Naema Baskanderi

Hello everyone 🎈 Product management and user experience intersect in many ways. However, it can be challenging to differentiate the responsibilities and work distribution between the two. When you keep both roles aligned, you can create dream work. This article helps you to build a collaborative environment and avoid conflicts that ultimately lead to product failure. Have a great week ahead 🤗

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Designing for Everyone: Why Accessibility Matters Accessible design isn't a feature – it’s a necessity. When we design inclusively, we create products that everyone can enjoy and benefit from. In my recent projects, I focused on making interactions accessible for users of all abilities, from color contrast adjustments to screen reader compatibility. How do you approach accessibility in your designs? 📌 Check out my portfolio: https://hetshah.design/ and connect with me for UX opportunities: https://lnkd.in/gpXDpXMv #Accessibility #InclusiveDesign #UX #Hiring

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90% of early Product Managers don't know about Accessibility in UX (because 90% of PM cohorts or certification programs don't teach that). However, "How would you design an Uber for Blind people" becomes one of the most famous questions asked in product design interviews globally. While you should know Accessibility concepts like POUR (Perceivability, Operability, Understandability, and Robustness), a simple user-focused approach can also help you solve the problem in an interview. Detailed solution on 'Design Uber for blind people'. 👇 Keep learning. Keep cracking. howtocrackinterviews.com #productmanagement #productdesign #ux #uber #interviews

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🌟After insightful sessions with 10 seasoned Product Managers in various industry during my time in Canada, I've received invaluable insights to shortcut this journey to land a PM role and stand out from the competition. Here's a concise roadmap: 1️⃣ Craft Industry-specific Templates: Prepare 5-6 templates tailored to your favorite industries (healthcare, fintech, travel, etc.) to showcase your adaptability and domain expertise. 2️⃣ Leverage Heavy-weighted Sentences: Demonstrate your communication prowess and technical acumen with clarity and confidence. 3️⃣ Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile: Elevate your online brand by optimizing your LinkedIn profile alongside your resume, ensuring it reflects your unique value proposition and professional journey. 4️⃣ Build a Portfolio: Set yourself apart by creating a portfolio showcasing your product management projects using platforms like Wix, Webflow, or Notion. Let your work speak volumes about your capabilities. 5️⃣ Network Strategically: Forge meaningful connections within your desired industry through LinkedIn, online forums, and in-person events. Remember, networking is key to opening doors to new opportunities. 6️⃣ Share Insights and Experiences: Share your insights and experiences as a PM through articles on LinkedIn or Medium. Establish yourself as a thought leader and engage with the community. 7️⃣ Conduct Mock Interviews: Practice makes perfect! Engage in mock interviews with PMs actively seeking new opportunities to hone your skills and gain valuable feedback. 8️⃣ Join Communities: Engage with like-minded professionals in communities such as Slack or Facebook groups. Collaborate, learn, and grow together. By implementing these strategies, you'll not only enhance your visibility but also position yourself as a top candidate in the competitive landscape of product management. Let's empower each other to achieve our career aspirations! Feel free to connect with me to discuss further or share your insights. I will explain my experience with each one in the next posts. #ProductManagement #Careerroadmap #JobSearch #Networking #PMcanada

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As a PM, I sometimes feel like a chronic overplanner. These 7 principles help me move projects forward: A well-written PRD or spec is one of the most important deliverables for a product manager, but it’s easy to fall into the trap of overspecifying features or getting stuck on the “how,” delaying progress. Over the years, I’ve learned a few principles that help me write specs that not only guide my team but also speed up execution. Here’s what works for me: 1️⃣ 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 > 𝗡𝗼 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Don’t overcomplicate specs when there are many unknowns. If risks are low, make decisions quickly. Can’t decide? Shrink the scope until a decision becomes clear. 2️⃣ 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗚𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 Plans aren’t set in stone—they’re educated guesses. Avoid overanalyzing every edge case upfront; many will emerge during implementation. Focus on execution. 3️⃣ 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 Well-written documents are only as effective as the engagement they drive. Enforce reviews and encourage proactive feedback. Specs aren’t presentations—they’re collaboration tools. If stakeholders haven’t reviewed them, presenting them is a waste of time. 4️⃣ 𝗢𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 Define the “why” (value to the customer) and “what” (features to solve their problems). Leave the “how” to engineering and design teams—overspecifying can slow progress and stifle creativity. 5️⃣ 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 Always maintain one reliable document as your central reference point. Think of it as your product’s passport—clear, updated, and universally trusted. 6️⃣ 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲, 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 Written communication outlasts verbal instructions. Specs serve as a consistent reference for the team and create accountability. Use them to document decisions and foster alignment. 7️⃣ 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Specs guide direction, but success is measured by shipped products, not perfect documentation. Keep the focus on delivering value to customers, not obsessing over the process. Did I miss anything? Share below👇

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Happy Wednesday!! Here are 3 things that recently caught my eye recently: 1) Defining Job Levels If you're a manager who isn't sure how to come up with job levels, expectations, a path to progression for your team then don't want to miss this article about how Intercom redesigned its job levels for product designers. And if you're a team member trying to figure out your career path then this will be helpful for you too :)  https://lnkd.in/gz4rFeNd 2) Design Systems and AI Your design team won't be able to leverage AI unless you have a solid foundation, including a design system, in place. In this article, Brad Frost explains how his team has been able to leverage AI in product design including how they recently showed off how LLMs can generate and translate component code.  https://lnkd.in/gkT5dmZs 3) Always be Open To Work Bonnie Dilber is a recruiter lead at Zapier and I stumbled upon a great LinkedIn post she did about why you should always be open to work. Regardless of the state of the job market this is 100% a good idea. https://lnkd.in/gCqfcC87 ⭐️These were also in newsletter on Monday! So if you want to get my newsletter then just head to https://lnkd.in/ggfyb7CM #uxresearch #uxdesign #uxresearcher #productdesign #uxdesigner #contentstrategy #productmanagement #prodmgmt #techladies #techjobs #uxjobs #uxcareers #designsystem

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Worth reading this article on improving product/solution experiences leveraging object maps. https://lnkd.in/ep_aif3a #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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Usability updates released today for Queue! - CMD + K - Create Requests faster - Active/paused/cancelled indicator for subscription clients. - CMD + Enter to submit comments Bug fixes: - Embed editing wasn't changing position from tabs to sidenav - Website commenting wasn't working on first load - Website commenting was loading slowly

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Collaborating with designers is crucial for success in product management. Here are some tips: 👉 Build Mutual Respect: Value designers' expertise to create user-friendly experiences. 👉 Embrace Empathy: Adopt an empathetic approach to understand user pain points deeply. 👉 Participate in Ideation: Actively engage in the design process to foster innovative ideas. 👉 Communicate Clearly: Clearly articulate business goals and user needs to align strategies. 👉 Leverage Creativity: Work with designers to explore problems comprehensively and find alternative solutions. How do you plan to collaborate effectively with designers? Share your thoughts below! 👇 A strong partnership with designers leads to products that delight users and drive business value. #productmanagement #designthinking #collaboration #pmtips #careerinsight

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Are you a UXer generalist or designer looking for resume tips? Cool, get some from someone who fits that description, and is a hiring manager, so me, I am talking about me. ➡️ Here are 5 quick resume tips for UX Designers/Generalists/Product Designers 1️⃣ Tip #1: Have your portfolio link right at the top, and obvious. I get it, portfolios are pain to create and keep updated. And I know that people like me, with decades of experience, we have the worst time keeping them updated and often have little visuals to show once we transition to leadership, but for design-oriented positions, I just gotta see your portfolio. It's too easy for folks to BS their way through an interview and get a job they are not qualified for. I need to see some proof to go along with the talk. Make it easy for me to get to the proof. 2️⃣ Tip #2: Please stop with the cutesy avatars that look like they popped out of an Apple ad. Stop it. I am all for folks having personality, but reserve that for your portfolio, not your resume. And knock it off with the waving hands icons. Last time I hired, I went through over 400 resumes and portfolios, and the amount of avatars and waving hands I saw made my eyes hurt. Just leave images off your resume, period. 3️⃣ Tip #3: If you are a newish UXer (less than 5 years experience), don't overstate your accomplishments. You don't need fluff like "I craft harmonious solutions to the world's most discordant problems!" Just say simply "UX Designer focused on enterprise solutions to improve employee experience". Or whatever it is you specialize in. And watch out for the overused fluff words like "craft", and "seasoned" (are you steak?). 4️⃣ Tip #4: Don't add those dumb slider thingies saying you are 23.5% CSS, or whatever. Only share skills you are confident enough to perform, so if you suck at CSS, maybe not include it, and if you are amazeballs at Figma, just say "Figma". 5️⃣  Tip #5: Do not add a photo of yourself to your resume, and if you add it to your portfolio, don't put it on the home page unless you are very well established and have a "brand" (like, you are known personality and people know you are). This protects the job seeker by not automatically biasing the reviewer. Indicators of age (eww, wrinkles, gray hair!), ethnicity, religion, disability, etc., can all poison the well of impression with the reviewer, so don't give folks any reason for their lizard brains to reject you. This also protects the reviewer. I cringe when I see a photo on a resume because I don't want to be put in a position to be sued if I reject the applicant and then they claim it's because of XYZ that was apparent due to the photo. ------------ I have more thoughts on resumes (and portfolios) but that's enough for now. Questions, thoughts- let me know, I'll do my best to address them. 😸 And remember-I'm not your cat, I don't tell you what to do or rule your life. If you don't like my advice or it doesn't apply to you, ignore it! :)

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📈 UX Career Growth in a nutshell ↴ 1. Identify where you add undeniable value in your role 2. Map out the skills that take you from *competent* to *indispensable* 3. Highlight real-life examples of your impact (back it up with results) 4. Share strategies for managing up and sideways 5. Prioritize clarity over perfection (no need for fluff) 6. Respect your peers' and stakeholders' time 7. Make your goals actionable and relevant 8. Deliver consistent wins → “they”’ll notice! Stop letting small details distract you from the moves that actually matter! #ux #uxcareergrowth P.S. For more actionable career tips, subscribe to my substack → uxmentor.substack.com Tomorrow's issue of UX Mentor Diaries will show you a step-by-step process for building a *Strategic Ally Network* within your org.

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Want to build products that really hit the mark? Then you need to check out Apoorva Mishra's latest article about the “Product Trio”—the dream team of PMs, designers, and engineers! 👩‍💼🎨👨‍💻It’s all about getting everyone on the same page from the get-go. Keep the communication flowing and you’ll not only save time but also end up with a product that your users will actually love ❤️! Harvard Business Review Marty Cagan #ProductTrio #Teamwork #ProductDevelopment #NoMoreSurprises

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Companies are pausing growth. Time to focus on something more important: Retention. Products grow rapidly in boom times. UX issues pile up, - Bugs - Friction points - Quality of life improvements Everything ends up on the backlog. When belts tighten and growth slows. Revisit your backlog. Here's my observation working in B2B SaaS: Core improvements are more valuable than ever. Fix long-standing UX issues. You'll strentghen relationships with existing users. Quality of life updates build trust and loyalty. Which are invaluable in trying times. Retention is the new growth. Aquisition is slowing. Keep your current customers happy. This is your biggest challenge. - Smoother workflows - Fewer frustrations - Proactive UX fixes These make all the difference when reducing churn. Feedback loops hold the answers. Dive into feedback you've already collected: - Support tickets - Identify recurring pain points. - Product analytics - Uncover friction in task flows. - User Interviews - Learn what's working, and what's not. It's an investment in the future. Small improvements today. Strentgthen your foundation for tomorrow. Growth opportunties will return. Happy, loyal customers will be the first to embrace what's new. Hard times reveal what really matters. For UX teams, that's focusing on the core experience. Make your product indispensable to users. What’s your approach to UX when growth slows? Have you revisited your backlog? Focusing on retention? Let’s discuss in the comments. 👇

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The Jobs to Be Done framework is crucial for product designers, especially as the line between product managers and designers continues to blur. This article can revolutionize how we approach problem discovery and opportunity identification, offering deeper insights during the design phase. It's a must-read for anyone looking to elevate their design process and deliver exceptional results.

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🔍 For mid-level PMs, adding behavioral psychology to your toolkit can open up new ways to solve user adoption and engagement challenges. As a Senior Product Manager with a background in behavioral psychology, I've seen how understanding human behavior can enhance product development. For mid-level PMs looking to advance, integrating these insights is a valuable tool. Here’s how it helps: Decision-Making Patterns: Behavioral psychology helps us understand why users make certain choices, leading to more intuitive product designs. Emotional Engagement: Products that connect emotionally often have higher retention. Psychological insights can drive this connection. Influencing Behavior: Techniques like nudging and choice architecture guide users toward desired actions, improving engagement. Hypothesis-Driven Development: Applying psychology turns product strategies into experiments, validating ideas with real-world behavior. Empathy in Design: Understanding user behavior fosters empathy, helping us create solutions that truly deliver value. What behavioral techniques have you used or want to explore? Let’s discuss. #productmanagement #behavioralpsychology #userengagement #empathyindesign #midlevelPM

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Always worth revisiting this topic on how to lead remote teams. https://lnkd.in/eFdfivP6 #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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Product Manager job seekers, THIS is the session to tune into: I brought together 2 top industry product management leaders to reveal how to be successful in the job search. On Wednesday August 21 at 9am PST/ 12pm EST, I will be interviewing leading product management experts Alisa Haman and Dr. Nancy Li, who will share some eye-opening insights: 🍊 How to ensure you have the right strategy to land more Product Manager interviews and offers 🍊 How to make a transition in Product Management - such as changing careers to be a PM or shifting to a new industry 🍊 How AI is impacting the profession 🍊 The right courses and paths to take to launch your career as a Product Manager, or accelerate it For a deep dive into landing your next Product Manager role and advancing your career, join us live. Their advice could be the key to unlocking your next Product Manager job opportunity! #ProductManagementTips #ProductManagerCareerAdvice #ProductManagementCareers

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One puzzlement that ebbs and flows for me over my decades of working in Interaction Design and UX through user-centered design methodology is this: 'What's with all of the Animal Dominance Behavior going on between members in The Holy Triad of Product ( Design )?' And 'Why are we not operating as One Unified Team yet in 2024?' What's The Deal? 'C'mon People, c'mon' Any ideas? 'Why is it SO important right now for Product Management to overpower Design and Engineering? This latest Season and Episode of The UX Show has been particularly brutal. And not just for UXrs, but also for Eng, Prod, and for Organizations themselves, in SO many cases. Inspired by Darren Hood and his amazing series of Real UX Talk, specifically this recent LI post: https://lnkd.in/eDHr8yeX

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