From Designer to Product Manager with Waikit Kan

This interview is part of our Roads to Product Management series. Questions and responses have been paraphrased where necessary for clarity.

Waikit Kan is a Product Manager for the Delivery Theme at GOGOVAN. He studied Digital Media Design and held roles as Designer and Product Designer at agencies and startups before transitioning into Product Management. You can find him on LinkedIn and Twitter.

So, tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m Waikit, the PM responsible for the GOGODelivery service. I was in various design roles before landing at GOGOVAN.

I never thought that I would become a PM, but it was during my time at a previous startup when I began to learn more about product management, which I only later realized was called that. I found it very interesting and I thought, and still think, it’s intertwined quite heavily with design.

When I left the startup and was reflecting on my next steps, my thoughts always led back to the things I learned about product management. So then, I joined GOGOVAN as a PM where I could exercise those learnings, and more.

Are there ways your design background has helped you as a PM?

Yeah, definitely. When working with designers, it helps to have a common language to communicate in.

The frameworks and techniques used as a designer, such as leaning towards visuals to communicate a problem to other people, were pretty crucial as well.

The discovery process is also something I try to utilize frequently. Being more familiar with the discovery process helped me understand users better when I joined GOGOVAN and transitioned to being a PM.

Are there times when your design background somehow held you back?

Yeah, I definitely had moments where I was wearing the “designer” hat too often, which my colleagues helpfully pointed out. I’ve learned to let go of that and channel my focus on making sure our teammates understand the problems we’re trying to tackle.

What are the key differences between being a product designer and being a product manager?

The mindset was something that I struggled with early on.

As a product designer, I was more focused on the solution space. In contrast, being a product manager, I’m now focused on the problem space: primarily communicating the details of problems and the impact they have.

Why did you decide to transition from product design to product management?

As I mentioned before, I became fascinated with product management from the previous startup, and I thought it was so relevant to design that becoming a PM felt like the next natural step for me.

Even back when I was a designer, understanding the problem space was a topic I was passionate about. I wanted to be more involved in that aspect and understand how the work I do impacts the business.

What are the biggest differences between what you thought product management was then and what you think it is now?

In the beginning, what I was interested in was only a part of what a product manager covers. I didn’t understand the full spectrum until I became a PM. I underestimated how many other responsibilities there were, and it was a big learning curve for me.

When I first started, to be honest, I was quite disoriented in terms of how I would fit in. The role was completely new, I didn’t know what to expect, and there was so much to learn. The processes we had back then also weren’t particularly strong, so I kind of struggled.

A lot has changed since: from how teams are structured to how processes are done, and new processes introduced or improved.

It was a mixture of changing along with the company and the teams where I kind of felt my way to becoming more comfortable.

What advice would you give someone to better prepare for the transition?

What helped me was that the area I was interested in, and what I could be involved in at my previous company had some overlap with PM responsibilities.

Finding what you can do in your current role that overlaps with product management helps so that when you make the transition, there are some things you can ease into much better — because there’ll definitely be a lot you need to pick up as well. You just need to be very, very prepared to be outside your comfort zone and have the mindset to adapt.

If you have the opportunity to get involved in those areas (such as the agile process) or prepare yourself by reading or communicating with engineers and product managers in your company, definitely try to do so.

What do you enjoy most about being a PM so far?

Talking to customers. Every time when I talk to customers, I feel charged because I get to talk with someone who is using our product, and is using it to run their business, and that’s amazing!

Also, the pain points they’re still experiencing and the feedback they give, all that kind of stuff grounds me. There are people who find value in the things that we do; but at the same time, there’s so much more we can do to help them.

What do you miss about being a product designer, if anything?

Being able to be involved quite deeply in the solution area. And also, the amount of focus time I had.

Focus time is still required for a PM, but sometimes it can feel like a luxury to have.

During my focus time, besides writing stories, documentation and such, I make sure to make time just to digest data and try to understand how people use our products.

With everything you’ve learned in your transition and as a PM so far, are there any reality-checks people should do before jumping into product management?

You need to be very clear on the role first, and ask yourself if you’re willing to take on the responsibilities, even things that you may not necessarily be extremely passionate about.

By taking on those aspects, you may have to give up others that you really enjoy doing. Definitely have a clear understanding of what the role entails for a specific company as well.

Understand those first, and see if the trade off is worth it, or whether it might be better for you to stay in a product design role, but take on some aspects of product management. There are pros and cons for both sides.

If you are interested in using technology to transform the last mile in logistics, we are actively hiring new talents to join our analytics, design, engineering and product teams. Check out our careers page for details.