiss appeared first on ITX Corp..

Katie Dove is an applied behavioral scientist and managing director of Irrational Labs, a  product design and behavior change lab. She and her team help companies like Airbnb, Microsoft, and Uber answer the question, Why do our customers behave like they do? and then help them design creative solutions that work. We caught up with … The post 157 / Applying Behavioral Science To Drive User Value, with Katie Dove appeared first on ITX Corp..

Bruce McCarthy is a renowned product leader at Product Culture, the organization he founded in 2018. He's also the author of two books: Aligned (2024) and Product Roadmaps Relaunched (2018). Bruce sat down with the Product Momentum team for an in-person chat on the heels of his INDUSTRY Global keynote; our conversation focused on – … The post 156 / Bruce McCarthy: Prioritizing Stakeholder Objectives Is the Hardest Job in Product appeared first on ITX Corp..

There was a time not long ago when a handful of Product Momentum guests (Rich Mironov and Marty Cagan to name just two) lamented the absence of any formalized university program dedicated solely to product managers. Lament no more, thanks to Brad Eiben and his colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University, where Brad is Executive Director … The post 155 / Integrating Product Management Principles into Education, with Brad Eiben appeared first on ITX Corp..

Dan Chuparkoff is a seasoned innovation leader with experience at Google, Atlassian, and McKinsey. The Product Momentum team caught up with him right after his keynote at INDUSTRY Global and talked about how product teams can get beyond the theoretical hype of AI and start zooming in on its immediate potential. His message was clear: … The post 154 / How to Use AI: Separating the Hype from the Helpful, with Dan Chuparkoff appeared first on ITX Corp..

The Product Momentum team continues the series of conversations that we recorded at INDUSTRY Global; in today's episode, Bukky Adebayo and Rye Castillo join Sean and Sean to talk about the challenges and opportunities that come with building products for technical audiences. Bukky is Chief of Staff, Digital Customer Experience at Autodesk, and Rye is … The post 153 / Building Products for Technical Audiences, with Bukky Adebayo and Rye Castillo appeared first on ITX Corp..

In this episode of Product Momentum, we share our conversation with Matt LeMay, who had just delivered a keynote at INDUSTRY Global, entitled The Business is Your Business. About Matt LeMay Matt LeMay is an internationally recognized product leader, consultant, and author. His titles include Agile for Everybody, Product Management in Practice, and the soon-to-be-released … The post 152 / Matt LeMay: The Consequences of Low-Impact Work on Sound Product Management appeared first on ITX Corp..

If you're a product manager who's making the transition from individual contributor (IC) to people manager, you not only need to be nailing your job, Melika Hope advises. “You have to be showing up as a leader.” Opportunities for practicing leadership aren't confined to managerial roles, she adds. ICs can exhibit leader-like traits every day … The post 151 / Helping Individual Contributors Into Management Roles, with Melika Hope appeared first on ITX Corp..

We didn't realize it when we started recording this episode with Bob Moesta. But the moment our conversation ended, we knew his would serve as Product Momentum's milestone 150th podcast! And what better topic to explore – and who better to explore it with – than a product manager's job to be done with the … The post 150 / Bob Moesta: Understanding Users' Struggling Moments Is Our Job To Be Done appeared first on ITX Corp..

Shikha Kapoor's journey to Silicon Valley began in a small town in India, where she had only limited access to technology. She didn't have access to the internet – or even to a computer. Now she's a trailblazer in AI product management at Meta. Shikha credits a passion for learning, staying hungry, and maintaining a … The post 149 / How Curiosity + Passion Deliver Next-Gen Innovations, with Shikha Kapoor appeared first on ITX Corp..

The success rate of new software products varies, depending on the criteria we used to define success. But a common statistic is unflattering: about 70% of new software releases fails to meet their initial expectations or goals. In this episode of Product Momentum – and in his new book, LAUNCH Code – James Whitman explains … The post 148 / 3 Remedies that Boost Product Launch Success, with James Whitman appeared first on ITX Corp..

What percentage of your software product launches have been successful? If you answered, “about 50%,” you're ahead of the curve, says Itamar Gilad. Itamar is a product leadership coach and author who also held senior product management and engineering roles at Microsoft and Google, where he worked at YouTube and led parts of Gmail. In … The post 147 / ‘Useful Models' That Boost Product Launch Success, with Itamar Gilad appeared first on ITX Corp..

Can Product Operations transform your role as a product manager? Denise Tilles, who quite literally wrote the book on the subject (Product Operations, with Melissa Perri), thinks so. Especially if you're interested in making better decisions faster – and who of us isn't? In her return visit to Product Momentum (having joined us from NY … The post 146 / How To Use Product Ops To Make Better, Faster Decisions, with Denise Tilles appeared first on ITX Corp..

In this episode of Product Momentum, Patricia Reiners chats with Paul Gebel and Brian Loughner (a Lead UX Designer at ITX); during the conversation, she tackles three critical topics that UX designers should consider when thinking about how best to interact with AI in their daily work, in their careers, and in their role as … The post 145 / Patricia Reiners Answers 3 Key Questions at the Intersection of UX and AI appeared first on ITX Corp..

In this episode, Paul and Sean catch up with Ryan Rumsey just moments after his poignant keynote at the 2024 ITX Product + Design Conference. During his keynote and follow-up conversation, Ryan explained that the biggest challenges product builders face are people challenges, “deeply rooted in our own personal experiences and feelings.” Ryan Rumsey is … The post 144 / Embracing the Human Dynamic in Product Design, with Ryan Rumsey appeared first on ITX Corp..

In this episode, John Maeda explains that software products are tools that help us achieve our broader goals – like caring for loved ones and strengthening our relationships – rather than the ultimate objective. So it's no surprise that John frames artificial intelligence as a power tool that levels up our human potential to create … The post 143 / John Maeda: Creativity, Risk, and the Role of AI appeared first on ITX Corp..

In this episode of Product Momentum, Christian Idiodi shares insights gathered over his 20-year career as a product leader, leaning especially on the significance of human skills and highlighting the importance of product sense in product management. Christian Idiodi is a partner at Silicon Valley Product Group and co-author of TRANSFORMED, with Marty Cagan and … The post 142 / Christian Idiodi, on Product Sense: Integrating Data and Intuition appeared first on ITX Corp..

Welcome to this special episode of Product Momentum, where four ITX leaders share their hands-on experience establishing (Upstate Product Meetup) and growing (Upstate UX Meetup, to nearly 600 members!) two Rochester-area communities of practice (CoP). Perhaps it was the recent conversations with Petra Wille and Jared Spool that inspired the idea for this up-close look … The post 141 / How To Build a Community of Practice, with ITX Leaders in Product + UX appeared first on ITX Corp..

What's the best way to align product strategy with business goals? How can product managers communicate product value to the go-to-market side of the house? Rich Mironov, a 40-year veteran of product management and author of The Art of Product Management 2d, joins Product Momentum to address these and other vexing challenges in the world … The post 140 / Money Talks: Aligning Product Strategy + Business Goals, with Rich Mironov appeared first on ITX Corp..

Back in episode 132 of Product Momentum, Janna Bastow talked about using AI tools to do much of the “grunt work” product managers and UX researchers do so that they can spend more time on the higher-value work that's actually helping to transform product building. In this episode, John Haggerty and Prerna Singh go a … The post 139 / User Experience Research: AI's New Frontier, with John Haggerty & Prerna Singh appeared first on ITX Corp..

As Holly Hester-Reilly explains, “Intuition isn't magic. People who have good product intuition know this, because they've worked hard over time through lots of hard practice to build it up – and build better products in the process.” Holly is the founder and CEO of H2R Product Science (and a good friend of Product Momentum). … The post 138 / The Science Behind Building Better Products, with Holly Hester-Reilly appeared first on ITX Corp..

Among the many hats product managers wear is that of change agent. In many respects, product management is change management. PMs always seem to be flexing their approach to new circumstances, adapting to evolving markets and technologies, and side-stepping organizational landmines. “It's hard,” says Zoia Kozakov, “especially when the change you're trying to bring about … The post 137 / 3 Tips for Fostering a Culture of Change, with Zoia Kozakov appeared first on ITX Corp..

As a profession, product managers have been battling through some pretty lean times of late. Layoffs in big tech, market uncertainty across the board, and steep competition for fewer vacancies keep many of us up at night. All the more reason, as Denise Tilles explains, that product operations is more important now than ever. In … The post 136 / Product Operations: Why It's More Important Now Than Ever, with Denise Tilles appeared first on ITX Corp..

In this episode of Product Momentum, Laura Barnard invites us to imagine the strong business outcomes our organizations can realize when we create space for strategy and execution to work in concert, instead of at odds. Founder of PMO Strategies and author of The Impact Engine (available Sept. 2024), Laura has been a driving force … The post 135 / The New PMO: Strategic Partner in Business Transformation, with Laura Barnard appeared first on ITX Corp..

When you're communicating as a product leader, how often do you consider what your audience needs to hear…at that precise moment in time? How do you deliver your message in a way that they can understand? Product coach Gabrielle Bufrem, in her keynote at the New York Product Conference (NYPC), says that “communication is effective … The post 134 / Lessons in Product Leadership: The Art of Communication, with Gabrielle Bufrem appeared first on ITX Corp..

As the saying goes, not to decide is to decide. And, as April Dunford explains in this episode of Product Momentum, ‘not to decide' — that is, the customer's own inability to make a decision — swipes 40-60% of the average B2B salesperson's revenue pipeline. (source: The JOLT Effect, by Matthew Dixon). B2B selling is … The post 133 / From Positioning to Sales Pitch: How to Make the Buying Process Easier, with April Dunford appeared first on ITX Corp..

Integrating AI tools into the product management workflow isn't about cutting humans out of the loop. There's nothing in the product manager playbook saying, “yeah, yeah, just build this idea and ship it.” Instead, as ProdPad co-founder and CEO Janna Bastow suggests, use AI tools to remove some of the grunt work so that we … The post 132 / 3 Ways AI Is Transforming Product Management, with Janna Bastow appeared first on ITX Corp..

When product development teams build new software tools and systems, they like to start with the end in mind by nudging quality assurance and security scanning closer to the early stages of the process. Paul Connaghan, Principal Application Security Consultant at RiverSafe in London, UK, says this “shift left” approach goes straight to the heart … The post 131 / Shift Left: Integrating a Security Mindset Early in the Software Development Life Cycle, with Paul Connaghan appeared first on ITX Corp..

Product strategy is the guiding light that illuminates the path to success for any product. However, articulating and executing this strategy is often easier said than done, says product management expert Roman Pichler. In this episode of Product Momentum, Roman shares valuable insights into the essence of product strategy and how to effectively navigate its … The post 130 / Discovering the Essence of Product Strategy, with Roman Pichler appeared first on ITX Corp..

When Jared Spool first visited Product Momentum a few years ago, he talked about the struggle designers feel when they're directed to add new features to a design without first understanding the problem to be solved. “Great designers don't fall in love with their solutions,” he advised us. “They fall in love with their problems.” … The post 129 / Strategic UX: The Path to Outcome-Driven Design, with Jared Spool appeared first on ITX Corp..

Trust is the glue that sustains personal relationships. Likewise, trust in AI's source data holds the key to its future and our confident use of it, says Scott Ambler, Agile data strategist, consulting methodologist, author, and keynote speaker. Trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair. In this episode of Product … The post 128 / Trusting Data Quality: The Key to AI's Future, with Scott Ambler appeared first on ITX Corp..

In this episode, Building Better Games co-founders Aaron Smith and Ben Carcich join Product Momentum, offering an inside look at the contributions the video game industry has brought to enterprise tech – and vice versa. Specifically, Ben and Aaron share a fresh take on how holistic leadership and product management help us build things that … The post 127 / How Holistic Leadership Builds Better Games – and Product Teams, with Ben Carcich and Aaron Smith appeared first on ITX Corp..

On the eve of its 20th anniversary, Flickr's approach as a community-centric product continues to propel the company forward. For Stephanie Cantor, Flickr's Senior Director of Product, the Flickr community extends beyond its 112 million global users; it is integral to the product itself. From ideation to prototyping, Flickr involves its users in every step, … The post 126 / Community First: Flickr's Approach to Product Management, with Stephanie Cantor appeared first on ITX Corp..

Product managers seem to enjoy talking about how tough it is to be a product manager. And it is no matter the context of your specific business. Fortunately, as the role becomes more professionalized – and more populated – product communities are popping up and providing ready access to others we can learn from, network … The post 125 / Product Management Communities of Practice, with Petra Wille appeared first on ITX Corp..

In product, it's easy to lock in on a user-focused or customer-centric mindset. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be if we lose sight of the bigger picture. As product managers, we have a business to run. We have team members to grow and develop. We're responsible for broader financial metrics. Shelly Kalish … The post 124 / Mastering Product Management: ‘Zooming Out' for Strategic Clarity, with Shelly Kalish appeared first on ITX Corp..

“I have Cerebral Palsy,” says Dave Dame, Senior Director of Product Accessibility for Windows at Microsoft®. “But my money doesn't. So if you want my money, you better build a product or a service I can use, or I'm going to spend my disposable income somewhere else.” Imagine hearing that from the estimated 2 billion … The post 123 / Essential Lessons in Digital Accessibility and Inclusive Design, with Dave Dame appeared first on ITX Corp..

What's the point of building a product if it doesn't actually help to solve a user problem? And how do you grow and scale your product without understanding consumers' behavior with it?  Quincy Olatunde, Peacock's VP of Products, Direct-to-Consumer explores these questions through the lens of data – what he calls the third leg of … The post Special Edition / Audience-first Innovation: How to Use Data to Create People-Centric Products, with Quincy Olatunde appeared first on ITX Corp..

It hurts to admit, but product designers and teams don't always know what our users need. We need to seek out user feedback and create ways for them to tell us spontaneously, often in the heat of the moment. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's Jay Brewer and Zhuldyz Alimbek – fresh from the stage at Pendomonium 2023 … The post Special Edition / Revolutionize Your Product Development Process with Customer Feedback, with Jay Brewer & Zhuldyz Alimbek appeared first on ITX Corp..

Yochai Konig, Vice President, Machine Learning & AI at Ada, has worked in product and specialized in AI-enabled capabilities for more than 2 decades. All of a sudden, it seems, the rest of the world is catching on. Yet despite the recent buzz, many remain confused about how AI truly works. There was a lot … The post Special Edition / Taking an AI-first Approach to Product Development, with Yochai Konig appeared first on ITX Corp..

If you believe all you read about AI, it's easy to come away feeling that it's the cure for all ills. But in many ways, it's a solution in search of a problem. In this episode with Pendo CEO Todd Olson and CPO Trisha Price, we move past the hype to remind ourselves, as Todd … The post Special Edition / Entering the Age of Intelligence, with Todd Olson & Trisha Price appeared first on ITX Corp..

In this episode, Christine Itwaru, Principal Strategist at Pendo, describes her journey from a product management role to product ops to strategy, tackling big-picture issues and leaves kernels of wisdom for us to use in our own product roles. Among them, how to strengthen the human connection between product teams and their users. Key takeaways … The post 122 / The Human Connection: The Tie that Binds Product Teams + Users, with Christine Itwaru appeared first on ITX Corp..

Working in a startup brings the concept “CEO of the product” to a whole new level. Suddenly, as Gigantic CEO Michael Sacca and COO Chloe Oddleifson know well, you're responsible for every aspect of your product's development, launch, promotion, sales – and everything in between. Fun fact: there's plenty to take away from the startup … The post 121 / A Gigantic Vision: Infusing Joy into Workplace Culture, with Michael Sacca & Chloe Oddleifson appeared first on ITX Corp..

When we're afraid to have difficult conversations, we hold ourselves back and create more frustration and work in the long run, says Marsha Acker, founder and CEO of Team Catapult. “We spend a lot of time trying to avoid conflict and the things that make us feel uncomfortable. And yet in our attempts to avoid … The post 120 / Understanding Communication Structure To Effect Positive Change, with Marsha Acker appeared first on ITX Corp..

Alla Weinberg, CEO of SPOKE & WHEEL, says that the key to designing relationships that resolve (even avoid) workplace tensions is to have different conversations than the ones we're currently having. Our relentless focus on the work, she explains, distracts us from focusing on the people and making sure that we have created an organization … The post 119 / Building Resilient Organizations and Safe Cultures, with Alla Weinberg appeared first on ITX Corp..

Success as a product manager requires finding the right balance between solving user problems and meeting rigid business demands. For Devan Goldstein, a Group Product Manager at Trello (an Atlassian product), “product management's fundamental accountability is to ensure that the business gets what it needs out of the teams it has put in place to … The post 118 / Empathy, Transparency, and Intentionality in Product Management, with Devan Goldstein appeared first on ITX Corp..