Expanding My Product Manager Toolkit Beyond Software
By Taylor Crane, Product Manager, Hello Alfred
For a product manager at a tech company, most challenges have the same solution: better software. When I joined Hello Alfred back in late 2017, after more than five years as a PM at pure-play tech companies, I learned very quickly that software was just one of the tools I would need to build a product that successfully connects the digital and real worlds.
Hello Alfred is a home management platform, led by a team of people (known as “Alfreds”) who visit our clients’ homes every week to take care of a variety of tasks, including grocery shopping, tidying up, and other household to-dos. It’s all supported by a suite of digital products, but it’s a real-world, physical service that takes place inside our clients’ most intimate spaces. I got to see up-close the unique challenges of the product when I spent the day shadowing James, one of our Alfreds in NYC.
