Product managers and interactive designers

Three Kingdoms in the story, Zhou Gongjin and Zhuge Liang in the same time also do not forget in the army, so that Gang Jin in the death before the face heaved: both health, He Senliang!

In a product team, we often see a similar paradox, that is, the contradiction between the product manager and the interaction designer, because in the process of product design, the two roles of the specific work of a great similarity and intersection.

The Division of labor between the two is in my understanding is a couple of words:

Product Manager to solve the product from scratch (bone structure);

Interactive design solves the product from having to the superior (Flesh and blood skin).

(visual design is like dressing.)

Look at Blue in the picture as a product manager, Green as an interactive design:

The two concentric, the product can be 100% to convey the team's strategic intent;

The left picture is slightly different, but the general direction is right, also can convey the strategic intention very well;

The right image of both centrifugal, the product out of everyone is not satisfied.

Where does the contradiction originate?

Young interactive designers think they are very thoughtful, always think product Manager product positioning and information structure is unreasonable, is the key to poor user experience.

Experienced product managers think they are very experienced, that their positioning and information architecture is very good, but the interaction between designers and visual designers do not understand their intentions, out of things only to achieve their own thinking of 60%, they are not obedient, is the key to product bad.

If everyone in the team has a lot of ideas, the whole product is going to get out of mind.

Ideas are important and implementation is more important.

In the process of teamwork, how to reduce internal friction is the key to product success.

An excellent interaction designer:

To have ideas, but also the need for strong executive power,

If very thoughtful, part-time to do product manager's advisers and suggestions.

Insight: 100% Understand the strategic intent of the product manager.

Many problems stand at different angles the answer will not be the same, the market operations, strategic positioning, technology to achieve the cost, the timing of the release of products may need to be in the interactive design to step back to compromise, product managers are more to consider the overall product price.

and interactive design itself is an endless exploration of the field, not the best only better difficult to get full marks, need to understand concessions.

A good product Manager:

Focus on the strategic level and the information architecture level

Errors in the direction of the product will lead to the short of the entire team, and other designs are no good.

Know how to ignore details

Although we advocate details to determine success or failure, although the product advocates to optimize each punctuation, each pixel. But as a product manager, you need a pair of eyes that can see through the clothes and see the bones through the flesh, what will be the key to the competition? Don't tell me the details!

As long as the product manager controls the bottom line, grasps the most basic strategy, the structure layer.

believe that designing navigation – interactive designers are more professional, red or yellow – visual designers feel more authoritative, and so on.

Mobilize and train the entire product team

You will never be alone in battle, trust your partner.

Be sure to give each designer enough space and a sense of accomplishment, don't let your teammates think: "What do you want from the almighty?"

To know to give each other a chance to make mistakes, as long as not the product bones injury, although you know the other party is very stubborn wrong, then let him wrong, people need to grow in the wrong, after the wrong know your brilliant and get more lasting trust. Because the team's cooperation is not one-time, long!

In fact, the most difficult thing is from the interaction designer to the Product manager's role transformation, because the inertia of thinking is easy to fall into the thinking of the details.

Perfection is not a product manager needs to pursue, you want to be like a businessman as a whole to consider cost-effective, maximize benefits.