The Product and Its Creator

It's always refreshing to see a product that's designed & implemented with incredible attention to detail.

As a PM, I would naturally tend to take notes about their design choices, reference them in specs & even try to reverse engineer the thought process that went into it.

Until I realized something.

A great idea, design or feature never emerges out of thin air.

They are all made by PEOPLE.

We marvel at the product, but pay little attention to the kind of skill sets, experiences & diverse backgrounds that came together to build it.

Thus, as a product leader, I'm additionally curious about "who" created the product.

What prior products did the individuals work on? What was their career journey? What trainings have they taken? What are they passionate about?

Then, how does all this talent mesh together as a team? What's the structure? Who leads this team?

When I want to deep-analyze a product I REALLY admire, I:

1. Go to their company page on LI
2. Browse through their employees & take notes
3. Reconstruct their org chart on a Miro board

This gives me ideas on:

1. Qualities I should be hiring for
2. Job functions & skills my team is missing
3. Trainings/certifications worth pursuing
4. Team structures