PM & UX: The alignment of goals

Dan Stumph
Jul 25, 2017 · 4 min read

Products either live or die. They fulfill a need, make life easier, and if you do it right, can be addicting. They are purchased because they are viable; they are kept because they are usable. The people that really need to understand these two sides of the coin are Product Managers and User Experience professionals.

While PMs may not be “designers” and UXers may not be “business people,” there is a single trait that both need in order to deliver a great product. There must be an endless drive to solve problems.

“[Products] are purchased because they are viable; they are kept because they are usable.”

The responsibilities: PM & UX

A Product Manager is someone who collaborates with product leadership and customers in order to understand the market and determine the scope of what will be developed into working software. It’s then their duty to ensure that the development teams build the product to the degree that is acceptable.

Someone in the User Experience field — whether that be design, research, or architecture — focuses their efforts on understanding the user’s world and how that behaviour must be accounted for in working software. It’s up to UX to ensure that the product provides a clear path to accomplish the required action.

“Business goals and user goals are same-same…they should not be different!”

There are reasons to believe that there should be a breakdown of these responsibilities. However, both are required in order to make any product successful. Collaboration is key in order to make this happen! On the other hand, if you want to expand your own skillsets in either one you don’t need to take out a shiny new student loan!

  • PMs can expand their breadth of knowledge of UX through online resources, communities, and social channels. Or, they can talk to their user base the next time they need to do market research.
  • UXers can become more versed in business objectives by sitting in on sales calls, being part of strategy meetings, internal sales training, and browsing business articles.
  • PMs and UXers can build a tight collaborative working relationship; both learning from the other’s strengths.

The problem: business goals vs. user goals.

While responsibilities can be a major speed bump in product development; goals will always be more prominent. It doesn’t really matter who is doing what — especially at a startup. What is important is that their strengths are contributing to the results.

Business goals and user goals are same-same. Let that sit in for a little while…they should not be different!

“You better hope that whatever the solution might be, your PM has considered the environment and situation the user is in.”

Product development is all about solving problems. Most of the time these problems are business problems that need to be simplified or streamlined to reduce overhead, get more leads, schedule staff — you name it. They can also be innovative solutions in order to make something more accessible, drive future initiatives, and even save lives.

Here’s the bottom line — someone is using these solutions. Someone’s life is being impacted by innovation; someone is getting more leads that need to be managed; someone is saving money — but, how? By using your product. You better hope that whatever the solution might be, your PM has considered the environment and situation the user is in. Likewise, you’d be concerned if the design of your product was full of intuitive interactions with no market fit.

“Anyone can have an idea; anyone can draw boxes to illustrate sections of screens; anyone can connect the dots.”

The misconception: Two roles are required to make sense of what is viable and what is usable

While having focused roles isn’t a bad thing, it can be harmful to the product and the business if both sides are not in a relationship. The two must become one at some point — either through strong collaboration or by merging the roles.

Anyone can have an idea; anyone can draw boxes to illustrate sections of screens; anyone can connect the dots. There are few things someone needs to learn in order to execute a wireframe. Although, implementing best practices and researching user behaviours are moving targets that can lead to a full-time role.

Researching the market, prioritizing, and building customer relationships are also skills that can be learned. Contextualizing all that data, prepping user stories and motivating teams to ship quality software on tight deadlines requires time and dedication. This also leads to a full-time role when there are multiple projects on the go.

The reality: Products are only successful if they are both viable and usable.

In a nutshell — and very generally — I’ve described both UX and PM responsibilities. I don’t mean to diminish the value of each role, but rather show that they need each other; whether that’s in the form of one human-being, or twenty.

The skill sets are quite complementary, and can lead to alternative career paths. Designers that become business savvy can make great PMs that put their visual strengths to work with new business concepts. Likewise, PMs that like to think in models and logical patterns can have a knack for great UX.

I personally want to see more Designers step up to the plate of driving business objectives. It’s no surprise that “Design Thinking” is making such an impact on traditional business strategy. It’s natural for designers to prioritize reducing friction, clarifying the message, and providing a minimal interface— all in an effort to make it easier for the person using the product.

Make it better for the user — the business depends on it.


We’re a startup working on a sole mission: to help restaurant managers organize and evaluate their workforce. If your looking for a challenge, we’re hiring! Visit 7shifts.com/careers

Dan Stumph

Written by

Director, Design at 7shifts: Restaurant Scheduling & Cofounder, Intrface.ca

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