From Dungeon Master to Product Manager
My Path to Product Management: Part 5
Product Management: the intersection of User Experience, Business, and Technology. Every product manager has a different story to tell about how they got here, and I’ve decided to share my own tale as a multi-part series.
Prior to Product Management, I acquired the intuition and empathy of a Software Tester, the technical knowledge and a strong sense of code craftmanship of a Software Engineer, the ability to both work within and lead balanced teams as a People Manager, and powerful insights about prioritization and user research as a Technical Product Manager.
There’s one more role I’ve played that has significantly helped me in my career path to Product Management: Dungeon Master.
Team Cohesion
Whether you’re setting out to build a new product or you’re about to embark on a new D&D adventure, you need a team.
Your team needs to be balanced, consisting of individuals with a diverse background of skills and strengths. Even though each individual may have an area of expertise, everyone should feel comfortable dabbling in other areas as needed. Engineers can interview users, and designers can write code. Wizards can wield a warhammer, and rogues can play the harp.
You also need to establish trust on your team. The players need to trust that the Dungeon Master will set the team up for success with a challenging, yet achievable, goal in mind. The Dungeon Master needs to trust that the players will work towards that goal together, and do the best they can do get there. All of this rings as true for Product Managers working on a product team as it does for Dungeon Masters running a campaign.
Storytelling
As a Product Manager, you have a vision for the product you’re building. As a Dungeon Master, you have a vision for the adventure the players are facing.
Once you have a vision, you need to tell the story to provide the team with a sense of purpose. Who is this Prince Aravellios of Qiloscient, and why do we need to rescue him from the Orcish tribes in the Caves of Thovakk? Who is Susan the System Administrator, and why do we need to build a feature that allows her to automatically import user information?
Details always matter, and telling a good story is everything.
Agility and Adaptability
In both Dungeon Mastering and Product Managing, you need to be prepared for unexpected twists. Outside forces will wreak havoc on your vision. Your team will discover all sorts of things you hadn’t anticipated. You might have a plan and a roadmap, but you also need to know how to pivot.
When something new alters your plans, you need to keep things moving. Unblock the team. Make a tough decision, even if you don’t have enough information to be certain. In a role-playing game, you can check the rulebook later to see if you need to adjust any stats. When building a product, you’re better off building something while you’re waiting for more information — just be sure to validate your assumptions as early as you’re able to.
Have Fun!
Every feature is a quest, and each victory should be celebrated.
I learned very early on in my career that having fun is more important than anything else. I’ve never come across an unhappy team that’s highly productive, nor have I found a not-so-productive team that seems happy. Happiness and productivity are directly proportional in a team environment. Whether you’re a Dungeon Master or a Product Manager, make sure everyone is having fun.
My path to Product Management certainly has been interesting, but I do suspect that’s the case for many other Product Managers as well. If so, I’d love to hear your stories! Follow me on Medium for more Product Management adventures every week.
Many thanks to Matt Kleiman, Steve Solomon, Brandon Shroyer, Matt Curry, Chris Alexander, and Mike Kenyon for taking the time to chat with me about Dungeon Mastery.
To follow me through my journey to Product Management, check out the entire series:
