Launching a new mobile application project presents numerous challenges for the entrepreneur. This category aims to answer the most popular questions about app development outsourcing, promotion, and thrive on the market.
We were thrilled to have a distinguished product strategist, team leader, and customer support specialist from the post-acute and long-term care sector join us for today’s episode.
Our guest, BJ Boyle, holds the position of Chief Product Officer at PointClickCare, a top healthcare technology platform dedicated to improving patient outcomes by fostering collaboration and offering real-time insights.
In this discussion, we delve into the following: product strategy formulation, effective team leadership, and expert viewpoints on OKRs.
BJ’s Journey into Product Management
BJ has over 20 years of experience in product management, strategy, and development, witnessing the growth of product management as a career path in digital transformation companies within the healthcare sector. BJ didn’t initially plan to pursue a career in product management; instead, they began as an implementation specialist, traveling to skilled nursing facilities to install and train people on software.
I found great satisfaction in refining processes and collaborating with customers to ensure the delivery of their required solutions.
During an early experience with a client that decided not to move forward with a deal due to dissatisfaction with the software’s reporting features, BJ learned the importance of improving products based on customer feedback. This realization led BJ to work closely with engineering teams and customers to enhance products and ensure they met customer needs. Eventually, BJ’s passion for making things better and working with customers to deliver the best solutions evolved into a successful product management career.
The Transition to Electronic Health Records & Overcoming the Challenges
As a director of social strategy development at Cerner, the transition from traditional pen-and-paper methods to electronic health records (EHRs) in healthcare organizations was a fascinating experience.
Initially, there was considerable resistance to transitioning to digital systems. However, over time, people began recognizing the benefits and efficiencies of digitization.
While that’s true, BJ pointed out that:
There is still much work to be done in utilizing the data from electronic health records and other digital systems to significantly enhance patient care and outcomes.
In the healthcare and technology space, challenges persist due to the complexity of the healthcare system and the involvement of numerous stakeholders. Implementing technology solutions requires not only the technology itself but also integration with existing systems and processes. Ensuring seamless operation remains a challenge. Moreover, effectively leveraging the vast data collected from electronic health records and digital systems to improve patient care and outcomes is still a work in progress. The focus is on using data to make better decisions and achieve better patient outcomes.
The Role of Product Management in Healthcare Integration
In the coming years, the healthcare system will focus on interoperability and seamless integration of new technologies and processes, with collaboration between organizations being crucial. Product management will play a critical role in understanding the challenges faced by healthcare organizations and identifying technological solutions to address them. By working closely with customers, partners, and internal teams, product managers can drive innovation and develop solutions that improve healthcare delivery and experience.
Entering a new industry with fresh perspectives allows product managers to ask better questions and listen more effectively to users and potential buyers. Instead of seeking affirmation for preconceived answers, focusing on genuinely understanding the customers’ needs helps in identifying the right problems to solve, ultimately leading to better solutions.
At Point Click Care, which holds a leadership position in long-term post-acute care with a 70% market share, the focus is on being the engine that helps customers and future customers thrive in a rapidly changing healthcare landscape.
Point Click Care recognizes that healthcare is not limited to a physical location and seeks to connect senior care customers to the broader healthcare ecosystem, ensuring a seamless journey for patients from emergency departments to rehab centers, senior living facilities, and beyond.
BJ adds:
Healthcare is centered around individuals; it was vital for us to integrate our senior care customers into the larger healthcare ecosystem.
How to Reduce Silos and Unnecessary Work in Health Tech Systems
The primary goal is to provide the best possible care and achieve the highest outcomes for patients, while ensuring healthcare providers get paid for their services. As healthcare becomes increasingly complex, especially with value-based care models and multiple stakeholders, it is important to identify and remove friction points in the processes.
One example is streamlining the flow of information between hospitals and long-term care facilities to avoid medication errors and readmissions.
By leveraging technology and adopting electronic data transfer, Point Click Care successfully eliminated double documentation and significantly improved the accuracy and efficiency of the process, demonstrating the critical role of product management in healthcare innovation.
Regarding effective approaches, healthcare teams can focus on the following key aspects:
Meaningful Transitions
Improve data flow and validation during patient transfers from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities
Medication Reconciliation
Nurses and admissions coordinators should perform real-time medication reconciliation to reduce readmissions.
Focus on Impact
Product leaders should prioritize making a meaningful impact and measuring it rather than just completing tasks.
Translating Strategy
Understand the art and science of product management to convert solution strategies into tangible actions.
Adapting to Organizational Growth
Recognize that methods used at lower levels may not be as effective as one moves up in the organization.
Aligning Team Mindsets
Communicate the right mindset to different teams with varying goals, using appropriate frameworks and processes.
Enhancing Transparency in Post-Care Facilities Feedback
We have to grasp the personas, roles, and titles of those involved to help create a better connection to their workflow processes. First-hand experiences, such as shadowing staff or observing daily routines, reveal the importance of these interactions in real-life situations.
According to Mr. Boyle:
Engaging with our customers, partners, and end-users is essential for understanding the personas, roles, and titles of our target audience, particularly in healthcare and health tech product management.
For instance, witnessing a medication nurse being frequently interrupted while administering medications highlights the need for better solutions. Early career experiences with point-of-care kiosks in skilled nursing facilities emphasize the importance of efficiency and user experience. Observing and learning from these situations helps improve health tech products and the overall user experience.
Summary
As product management continues to evolve alongside the rapid advancements in technology, there are still untapped opportunities awaiting exploration. To ensure ongoing progress and success, product managers must remain mindful of key considerations and best practices in their field.
Here are the key take homes:
Utilizing electronic health records and digital systems data can enhance patient care and outcomes but requires further development.
Product management is crucial for healthcare integration, driving innovation, and creating solutions that address challenges faced by healthcare organizations.
Streamlining information flow between healthcare providers and adopting electronic data transfer can reduce silos and improve efficiency.
Engaging with customers, partners, and end-users helps understand target audience personas, roles, and titles, enhancing transparency in post-care facilities feedback.
Observing real-life situations helps improve health tech products and user experiences by understanding users’ needs and experiences.
The APP Solutions launched a podcast, CareMinds, where you can hear from respected experts in healthcare and Health Tech.
Who is a successful product manager in the healthcare domain? Which skills and qualities are crucial? How important is this role in moving a successful business to new achievements? Responsibilities and KPIs?
Please find out about all this and more in our podcast. Stay tuned for updates and subscribe to channels.
Listen to our podcast to get some useful tips on your next startup.
During this episode of our Careminds podcast, we discuss the complexities of product management and go-to-market strategies with our guest, Donna Cichani. Donna has a background in product management, A/B testing, and data analysis, and has worked with notable organizations such as Johns Hopkins Medicine, KPMG US, and JP Morgan. Currently, she is the lead product manager at Heal.
Our conversation with Donna covers topics like data analysis and strategic product planning, the differing mindsets between 0 to 1 and one to end product development, and methods to increase user engagement and product optimization. Drawing from her diverse experience in industries like healthcare, technology, banking, and finance, Donna shares her thoughts on the importance of strategic planning in product management.
Defining Success Criteria for Product Stages
When determining the success of a product, you consider both the user perspective and the business perspective. Using the example of an RPM solution called Pulse, designed for chronic disease management at Heal, we can explore the key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics that matter most.
Firstly, there are patient-centric KPIs that focus on adoption and usage. Monitoring how often users engage with the solution to record their vitals and biometrics is crucial. The main goal is to encourage patients to stay proactive in managing their chronic conditions by using the solution more frequently.
User centricity is key, focusing on how you are improving life and the experience for the end user.
Secondly, clinical outcomes are also important. By tracking improvements in specific health measures, such as A1C levels for diabetic patients or maintaining healthy blood pressure ranges for hypertensive patients, we can gauge the effectiveness of the solution in promoting better health.
Also, business KPIs, such as attribution, play a significant role. For the RPM solution, it is important to know what percentage of patients using the solution are attributed to Heal for their primary care doctors.
Defining the best approach for optimizing a product depends on the specific product and its maturity curve. Take, for example, the RPM solution mentioned earlier. The primary goal of any RPM solution is to encourage users to engage with it consistently and measure their biometrics routinely.
At one point, the team behind the RPM solution considered expanding its features to include medication refill reminders, envisioning a more comprehensive ecosystem for patient monitoring. However, they quickly recognized the importance of perfecting their core RPM capabilities before adding secondary features. By maintaining focus on their core competency, they ensured they wouldn’t dilute the solution’s main purpose.
Optimization often involves considering the user experience, especially when it comes to healthcare solutions. In the case of the RPM solution, refining its core features contributed significantly to increased patient engagement. This example highlights the importance of prioritizing the optimization of a product’s primary functions before expanding its scope.
When to Focus on New Features or Enhancements in Product Development
You should invest heavily in user research as it’s crucial for driving customer adoption and engagement. During the discovery phase, our team spent considerable time observing patients in their natural environments, using existing products like glucometers, and capturing their day-to-day experiences. This research also included understanding how nurses, doctors, and other providers utilized data points during home visits.
By conducting ethnography studies, user research, and interviews, we were able to identify key pain points, which we then translated into enhancements and feature opportunities to drive engagement. To ensure customer adoption, it’s essential to focus on understanding users’ pain points, observe their interactions with your product or similar products, and avoid relying solely on secondary sources or high-level questions.
I don’t think that user research for usability testing ends during the discovery phase.
It’s important to note that user research and usability testing don’t end during the discovery phase. After creating our first prototype, we went through two additional rounds of usability testing to validate our assumptions, identify any flaws in our user flow, and refine the solution iteratively. This process continued up until the launch of the minimum viable product (MVP).
The ability of product managers to remain detached from their original plans, even after investing significant time and effort, is fascinating. When real data no longer supports the initial plan, it’s crucial to let it go, find a new direction, and create a better product that serves users more effectively. This adaptability is an essential aspect of successful product management.
Effective Optimization Techniques & The Best Ways to Apply Them
Optimization techniques focus on understanding existing processes, examining them through the lens of various stakeholders involved in the end-to-end flow, and identifying opportunities for efficiencies. For instance, by analyzing a process that takes 10 days and involves five stakeholders, you can uncover ways to reduce the number of stakeholders or the time each takes to complete their part.
Process mapping, a technique that visually represents the steps involved in a process, helps identify bottlenecks, redundancies, and areas for improvement. A/B testing is another valuable technique, where two different versions of a feature or product are tested with the target audience to determine which performs better.
In my experience, one of the keys to successful optimization is to involve the entire team in the process.
Involving the entire team, including product, engineering, design, sales, and marketing, leads to a more holistic view of challenges and opportunities, ultimately driving better optimization decisions. Keeping the end user in mind is crucial, as the goal is to enhance their experience.
It’s important to acknowledge that the rapid growth of product management as a career has led to a mix of undisputed go-to practices and those still being defined through trial and error. Sharing experiences and learning from others in the community can help navigate this evolving field and contribute to its development.
What Drives a Product Manager: The Exciting Facets of a PM’s Career
Effective management in product management involves three key aspects. First, tailor your approach to the needs of each individual on your team, recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Second, invest in the long-term career growth of your team members, extending beyond the scope of your organization, by providing mentorship and opportunities for personal and professional development.
The third aspect involves being able to oversee the work of your team without micromanaging, while still being prepared to jump in and help when necessary. Balancing trust and autonomy with support is essential for successful management.
It’s an exciting time for all the PMs because we are focusing on doing good and building impactful products and services that can make people’s lives better.
In terms of current excitement in the field, AI and machine learning are opening many doors in product management. There’s a rewarding shift in focus in both healthcare and fintech industries. In fintech, increased emphasis on financial literacy and access to banking products for the unbanked population is driving positive change. Meanwhile, healthcare is moving towards value-based care, focusing on preventative measures and overall population health, which reduces costs and the burden on the healthcare system. This is an exciting time for product managers as they work on building impactful products and services that improve people’s lives.
As product managers continue to navigate this rapidly evolving field, learning from industry experts like Donna and sharing experiences within the community will be invaluable in driving growth and creating impactful products that make a difference in people’s lives. Key takeaways from our conversation include:
Defining success criteria for product stages: It’s crucial to consider both user and business perspectives when determining the success of a product.
Focusing on core competencies in optimization: Prioritize optimizing a product’s primary functions before expanding its scope or adding new features.
Conducting user research and embracing adaptability: Engage in user research, usability testing, and iterate on your product based on data and feedback, and remain open to change when necessary.
Effective management and exciting developments in the field: Tailor your approach to individual team members, invest in their long-term career growth, and maintain a balance between autonomy and support. Embrace the exciting opportunities in AI, machine learning, and the shifting focus of various industries.
The APP Solutions launched a podcast, CareMinds, where you can hear from respected experts in healthcare and Health Tech.
Who is a successful product manager in the healthcare domain? Which skills and qualities are crucial? How important is this role in moving a successful business to new achievements? Responsibilities and KPIs?
Please find out about all this and more in our podcast. Stay tuned for updates and subscribe to channels.
Listen to our podcast to get some useful tips on your next startup.
Our 15th episode of the Caremind podcast features an engaging conversation with Ali Littman, Head of Engineering at Modern Health. If you’ve been curious about the inner workings of tech leadership, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.
As a respected voice in her field, Ali regularly shares her knowledge and experience in management and leadership at various forums. She stands out for her unique approach, seamlessly combining technical expertise with empathetic leadership, serving as a lighthouse for those finding their way in tech.
But Ali’s role extends beyond her responsibilities at Modern Health. She’s also passionate about nurturing future leaders, offering coaching and mentorship that empowers individuals to set and achieve their career goals, tackle imposter syndrome, and overcome professional obstacles.
In our latest chat, we discuss the multifaceted aspects of coaching, technical product management, and engineering.
The Unconventional Road to Engineering Leadership
Ali Lid’s career path hasn’t been the typical one. It’s characterized by a deep exploration of the healthcare industry and an adept understanding of technology, which has established her as a strategic force within various organizations. This navigation through the sectors helped her accumulate a broad knowledge base, crucial for her to excel in the Technical Product Management (TPM) function and within engineering.
Her responsibilities were diverse, including the design of architecture and organizational strategies. These responsibilities not only drew on her healthcare industry insights but also on her grasp of business operations, fueling the engineering initiatives she spearheaded.
According to Ali:
I definitely have a bit of a nonstandard career path.
As time passed, she was afforded the chance to grow within her roles, gradually taking on tasks that were once the domain of an engineering director. She was entrusted with additional engineering teams, propelling her growth further.
How Technical PMs Can Tackle Career Growth Challenges in Medium & Large Companies
Ali Lid suggests that roles such as technical project managers and technical product managers can often be less defined in many companies, especially if the teams are small. This can lead to rapid early growth, but as structure is introduced into these organizations, they often remain flat, making further growth more challenging to navigate.
Additionally, if the roles are less defined, or a career ladder is introduced later than when you joined the organization, there may be a lack of alignment around the expectations for each level and what growth opportunities could look like. As such, it’s crucial to establish your growth goals early and communicate them with your manager or mentor to plan your career progression effectively.
It’s really important to as early as possible, establish what your growth goals are and communicate them with your manager or mentor, so that you can start planning for your career progression.
However, in these organizations, you might need to work extra hard to demonstrate your value and impact, especially during the startup phase. This can be even more challenging if you don’t have all the necessary tools to demonstrate your impact, such as product analytics.
Strategic Thinking for Self-Promotion: What are the Core Elements?
Ali believes self-promotion is closely tied to understanding how success is measured in terms of business impact. Aligning your work with business goals demonstrates value, and understanding how success is measured relative to your career ladder can help you have more productive conversations with management about your growth.
The way I think about self-promotion has a lot to do with really understanding how success is measured, which I think a lot of it comes down to impact and what the business is trying to do.
Once you understand these concepts, Ali recommends continually identifying instances where you’re adding value and expressing your skills, and sharing these with your managers. This is the first level of self-promotion: letting your managers know the value you’re adding to the business.
The second level of self-promotion, is at the department level. You should make it clear how your work is benefiting your sub-organization or peers, which makes your value and influence more visible to other management members and peers.
The third level of self-promotion is at the company level. Show how your work drives the company forward and seize opportunities to present this to everyone. This gives you more visibility with senior leadership and the chain of leadership that approves promotions, and it can also help you gain sponsorship and feedback to build your case for growth.
However, when it comes to communicating and influencing upper management or stakeholders, it can be challenging to cut through the day-to-day noise. Aligning your communication with company goals and speaking the language of business value that the leadership cares about can help you stand out and promote your work effectively.
HealthTech Success: Why Technical Product Managers are Essential
Technical product managers are very important for health care because it’s a specialized, highly regulated, and rapidly changing industry. There are all these different recurring players in this complex web of relationships and integrations, and there are constantly new players, resources, and rules. Because of that, we really need people in this role to support the foundations of our systems to meet the needs of the industry and the ability for companies to work within it but also disrupt it.
This requires a lot of focus on ensuring that our systems can integrate with and scale alongside or operate meaningfully differently but still play by the rules. Technical product managers play a crucial role in that, and that’s where you end up getting that same marriage of the techno-functional side of things as well as the health care expertise needing to be well understood. They coordinate across all the different engineering teams and external partners to ensure that our systems operate in a way that scales and makes sense.
Talking about the importance of doing due diligence before going into a new company, career-wise, Ali suggests the following for immersing oneself in the business context:
The company’s financing situation
The market and strategic moment the company is in
Whether the company has achieved product-market fit
The company’s profitability
Whether the company has an opportunity or has cornered the market or is in a highly competitive space
If the company is going through hyper-growth
The state of the economy in which the company operates
Factors that Shape Our Choices: Constraints, Values, and More
It’s essential not to overlook the financial aspect of the business you’re involved in. If you’re not familiar with the basics of finance, it’s well worth your time to get up to speed. Start by learning about the customers – who they are and how they contribute to the business’s revenue. Understand how the business earns money and what factors can affect this income.
Make sure to look into the return on investment (ROI) for different business decisions. Identify the areas that consistently bring in money (cash cows) and the ones that seem to drain resources. Get a handle on the company’s budget and runway – or how long the company can keep running at its current burn rate.
When it comes to scaling technical product management teams and engineering teams, combining technology and operations is crucial. The top three components for technology include:
Deciding what you want to be core to your business and what your team should spend time on.
Finding technological ways to make development more efficient, such as standardized assets or service templates.
Standardization across platforms, standards, and processes to ensure consistency and avoid technical debt.
On the operations side, the top three components for scale include:
Strong people management, including scaling your hiring function, onboarding, and performance management.
Communication flows to ensure that information is shared effectively as the organization grows.
Decision-making strategies that allow for distributed decision-making while still maintaining clear accountability and shared processes for cross-functional resolutions.
The question of what to optimize for in life is indeed a profound one. It’s important to recognize that work and personal life don’t exist in isolation; they merge together to form the totality of one’s experience.
I don’t view work as entirely separate from my personal life. It’s a happy blend of the two that make up the entirety of my existence.
Through self-reflection and life coaching, you can identify the key values, objectives, and emotions that you wish to prioritize in your life. It’s beneficial to embrace emotions in the workplace, as many of our aspirations are linked to the feelings we desire to cultivate.
This approach can be applied to both professional and personal goals, aiming for specific experiences. For instance, if mentoring and fostering growth in others brings you joy, seek a job that allows you to do this regularly. Outside work, engage in activities that you love, such as rollerblading, which may also provide mentorship opportunities.
By employing the same frameworks to your work and personal life goals, you can devise an optimal plan to become the person you aspire to be.
Non-Traditional Career Paths and Leadership Roles: Ali advocates for the importance of defining growth goals early on, especially for roles like technical project managers and product managers where role definitions may be less clear in smaller companies.
Strategic Self-Promotion: Self-promotion should occur at three levels – with managers, at the department level, and at the company level. Effective self-promotion allows for more visibility, sponsorship, and feedback, all of which are essential for career growth.
The Importance of Technical Product Managers in HealthTech: In a specialized, regulated, and rapidly changing industry like healthcare, technical product managers play a crucial role. They support the foundations of the system, ensure it can integrate with and scale alongside others, and help the company operate within industry rules.
The APP Solutions launched a podcast, CareMinds, where you can hear from respected experts in healthcare and Health Tech.
Who is a successful product manager in the healthcare domain? Which skills and qualities are crucial? How important is this role in moving a successful business to new achievements? Responsibilities and KPIs?
Please find out about all this and more in our podcast. Stay tuned for updates and subscribe to channels.
Listen to our podcast to get some useful tips on your next startup.
Today’s Careminds series features a special conversation with Russell Taff, the former head of product at Ready. Russell, with his wide range of experience and in-depth understanding, shared his perspectives on the healthtech industry. We had discussions spanning from the granular details to broader insights, as we tracked his journey from being a software developer to ascending to the role of VP of product. The narrative is rich with pointers that could help new engineers pave their path to success. Let’s dive right in.
Choosing Product Development: The Story Behind the Decision
From his formative years at General Assembly in New York, Russell first cut his teeth on web development. His initial technical background was broadened significantly during an apprenticeship at an early-stage EdTech startup, where Russell learned valuable lessons about product management, including the importance of clear communication, vision, and capacity planning.
Russell’s career took a decisive turn when he transitioned into roles as a support engineer and solutions architect at a Series B startup. He found himself at the forefront of the company’s relationship with its user base, effectively translating complex technical concepts into business cases. His experiences there amplified his growing interest in product management.
His first significant role as a product manager was at Rocket Wagon, an IoT consulting firm. A mentor, Alex Casts, provided him with invaluable guidance on incorporating data at the core of their operations. Casts also introduced Russell to powerful project management principles that have since become part of his professional toolkit.
When Russell eventually joined health tech firm Ready, as Director of Product Operations, his key focus was to enhance the product’s scalability and make product feedback more effective. Following a promotion to Vice President of Product at Ready, Russell faced the challenge of steering the company in a new direction as COVID-related demands began to recede. He needed to have both a grand vision for the company’s future and a clear plan for how to get there, requiring precise financial management, astute risk assessment, and a high degree of focused execution.
Transitioning into Product Management: What Qualities Do You Need?
Firstly, having a sense of compassion is key. Having had firsthand experience at the frontline, I’ve developed empathy for users. It’s essential to understand the reasons behind users’ requests for new features or bug fixes. Don’t just see these as new tasks; delve into the core of why these requests are being made. Trust me, this understanding will build trust and create a powerful dialogue with users.
Always be open to learning. Learn from everyone – those above you, those below you. Never shy away from saying, “I don’t quite understand this, could you explain further?” Embrace every teachable moment that comes your way.
Keep your hands dirty. It’s vital to be involved in every step of product development. Before using a new template or an existing one in a new project, test it out yourself. Ensure it’s the right fit. Don’t just try to make things work; ensure they’re the right tools for the job.
Don’t forget to include visual representations of your ideas. It’s not just about words on paper; your ideas need to come to life visually. This approach fosters collaboration and opens up opportunities for feedback.
How Software Engineers Can Get Better at Business Documentation
Trust-building is a must in any work relationship. Be clear about why you’re questioning anything to prevent any misunderstanding about your intentions. It’s all too easy for stakeholders to feel their ideas are being dismissed when they hear “no,” even when the real issue is limited resources.
Communicating with stakeholders to understand their perspective is vital. Gathering insights and helping justify requests ensures a shared understanding.
Cultivate trust by clearly articulating your reasoning, explaining the “whys” and “why nots,” and showing how an idea might work now or in the future. Displaying vulnerability and a readiness to learn can also help create a collaborative environment where everyone feels comfortable admitting when they don’t understand something.
As a leader, it’s vital to create a space where vulnerability is welcome. This kind of open communication can strengthen teams by fostering mutual respect and encouraging learning from each other. Conversely, if communication isn’t transparent, teams can start to fragment.
Product managers need to also demonstrate active listening and meaningful engagement with people’s ideas. Always question and understand the reasoning behind all actions – big or small. This strategy drives progress and helps prevent the team from losing sight of the collective goal.
Consumer Preferences Matter: Why Some Products Win and Others Don’t
In the dynamics of an organization, there can often be misconceptions about the technical or product teams. Particularly among stakeholders, both internal and external, the word “no” is heard frequently. This occurrence is not due to any mistrust or disbelief in the merit of an idea but often arises from the constraints of finite resources and decision-making capacity.
So, it still boils down to trust. Explain why you’re challenging something, so people understand it’s not a distrust in their ideas, but rather a consideration of priorities. Being upfront about your “whys” or “why nots” can help build this trust and foster a collaborative environment.
There needs to be a space where people feel safe to express their doubts, fostering an atmosphere of learning. It’s when communication breaks down and feelings are kept hidden that teams start to falter.
More importantly, you should listen. Understand the essence of people’s ideas, continually questioning why we’re doing what we’re doing. This mindset keeps us focused on our collective goals.
An interesting example from the healthcare sector illustrates how behavioral economics influence consumer decisions. The ‘left digit bias’ concept, where even a slight price difference, like choosing between gas priced at 4.99 and 5.01, impacts choices.
Pre-pandemic, healthcare choices were frequently based on value and accessibility rather than exhaustive comparisons. However, in the post-pandemic world, factors like convenience, safety, and trust in service providers have become paramount. By understanding what elicits positive or negative experiences, we can craft solutions that resonate more effectively with users.
Adding or Improving: When Is the Right Time to Shift Focus in Product Development?
We frequently see companies rush to release new features or products without putting enough thought into tracking their performance or visibility. This common shortcoming can lead to missed signals that are critical to various stakeholders within the organization. It’s crucial to align on the data with all parties involved, ensuring the agreed-upon success metrics are clearly defined and measurable for each project.
Moreover, understanding your audience also helps, whether that’s internal users navigating workflows or external customers engaging with your product. Each product or feature released should cater to a specific cohort and encourage them to perform a well-defined action. This could vary from clicking a sign-up button to entering their insurance information into a workflow. The key is to clearly define these aspects, understand them, and engage in targeted personalization and segmentation to encourage action.
Having a clear vision and articulating it effectively is crucial. Each feature we’re working on must contribute to the meaningful future of the company.
While the idea of testing might conjure images of lengthy processes with numerous steps, the reality is much simpler. By having a defined cohort and a clear action, you can execute simple tests even at the point of release. Changes to words or colors, A/B testing in production, and other modifications can yield insightful data about how to move your target audience over the action line effectively.
This understanding of growth and goal-setting is crucial. Good product management also requires keeping an eye on environmental factors such as economic conditions and current events, which may affect your product or its marketing strategy. For instance, in the healthcare sector, the news cycle can greatly influence public perception. By aligning your message with the current sentiment, you can tap into these fluctuations and use them to your advantage.
Additionally, timing should align with communication, especially in value-based care workflows. The comprehension of environmental factors and patient lifestyles contributes to more meaningful communication.
The 80/20 principle advises focusing 80% of your time on the most crucial 20% of the work. This strategy guides prioritization and ensures that important tasks get the attention they need.
If you understand your patients or users’ routines, you can communicate effectively at the most opportune times. While it’s essential to grasp the difference between correlation and causation, hypothesizing about potential correlations and reducing noise as much as possible can help you master your data rather than always playing catch-up.
What Are the Essentials of Building a Successful Product Development Team?
The concept of collective ownership is something product managers should be passionate about and strive to bring to each project. Rusell believes that including everyone in the team, from ideation through to solution, cultivates a greater sense of ownership and responsibility. This shared ownership fosters team unity, enhances motivation, and ultimately results in a product that everyone is more emotionally invested in.
For every new project, it’s essential to include everyone in the team from the initial ideation phase through to solution. This approach fosters a sense of collective ownership.
The impact of this approach is significant because teams that feel a sense of ownership, rather than just contribution, are more likely to be driven by empathy for the end-user. This empathy can lead to more user-centric solutions, as team members feel more compelled to question and improve upon aspects of the product that may not provide an optimal user experience, even if they adhere to the original specifications.
Further, incorporating input from stakeholders at all levels and across different teams can strengthen the overall solution. For instance, involving customer service in brainstorming sessions can provide valuable insights from a unique perspective. Such inclusive collaboration not only drives motivation but also ensures a richer understanding of the problem and the proposed solution.
Taking the concept of collective ownership a step further, it’s important to consider the positive habits and associations we want to foster with what we’re building. Using BJ Fogg’s behavior model, which posits that behavior is a product of motivation, ability, and a prompt, we can create solutions that users will find genuinely beneficial and become habitual users of.
A practical application of this model can be seen in the telehealth space, where functionality has been transformative, particularly for those with limited access to healthcare services, such as individuals in rural areas. These tools are especially vital for mental health services, which might be scarce in these regions.
However, while these advancements are promising, caution must be exercised to avoid pitfalls such as overprescribing. In this regard, technology can provide a solution by utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze comprehensive patient data. Such insights can lead to personalized treatment plans, thereby reducing the risk of unnecessary prescriptions.
Wrapping Up
In our engaging podcast with Russell Taff, we gleaned vital insights for burgeoning engineers and product managers. Here are three distilled points:
Product Management Transition: Embrace user empathy, effective communication, and continuous learning when shifting from software development to product management.
Engineering-Business Documentation: Foster trust and collaboration with clear, concise communication that encourages openness among stakeholders.
Consumer-Centric Product Development: Understand consumer behavior and needs, incorporate data-driven strategies, and establish clear success metrics for impactful product development.
Collective Ownership in Teams: Create a sense of shared responsibility to enhance motivation and create more user-centric solutions.
Behavioral Economics in Healthcare: Consider behavioral economics and adapt to shifting consumer preferences, particularly in light of significant industry changes, such as those induced by the pandemic.
The APP Solutions launched a podcast, CareMinds, where you can hear from respected experts in healthcare and Health Tech.
Who is a successful product manager in the healthcare domain? Which skills and qualities are crucial? How important is this role in moving a successful business to new achievements? Responsibilities and KPIs?
Please find out about all this and more in our podcast. Stay tuned for updates and subscribe to channels.
Listen to our podcast to get some useful tips on your next startup.
In our CareMinds series, we’re all about showcasing the many paths to success in health tech product development. Today, we have the pleasure of sharing Laura Furman’s unique story. Laura, currently a senior product manager at Oura, kicked off her leadership journey with Students Agencies.
Laura opens up about her everyday work. She emphasizes the importance of AI and machine learning tools in her role, particularly during the product discovery phase, contributing significantly to the product’s development.
We hope you find Laura’s story as captivating as we did. Happy reading!
Is Product Development a Bold Claim or a Logical Step?
“The student agency’s experience is something that keeps coming back and keeps coming up as something that was really unique and an interesting foundation.”
Laura Furman – Senior Product Manager at Oura
Conventional wisdom may suggest that early experiences become less relevant as a professional journey progresses. However, Laura finds that her involvement with Student Agencies continually resurfaces as an integral part of her career. Student Agencies is a non-profit educational institution that provided Laura with first-hand business management experience during her college years. It comprised several diverse, student-run businesses, offering services from real estate property management to tutoring, marketing, and even a full-service moving company.
In this unique setting, Laura served as the general manager of one business for a year before stepping up to become the corporation’s president. Although not directly related to product management, this entrepreneurial experience provided Laura with an invaluable perspective on running a business from top to bottom, including direct customer interaction and budgeting.
In her role as president of Student Agencies, she created the first CTO role, utilizing the skills of the engineering students to enhance business performance. Despite the annual turnover inherent to the student-run structure, Laura credits an experienced CEO’s guidance for the continuity of the businesses. This end-to-end entrepreneurship experience, she believes, is a great asset for anyone entering product management, as it provides a comprehensive understanding of business strategy.
Transitioning to Product Management: A Personal Account
“I think a lot of people when they’re transitioning have a hard time, sort of filling the gap between where they are now and the skills they need to have as a product manager.”
Laura Furman – Senior Product Manager at Oura
Laura embarked on her career journey with uncertainty, opting for the retail industry as her starting point. She joined Gap’s management rotational program, and was tasked with e-commerce merchandising. Her role entailed strategizing the customer experience on Gap’s website, from product discovery to checkout.
As she delved deeper into her role, Laura identified a problem within one of the categories she was managing. This challenge provided an opportunity for her to explore business analytics extensively. She carefully examined every SKU, tracked trends across the assortment, and used this data to analyze the state of the business.
The most significant shift in her career occurred when she led a design sprint to rectify the problem in her managed category. This experience lit up her path towards product management, leading her to investigate job descriptions and key skills required for a product manager role. With several skills already under her belt and a drive to fill the gaps in her resume through projects and side assignments, she was ready to transition into product management.
The Evolving Role of a Product Manager
“My belief is we will produce the best ideas if we collaborate, I don’t think the PM should be coming up with all the solutions themselves, the solution should arise out of collaboration with the team”
Laura Furman – Senior Product Manager at Oura
The core of a product manager’s role is being the voice of the customer. It’s about understanding their needs, not just through face-to-face discussions but also through data analysis. As you step into it, remember that it’s not only about the customer’s desires, but also about striking the right balance with the business’s expectations.
When you craft your strategy, your ability to bring people onboard will be invaluable. Drawing from Laura’s experiences and skills in debate and negotiation, you’ll find that seeing multiple perspectives and effectively persuading others to join your journey can be a game changer. Additionally, remember that growing to be a product manager involves constant learning and iteration. You’d have to negate lengthy product road maps and promote a culture of continual testing and analysis.
Tools and Resources for Aspiring Product Managers
Taking the reins on your professional growth can be an empowering experience. One effective strategy to foster continuous learning is to dedicate each quarter to a specific focus area. This could start with understanding data analytics, mastering SQL, and becoming adept with tools such as Google BigQuery and Looker. This disciplined approach provides an opportunity to delve deeper into each field, enhancing your overall skillset.
Secondly, the value of mentorship in your journey cannot be overstated. A supportive and knowledgeable mentor can accelerate your growth, guide you through uncharted territory, and provide you with essential industry insights. Building connections within your organization is a beneficial way to learn from others and gain diverse perspectives.
Lastly, don’t let the fear of appearing unknowledgeable hold you back from asking questions. It’s a common misconception that asking basic questions exposes a lack of knowledge. In reality, it often leads to constructive conversations and enhances understanding. It’s essential to comprehend the bigger picture, particularly in understanding the system architecture. Spending time with engineers to grasp how different components of the system interconnect can provide invaluable insights. This broader understanding will be key in interpreting project estimates accurately.
How AI and Machine Learning Are Impacting Product Development
“The AI and machine learning tools that you use in your day to day…it provides an uncanny ability to tap into a problem, a domain that you don’t necessarily know a lot about. And it could quickly kind of guide you towards some potential solutions that could be applied to a certain identified problem if you don’t have a deep enough context to it.”
Laura Furman – Senior Product Manager at Oura
Mercari, a popular Japanese peer-to-peer marketplace akin to eBay, has an intriguing blend of challenges and experiences. The platform accommodates a broad array of categories, including clothing, technology, home goods, and handmade crafts. With this vast spectrum of products, one interesting challenge is managing User Generated Content (UGC). The diversity in UGC listings and searches can lead to discrepancies and inconsistencies due to differences in syntax, which in turn could reduce the visibility of items in search results, thereby affecting sales.
One notable project tackled at Mercari was enhancing the search and listing experience based on the brand and category of an item. The goal was to pre-populate custom attribute fields specific to the item type being listed. For instance, if a user is listing an iPhone, they could specify the model and size, allowing potential buyers to filter down their searches effectively. This approach was particularly useful in more subjective categories like clothing, where the search could be as specific as ‘straight leg jeans.’
To add another layer of sophistication, machine learning was brought into the mix. This technology helped predict necessary custom attribute fields based on the brand and category. It also fed these attributes into Mercari’s search taxonomy to optimize search results. Towards the end, the project began to utilize computer vision to guess the category and subcategory of clothing based on the photo. While this presented new challenges due to the variety of user-submitted photos, it also offered a fascinating direction for further enhancing user experience on the platform.
Sure AI and ML Complement Product Development, But How Can Managers Put Them to Effective Use?
First, from a day-to-day operational perspective, AI could serve as a sounding board, albeit it may not replace the nuanced understanding and context that comes from someone deeply familiar with the product. The idea here is that AI tools might not fully grasp the complexity of the product and its dynamics like a human member of the team who is immersed in the project.
The second application is more exciting: using AI tools to create prototypes. This could be especially beneficial for non-technical PMs who don’t have coding skills. They could potentially leverage AI to write code and thus develop prototypes, enhancing their ability to demonstrate their ideas beyond mere words. While there’s skepticism that AI could generate a feature-ready piece of code given the uniqueness and standards of any given codebase, using AI to create initial prototypes could be an innovative approach that empowers PMs to delve more into the technical side.
It is also believed that AI could streamline the process of creating a prototype, saving valuable time. This makes AI an attractive tool in the product management space, not just for its potential to enhance the overall workflow, but also to empower product managers with new capabilities.
From Novelty to Necessity: Does a Fresh Perspective Matter When Companies Hire?
Laura’s journey to AA three years prior was primarily driven by a long-standing personal passion for health and wellness. After reading “Why We Sleep” by Matt Walker, she developed an interest in the importance of sleep for mental performance and overall wellbeing. Tracking sleep with an “Oura” ring and studying the data became an obsession, eventually leading her to a position within the company. Her shared vision with the company’s CEO, who viewed sleep as the foundational pillar of health much like personal training, created a strong connection.
Her career transition strategy involved balancing industry experience and role skills as two vital variables. Initially, she drew upon her retail industry experience while developing necessary product skills. In the next move to AA, she utilized these newly acquired skills despite not having prior industry experience. Laura believed that possessing either industry experience or role-specific skills could facilitate a successful transition.
Laura’s perspective emphasizes seeing personal strengths as valuable contributions to her role and not being discouraged by perceived shortcomings. This outlook, particularly essential in product management, is about leveraging unique experiences and skills to meet new challenges in different industries. She also understands the importance of this mindset in successfully navigating work within a remote team, such as the Finnish-based company AA.
Understanding and Improving Predictable Delivery
Working across different time zones and geographies is challenging. While Laura has experience in this from her time at Merri, dealing with a 10-hour time difference at her current company has brought new challenges. She has realized the importance of well-prepared and efficient meetings, especially given that her early morning is the end of the workday for her colleagues in Finland. A critical success factor in such settings is robust asynchronous communication, making sure everyone is fully prepared and discussions are fruitful. In addition, they have implemented a system of reviewing and improving their workflow at the end of every cycle, accepting the reality of time differences but striving to make it better with each iteration.
One key learning Laura shared is the downside of over-relying on Slack for communication. It can create confusion, lead to critical information being missed, and ultimately decrease overall happiness within the team. Instead, they have focused on making communication more structured and traceable, using tools like Sigma, Jira, and Confluence to comment directly on project documents, ensuring a clear source of truth. If there is an excessive use of Slack, it’s often a sign that the project is experiencing chaos and needs attention.
When it comes to product improvement, Laura’s approach is guided by lessons from her mentor from Google. Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) should be ambitious, and achieving 70% of an OKR is a commendable feat. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are used more at the feature level, measuring specific outcomes. She emphasizes the importance of treating the development of a feature as a hypothesis – if they do X, they should see Y outcome in the data. This approach then allows them to review and learn from the outcome, guiding the development of future features.
Here are the most important points from our conversation with Laura Furman:
Early experiences matter
Laura’s involvement with Student Agencies during her college years, a non-profit educational institution that provided first-hand business management experience, played a crucial role in shaping her professional journey.
Transitioning is possible with the right skills and drive
Despite starting in a seemingly unrelated field (retail industry), Laura managed to transition to product management by building on the skills she had and bridging gaps through projects and side assignments.
Adaptability and continual learning are key in product management
The product manager’s role is not stagnant; it evolves with customer needs and business expectations. It also involves continuous learning, testing, and analyzing to stay ahead.
AI and ML are powerful tools in product development
These technologies not only assist in operational efficiency but also empower product managers, especially those with limited technical skills, to visualize and prototype their ideas.
Personal strengths and unique perspectives are valuable asset
Even if you lack industry experience, personal strengths, skills, and a fresh perspective can be instrumental in succeeding in new roles and different industries.
The APP Solutions launched a podcast, CareMinds, where you can hear from respected experts in healthcare and Health Tech.
Who is a successful product manager in the healthcare domain? Which skills and qualities are crucial? How important is this role in moving a successful business to new achievements? Responsibilities and KPIs?
Please find out about all this and more in our podcast. Stay tuned for updates and subscribe to channels.
Listen to our podcast to get some useful tips on your next startup.
In this episode, we had a chat with Rany El Diwany, who’s the Director, Product Management at Athena Health, about handling payments from patients and dealing with insurance issues.
Rany told us about how problem-solving and managing products are related. He also talked about the usual hurdles he comes across in his job managing products.
The article below presents a summary of our conversation.
Companies’ Endless Pursuit of Solutions without Problem Clarity
In product management, the focus is not solely on building software but rather on solving business problems. As a product manager, your role is to lead a team in understanding and addressing these key problems. One effective approach is to explain the problem in a simplified manner, ensuring everyone involved shares a common understanding of the issue.
“Always start by making sure you have a full understanding of the problem before even getting to the very first solution that you want to think through.”
Rany El Diwany – Director of Product Management at Athena Health
However, it is crucial to remember that before jumping into solutions, you must thoroughly understand the problem. Take a step back and examine the problem from different angles, exploring its nuances and complexities. This is where the double diamond principle comes into play.
Exploring the Double Diamond Principle
The double diamond principle is a framework that consists of two diamonds, each representing a specific phase: discovery and definition.
The first diamond, the discovery phase, involves gathering a wide range of qualitative and quantitative information. You’ll want to collect customer feedback, stay informed about industry trends, and analyze relevant data. This phase aims to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the problem space.
During the discovery phase, patterns and recurring themes will emerge from the gathered information. These indications of convergence signal that you are getting closer to identifying the core aspects of the problem. It’s important to pay attention to these signals as they will guide your next steps.
Convergence leads you into the second diamond, the definition phase. At this point, you organize the collected information into different work streams, horizons, or categories. With a clearer picture of the problem, you can begin prioritizing the identified areas. Prioritization is especially critical in complex domains like healthcare, where limited resources must be allocated effectively.
Once you’ve prioritized the areas, you transition from the discovery phase to the definition phase. You select the highest priority item for further analysis and solution development during this stage. While other areas are temporarily set aside, they remain in your peripheral vision for future consideration.
“If you haven’t aligned with what you’re trying to solve and agreed on what the definition of success is to start, you’re certainly gonna arrive at an end state where not everyone is happy.”
Rany El Diwany – Director of Product Management at Athena Health
Mr. Diwany understands the significance of grasping and aligning with the problem at hand. He believes that measuring success and achieving alignment among team members heavily relies on a solid understanding of the problem being solved. Moving forward as a cohesive unit is challenging without a shared comprehension of the problem and its definition.
At Athena, Rany‘s preferred method for building alignment is by utilizing pitch decks. These decks serve as comprehensive presentations that outline the why, how, and overall plan for addressing a specific problem. They provide a foundation for sharing information and conducting readouts with stakeholders, including leadership, customers, and partners.
In Mr. Diwany‘s view, alignment is not a one-time event but an ongoing effort throughout the product development journey. Regular check-ins, discussions, and feedback loops are essential to maintaining alignment and adjusting the course if needed. By continuously revisiting and refining the understanding of the problem, the product team can stay on track and adapt as necessary to ensure that their solutions effectively address the needs of the business and its stakeholders.
By thoroughly understanding the problem space before diving into solutions, you establish a solid foundation for your work as a product manager. This approach allows for a more focused and effective product development process. You can confidently explore solutions, knowing that you clearly understand the problem you’re trying to solve. This ultimately increases your chances of developing a successful product that addresses the needs of your customers and your business.
Strategies for Analyzing and Understanding Complex Problems
From Mr. Diwany‘s perspective, objectivity is a key principle when making decisions. Emotions should not drive choices; rather, data should be the guiding force. To achieve this, asking the right questions and gathering qualitative and quantitative data is crucial.
Identifying the broad categories of the problem is only the initial step. Delving deeper and analyzing the underlying layers is equally important. This can be achieved by utilizing well-known practices such as the “five whys” technique, which helps uncover the root causes and significance of the problem. Product managers can gain a clearer perspective by breaking down complex issues into simpler components and developing an intimate understanding of the problem’s intricacies.
Effective communication is paramount throughout this process. As a product manager, you are responsible for conveying the problem to various stakeholders, including customers, leaders, and team members such as engineers and UX professionals. The goal is to ensure everyone involved shares a common understanding of the problem. Any misalignment in problem perception can lead to challenges and hinder efforts to solve the problem effectively.
Product managers should actively evangelize their comprehension of the problem space to promote a shared understanding. Even in their absence, others discussing the initiatives should be able to explain them consistently and accurately. Ron emphasizes the importance of maintaining a shared language and perception, as it ensures everyone is on the same page and facilitates effective collaboration in solving the problem.
How to Unravel Bias and Build Effective Roadmaps
“Your roadmap should be problem-focused and not solution-focused, especially because you don’t know what you’re going to learn between now and something that you might have queued up.”
Rany El Diwany – Director of Product Management at Athena Health
Maintaining a problem-focused approach is crucial once the discovery and definition phases are complete and pitch decks and roadmaps are being developed. Ron believes that roadmaps should revolve around the problems that need to be addressed rather than being fixated on specific solutions. This is because, throughout product development, new learnings and insights may emerge, potentially rendering previously planned solutions obsolete.
While it is possible to anticipate future problem areas and prioritize them in the roadmap, the exact solutions may not be known at that stage. As the work progresses and solutions are developed, Mr. Diwany emphasizes the importance of measuring their impact and assessing if they effectively address the critical aspects of the initiative. Defining appropriate metrics to validate the impact and success of the solutions becomes crucial in this context.
“Human bias is there, and it’s easy to get attached to a solution… you need to remove that layer of emotion from the equation and be confident in the metrics that tell a successful story.”
Rany El Diwany – Director of Product Management at Athena Health
Rany believes that within the realm of product management, it is essential to constantly remind oneself about human bias. It’s natural to become attached to a particular solution and emotionally invested in its success. However, he emphasizes the need to remove emotion from the equation and instead focus on finding the right metrics to gauge success. If a solution fails to yield the desired results, it becomes necessary to pivot and adjust based on data-driven insights.
Similarly, Rany notes that while the agile framework is valuable, it is not a rigid recipe but rather a flexible framework that should be adapted to suit the unique needs of each project. These challenges highlight the complexities inherent in product management. He believes that by recognizing these challenges and remaining open to continuous learning and adaptation, product managers can navigate the dynamic landscape of their role and strive for success.
What Are the Main Drivers of Lack of Transparency Costs in Healthcare?
One of the significant challenges in the healthcare industry revolves around understanding how different insurance companies handle various scenarios. Mr. Diwany acknowledges that each insurance provider has its policies and rules, which adds complexity to building software solutions based on logical patterns. The diverse approaches required by different insurance companies make it difficult to achieve consistency. To tackle this issue, Ron emphasizes the importance of promoting transparency, especially for patients who often have limited visibility into the internal workings of healthcare.
“We want to get to the point where we have transparency… helping patients understand what costs may occur before they actually see the provider.”
Rany El Diwany – Director of Product Management at Athena Health
Transparency is pivotal in helping patients understand and appreciate the information typically hidden from them. It involves providing patients with upfront cost information, enabling them to make informed decisions. Ron notes that healthcare’s lack of cost visibility sets it apart from other aspects of the US economy, where prices are known before purchasing a product or service. Building trust through transparency becomes crucial, as even professionals within the healthcare industry may have doubts about their healthcare bills.
Trust can be fostered by being clear and upfront with patients about the potential costs associated with their medical encounters. Establishing transparency and trust creates an environment where some of the challenges faced by healthcare practices can be addressed. Overcoming these barriers and transitioning to a system where patients are willing to make payments or down payments for services rendered requires a significant journey.
While progress and efforts are being made to establish transparency and trust, Rany acknowledges there is still a long way to go.
Mr. Diwany explains that several functional aspects are being improved within the focus area of cost transparency.
One of these areas is insurance selection, which can be challenging due to the many insurance companies and the wide variety of insurance packages. Accurately identifying the appropriate insurance for each patient is crucial to ensure successful claims submission and payment.
Patient eligibility is another key component of cost transparency, involving understanding copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, and out-of-pocket limits. Having this information is essential for estimating costs accurately.
In addition to cost transparency, Rany emphasizes the importance of enhancing payment options. This includes exploring various methods such as digital wallets and platforms like PayPal and introducing automated payment plans. Offering flexible payment options is particularly important for patients facing financial difficulties, allowing them to pay outstanding bills over time without significant financial strain.
Opportunities and Qualities for Success in HealthTech Companies
As a PM, you’ll collaborate with diverse teams, including developers, user experience experts, analysts, customers, and leadership.
The success of a product hinges on aligning all stakeholders toward solving the identified priority problem and achieving the desired metrics. Building strong relationships and working collaboratively with people from various backgrounds and roles are crucial skills for a PM.
At Athena, the company values respect and intelligence, regardless of cultural, ethnic, or sexual orientation differences. Therefore, having strong communication skills and the ability to work with diverse groups of people are vital in this role.
“Being a PM and then being a PM in the enterprise B2B space and healthcare, there’s definitely some additional work that goes into play. And it’s hard; it’s a hard job, but it’s rewarding.”
Rany El Diwany – Director of Product Management at Athena Health
Rany highlights that introducing the healthcare dimension adds complexity to the PM role. Unlike the focus in some PM literature, which is often business-to-consumer (B2C), healthcare often involves business-to-business (B2B) interactions. PMs with experience in B2C and enterprise B2B environments understand the thoughtful coordination required when planning, building, and developing solutions.
Athena Health serves a significant number of healthcare providers, and any changes made to their workflows can substantially impact their business operations. Coordinating deployments and providing thorough training and insights to customers is critical to minimizing disruptions and ensuring smooth transitions. Being a PM in the enterprise B2B space within healthcare demands diligent efforts to ensure that solutions enhance workflows rather than hinder them.
While being a PM, particularly in the healthcare industry, comes with challenges, Ron also emphasizes the rewarding aspects of the role. Being a PM in the healthcare industry requires unique skills and a deep understanding of the importance of effective communication and collaboration in driving successful product development.
As a product manager at Athena, Rany is invested in driving company initiatives promoting healthcare transparency. He believes leveraging technology, data, and collaboration can make significant progress in this area. Athena is about creating a system where patients have full visibility, enabling them to make informed decisions and engage in proactive planning.
You Can Foster Psychological Safety With These Two Essentials
Psychological safety is crucial for effective teamwork and innovation. Creating an environment where everyone feels safe to contribute ideas, whether good or bad, fosters creativity and innovation. Mutual respect is key. Rather than an “us versus them” mentality, the focus should be on solving problems collectively.
“One of the most important things is psychological safety, right? No one is bringing a bad idea to the table.”
Rany El Diwany – Director of Product Management at Athena Health
Building motivated and cohesive teams that enjoy working together and are enthusiastic about tackling challenges is essential. Encouraging open dialogue, valuing diverse perspectives, and creating a culture of psychological safety lay the foundation for successful problem-solving and driving innovation within the team.
Which Future Changes Should We Expect in Consumer Cost Management?
When it comes to healthcare practices, understanding and navigating costs can be complex. Practices have contracted rates with payers, but these contracts often involve intricate stipulations. For example, different charges may have different reimbursement percentages, or certain charges may not be reimbursed at all.
Helping practices gain a clear and simplified understanding of the contracted rates in various scenarios is a crucial first step. Currently, efforts are underway to provide practices with easier access to published information from payers.
While Medicare and Medicaid present additional complexities, simplifying the process for practice users to have transparent insights into contractual rates is considered a critical foundational milestone. This step will assist practices in managing costs more effectively and making informed decisions that will sustain them in the future.
Below are three major takeaways from our chat with Mr. Diwany:
Thoroughly understand the problem before diving into solutions: Product managers must invest time in understanding the problem space from different angles before developing solutions.
Transparency and cost management in healthcare: Cost transparency benefits patients and healthcare practices, leading to better financial experiences and streamlined operations.
Psychological safety for effective teamwork and innovation: Creating an environment of psychological safety, encouraging open dialogue, valuing diverse perspectives, and fostering collaboration are essential elements of effective teamwork.
The APP Solutions launched a podcast, CareMinds, where you can hear from respected experts in healthcare and Health Tech.
Who is a successful product manager in the healthcare domain? Which skills and qualities are crucial? How important is this role in moving a successful business to new achievements? Responsibilities and KPIs?
Please find out about all this and more in our podcast. Stay tuned for updates and subscribe to channels.
Listen to our podcast to get some useful tips on your next startup.
Welcome to our podcast! Today, we chat with Tamara Snow, who went from working on cancer research clinical trials to being a Director of Product Management at Flatiron Health. We’ll talk about how she moved into product management and how she helps big pharma companies.
Tamara’s wide range of experiences gives her a special viewpoint on these areas, showing us the nitty-gritty of the pharmtech and business worlds.
This article concisely captures key points from our lively dialogue.
A Career Path from Clinical Trials to Leading Pharma Product Management
Tamara has spent over ten years in the healthcare industry, making transitions as she encountered new problems and challenges. Initially, she aspired to be a doctor, gaining exposure to patient care and clinical work as an EMT and clinical research coordinator. She discovered her passion for solving operational and strategic challenges in healthcare environments. One area that surprised her was the manual and expensive nature of clinical trials despite being crucial for innovation in drug development.
After graduating, Tamara pursued a career in life sciences consulting to better understand the economics and strategy behind drug development. During this time, she learned about Flatiron Health, a company working on data sets to streamline decision-making in cancer research. Intrigued by the mission and vision of making clinical trials more efficient, she joined the company in 2017 in a partnership role. While she gained valuable sales and negotiation skills, she felt it took her away from solving the operational and strategic challenges she was passionate about.
“I definitely think the product hat is the one I love the most, and I will definitely continue wanting to play that role in the future.”
Tamara Snow – Director of Product Management at Flatiron Health
Recognizing that the product management role aligned with the problems she wanted to solve, Tamara pivoted to become a product manager at Flatiron Health. She initially focused on scaling one of their real-world data products linked to external genomic data for precision medicine. Seeing the impact of these data products on customers’ clinical and drug development decision-making was rewarding. However, a recurring issue was customers lacked the internal resources and skills to analyze the data products effectively.
In response to this need, Tamara seized the opportunity to expand her scope and build a team to develop dashboards and analytic tools on top of the data products, providing customers with valuable insights. Building and managing this new team has brought fresh challenges, focusing on the user interface and delivering insights alongside the underlying data.
After spending several years in the healthcare industry, Tamara firmly believes that the product management role is the one she loves the most and intends to continue playing in the future. She finds joy in solving operational and strategic challenges and appreciates the ever-changing nature of product management.
The Key Tips for a Successful Transition in Pharma Industry
According to Tamara, there are various ways for individuals to transition into a product role. While it may not be the standard path, she personally achieved it through an internal transfer, a route she has observed others taking as well. Successful internal transfers have come from diverse backgrounds, including business (such as sales and finance) and technical roles (like engineering and data science).
Some major tips for a successful transition into the pharma industry include
Identify a product role or team that aligns with one’s existing skill set.
Seek advice from experienced PMs.
Volunteer for challenging tasks, network, and ask the right questions.
Identifying a product role or team that aligns with one’s existing skill set.
“I also just took the time to teach myself things like Python and just took the liberty to dig into Flatiron and the products on my own and was able to demonstrate my ability to learn a new skill set and willingness to do it.”
Tamara Snow – Director of Product Management at Flatiron Health
Tamara believes the key to a successful transition is identifying a product role or team that aligns with one’s existing skill set. This reduces the risk for the company when transferring an employee to a new function. In her case, coming from a sales and partnerships role, joining an external-facing product team made the most sense. It required a strong understanding of the company’s customers, products, and business model.
However, she also recognized her lack of technical skills, so she took the initiative to teach herself Python and familiarize herself with the company’s products. By demonstrating her willingness to learn and bridging the gap in her skill set, she differentiated herself from others and showcased her abilities.
Tamara acknowledges that there is no perfect science to this transition process. She advises aspiring product managers to seek advice from experienced PMs in roles they are interested in or individuals who have gone through a similar career evolution. Learning from their experiences and strategies can be valuable.
When reaching out to PMs for guidance, Tamara recommends avoiding cold outreach and instead making warm introductions. Personalizing the outreach and offering something in return, such as industry insights or skills, can increase the likelihood of PMs wanting to assist and provide advice.
Volunteer for challenging tasks, network, and ask the right questions.
Tamara appreciates the emphasis on volunteering for challenging tasks, networking, and asking the right questions. These qualities are often associated with successful product managers. She also highlights the importance of building strong relationships and trust with customers, as it facilitates sharing information and understanding their needs. Asking open-ended questions during user research helps uncover the root of the problem and avoid biases. Active listening and focusing on important insights gathered from responses are vital in solving the core problem.
Strategies for Streamlining the Process in Challenging Circumstances
According to Tamara, when it comes to their customers, particularly in the context of a complex linked clinical plus genomic data set, clear training and documentation are crucial for understanding and interrogating the data. It is important to give customers a well-defined understanding of the data product. Additionally, having a robust process for addressing customer questions and resolving issues promptly is essential.
Tamara suggests recognizing when a customer’s question requires more in-depth support, such as scheduling a call and screen sharing to collaboratively work through the problem. The goal is to unblock customers and enable them to conduct effective research using the data product.
“I think having really strong customer support and customer guidance is definitely core.”
Tamara Snow – Director of Product Management at Flatiron Health
Tamara emphasizes the significance of strong customer support and guidance. Providing examples of how others have utilized the data product to answer similar questions, whether through publications or key studies, can be immensely helpful. Sharing these use cases with customers helps them see the practical applications and possibilities of the data product.
The Journey to Becoming a Successful Product Manager
“In those first few months, really build strong trust with your core stakeholders and take the time to have them explain to you how they operate and what their pain points are.”
Tamara Snow – Director of Product Management at Flatiron Health
According to Tamara, being a product manager (PM) involves constant learning and encountering new challenges. Embracing this aspect is part of the fun of being a PM. One important advice Tamara offers to new PMs is to build strong trust with core stakeholders in the first few months.
Understanding their operations and pain points allows the PM to identify tasks they can take off their plate or collaborate on to achieve quick wins. Tamara shares an example of how she learned basic R programming to handle easy client requests, which relieved her data science stakeholders and allowed her to better understand customers and data products.
Tamara also recommends finding a committee of advisors early on, including mentors and other PMs within the organization. These advisors can help tackle issues, provide guidance, and offer insight into the new role and function. Celebrating both wins and failures is another crucial aspect highlighted by Tamara. Acknowledging accomplishments, no matter how small, is important, but it’s equally important to learn from failures and treat them as opportunities for growth.
In the discussion, Tamara mentions that PMs can positively redefine the concept of failure, transforming it into a learning experience and an opportunity for product improvement. This mindset shift can be particularly impactful in the health tech industry. Additionally, the importance of empathy in interactions with stakeholders is highlighted, emphasizing the need to understand their perspectives and needs.
“Regardless, I think there are a few key roles or tasks that I think the business will probably want regardless.”
Tamara Snow – Director of Product Management at Flatiron Health
According to Tamara, the role of a product manager (PM) can vary depending on various factors within a company. These factors include whether the product is internal or external-facing, the stage of the product (early concept or mature business line), and its significance to the company’s overall economics. However, a few key roles and tasks are generally expected from PMs.
Firstly, PMs are responsible for owning the vision and strategy of their product. They need to develop and articulate a compelling vision that justifies the company’s investment in the product. Additionally, PMs should create a strong roadmap aligned with the overall company strategy and vision.
Secondly, PMs act as the voice of the customers, both internally and externally. They must deeply understand the customers and advocate for their needs and insights during product development. PMs are crucial in making challenging product and resource tradeoff decisions, using customer insights to guide their choices.
Thirdly, stakeholder management and collaboration are essential for PMs. They must effectively work with various stakeholders, such as engineering and design teams, to build the product efficiently. In health tech, where a mix of experts like oncologists and clinicians collaborate with engineers, managing stakeholders and consolidating different perspectives into a cohesive vision is particularly important.
Challenging the Problem Space and Unveiling Opportunities to Drive Product Success
According to Tamara, when looking for new opportunities as a PM, it is crucial to engage with stakeholders. The first and most powerful stakeholders to approach are the customers. By actively listening to customers and understanding their needs and preferences, PMs can identify pain points and opportunities for improvement.
In addition to existing customers, expanding to new customers or segments requires consideration. Monitoring competitors’ product offerings and partnerships can reveal potential gaps to address. Staying up to date with industry trends can generate new ideas. Conducting lightweight market research and seeking time with target customers enables direct conversations and a deeper understanding of their requirements.
Tamara suggests clearly defining the problem and opportunity when rallying the team for the job. It is essential to motivate the team by presenting a compelling vision highlighting their work’s impact. Early and regular engagement with stakeholders, including engineers, is crucial to gaining their buy-in and involving them in shaping the project.
Leveraging Data Awareness to Address Pushback in Problem Solving
According to Tamara, data awareness refers to having a solid set of objective data that supports your argument and clearly defines the opportunity and problem space. While data is important, Tamara believes it only takes you so far.
It is crucial to drive the vision and demonstrate why your team is well-positioned to execute the solution. This involves explaining why the problem needs to be addressed now and highlighting the qualitative aspects of the opportunity, not just the numbers.
“Yeah, in my opinion, if there is a pushback, there is a level of interest.”
Tamara Snow – Director of Product Management at Flatiron Health
As challenges and opposition are expected, anticipating pushback and objections and preparing responses in advance is also important. Tamara emphasizes the need to go beyond a rosy picture and be transparent about the risks, assumptions, and potential challenges associated with the opportunity. You must acknowledge the unknowns and openly discuss the potential bumps along the road.
From her personal experience, Tamara has learned the value of transparency and managing expectations. She further opines that if the opportunity requires collaboration with other parties or forming partnerships, it’s essential to consider company fit and strategic alignment. The terms of the agreement should be carefully evaluated to ensure that collaboration makes sense for the envisioned opportunity.
Defining Product Management and Keeping Abreast of Current Trends in the Health Tech Industry
According to Tamara, staying on top of industry trends involves reading newsletters, participating in industry-specific conversations on social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter, attending conferences and speaking events, and networking with professionals in the industry. These activities help her stay informed and identify new opportunities.
“The role and the skill sets you need as a PM and how you would define that role, I think, definitely differ depending on where you really sit within the organization and what your product looks like.”
Tamara Snow – Director of Product Management at Flatiron Health
When it comes to defining product management, Tamara believes it is not a one-size-fits-all role. The responsibilities of a product manager depend on the specific needs of the product line. For external-facing products, the PM must be able to pitch, sell, understand customers, filter feedback, and guide and influence the team accordingly. For internal-facing products, the focus is identifying and prioritizing platforms that benefit the broader organization and gathering feedback from various teams.
Tamara emphasizes that a product manager’s role and required skill sets vary based on the position within the organization and the nature of the product. Adapting and shaping oneself based on the product’s needs is important. She mentions Bruce Lee’s quote about being like water, which can take any shape depending on the container. While martial arts and product management may not directly correlate, the idea of being adaptable and flexible resonates with the role of a product manager.
Tamara also notes that the role of a product manager evolves over time. As the product and business line mature, different skills and activities become relevant. The role of a product manager constantly changes, presenting new opportunities and challenges, which Tamara finds exciting.
Below are the major takeaways from our chat with Tamara:
Transitioning into Product Management: Tamara’s career journey from clinical trials to product management highlights the importance of identifying a product role that aligns with one’s existing skill set and passion for solving operational and strategic challenges.
Strategies for Success: Building strong relationships with stakeholders, actively listening to customers, and asking the right questions are crucial for successful product managers. Seeking advice from experienced PMs and making warm introductions can enhance networking opportunities.
Key Roles and Skills of Product Managers: The role of a product manager can vary depending on factors such as the product’s nature, stage, and significance to the company. However, PMs generally own the product vision and strategy, act as the voice of the customers, and collaborate with various stakeholders.
The APP Solutions launched a podcast, CareMinds, where you can hear from respected experts in healthcare and Health Tech.
Who is a successful product manager in the healthcare domain? Which skills and qualities are crucial? How important is this role in moving a successful business to new achievements? Responsibilities and KPIs?
Please find out about all this and more in our podcast. Stay tuned for updates and subscribe to channels.
Listen to our podcast to get some useful tips on your next startup.
Welcome to our podcast episode where we’re delighted to feature Falko Buttler, the Senior Vice President of Engineering at Accolade Inc.
Falko illuminates his unconventional and diverse background, revealing how it has sculpted his unique approach to product development.
We delve into his early entrepreneurial ventures, his encounters with both failure and success, and his proficiency in managing health tech products with aplomb. In addition, we discuss the vital aspect of employee management and the best ways teams can implement Scrum.
A Journey of Entrepreneurship From Freelance Agency to App Development
Mr. Falko Buttler begins by discussing how he started an agency in the early 2000s to connect tech talent with companies. He recognized the need for such a service while working for a company himself. Mr. Butler acknowledges the abundance of great talent available but highlights the challenges companies face in finding the right individuals, and freelancers struggle to find suitable projects.
He describes his agency as his first venture into building his own business, which he initially pursued as a side gig. While he managed to place a few professionals, the venture ultimately did not succeed. Nevertheless, he considers the experience valuable, as it taught him a great deal about running a company and adopting the mindset of a business owner rather than an employee. Despite the failure, he views this chapter as an exciting one.
Mr. Buttler then discusses the period around 2008, when Apple released the iPhone. At that time, he was contemplating his next entrepreneurial endeavor. Recognizing the potential of mobile platforms and wanting to explore new technologies and programming languages, he began tinkering with flip phones. However, he soon shifted his focus to the iPhone, seeing it as an excellent platform for building something innovative.
During this time, his wife was pregnant and monitoring her diet diligently by manually recording everything she ate. This inspired the idea of creating a mobile app to simplify the process. They named the app Calorie God, which became one of the earliest health and fitness apps in the App Store. Mr. Butler clarifies that his motivation for developing the app was not solely driven by monetary gain but rather by the desire to bring a product to the market, gain user feedback, and create a positive user experience.
To his surprise, Calorie God received a warm reception from early iPhone adopters, leading to viral growth without any marketing efforts. Users enthusiastically shared the app with their friends, doctors, and patients. Mr. Butler found the feedback from users particularly valuable and discovered that many were utilizing the app not just for weight loss but also for maintaining specific diets, including athletes, marathon runners, and bodybuilders. The users’ suggestions and input helped shape the app, leading to the development of new features.
One noteworthy feature was the app’s cloud-sourced food database, allowing users to submit new food items that were initially absent from the database. Mr. Butler’s wife oversaw the quality control process, and approved items were distributed to all users, effectively expanding the database and enhancing the app’s value. As the user base grew, Calorie God gained attention from the media, including press coverage in newspapers and even television appearances.
The success of Calorie God marked a significant turning point for Mr. Butler and his wife as small business owners. They experienced rapid growth and acclaim, which ultimately paved the way for their current endeavors. Mr. Butler emphasizes that without the success of Calorie God, he wouldn’t be where he is today. The app’s journey from a passion project to a viral sensation allowed them to achieve substantial success in a short period.
Bridging Experience through User-Centricity and Product Management in Health Tech
“Realize that not everything you do is going to be a success. Sometimes you’re rolling out a feature, and either your users don’t understand it, value it, or don’t need it.”
Falko Buttler – Senior Vice President Of Engineering, at Accolade Inc.
In Mr. Falko Buttler’s opinion, providing a great user experience is crucial for the success of any product or software. Whether it’s the user downloading an app or the buyer interacting with the software, ensuring a pleasant experience is paramount. Design plays a significant role in this, as Mr. Butler has learned from his experiences in venture-backed startups and mentoring early-stage companies.
Having a dedicated product designer and focusing on user feedback and research goes a long way in creating an intuitive and impactful experience, regardless of whether the product is consumer-oriented or targeted towards enterprises, particularly in the healthcare industry.
When it comes to driving a product forward and ensuring its success, Mr. Butler emphasizes the importance of having a clear strategy and effectively communicating it across various functions like product, engineering, and marketing. Defining success metrics, such as customer acquisition or net promoter score (NPS), helps measure the impact of the product and the features being developed.
Understanding user expectations and making adjustments based on feedback is crucial. Mr. Butler also recognizes that not every feature or initiative will be successful, and it is important to be open to trying new approaches and being willing to adapt and iterate based on results.
The Power of Diverse Roles and Its Impact on Product Interactions
“These different stages require different ways of communicating, interacting, and working together, and being able to have gone through all these changes is like learning.”
Falko Buttler – Senior Vice President Of Engineering, at Accolade Inc.
Mr. Falko Buttler shares his extensive experience in various stages of company growth, from the early stages with only a few team members to scaling up to accommodate a large workforce. He emphasizes the importance of adapting communication and collaboration methods based on each stage. Through these experiences, he has gained valuable insights and knowledge.
In terms of software development, Mr. Butler recognizes the significance of creating a pleasant user experience. He believes that design plays a crucial role in achieving this goal. Designing intuitive and user-friendly interfaces is essential for success.
Additionally, it is crucial to have a clear strategy and effectively communicate it across different departments, such as product, engineering, and marketing. Mr. Butler emphasizes the importance of alignment and establishing shared expectations to drive the company toward its goals.
Acknowledging that not every endeavor will be successful, Mr. Buttler encourages embracing failures as learning opportunities. It is important to be adaptable and responsive to user feedback and needs. This flexibility allows for iteration and improvement.
Lastly, Mr. Buttler acknowledges that each stage of company growth requires different approaches to communication, interaction, and teamwork. Navigating and learning from these changes is invaluable for personal and professional growth.
Optimizing Frameworks, Enhancing Structure, and Validating Technical Estimations
Mr. Falko Buttler expresses his perspective on the flexibility of the Scrum framework and its adaptability to different organizations and teams. He highlights that each organization has its own unique characteristics and requirements, necessitating adjustments to fit the specific context. For example, in a medical device company, regulatory processes and external approvals may impose constraints on the frequency of software releases.
Moreover, Mr. Buttler emphasizes that individual teams within an organization may have varying preferences and needs. Some teams may find in-person daily stand-up meetings effective, while others, especially those working remotely, may benefit from virtual meetings. The frequency of stand-ups and grooming sessions may also differ based on factors such as the product manager’s technical expertise and the team’s seniority.
As teams gain experience and become more familiar with the Scrum process, certain aspects of the framework can be streamlined or modified. Mr. Butler shares his own experience of initially guiding the team through Scrum and gradually transferring ownership of the process to the team members as they become proficient. Retrospectives and feedback sessions were conducted regularly to continually improve the process.
Furthermore, Mr. Buttler underscores the importance of having a technically inclined person on the team, such as a product manager with a deep understanding of the technology involved. This person plays a crucial role in effectively communicating and explaining technical aspects to ensure smooth collaboration within the team. He also emphasizes that cohesive teamwork and communication are paramount to achieving success.
Achieving Every PM’s Dream by Empowering Teams to Own the Process
“The PM and the Scrum Master actually need to be in close touch, so they actually need to communicate a lot.”
Falko Buttler – Senior Vice President Of Engineering, at Accolade Inc.
Mr. Falko Buttler emphasizes the importance of close communication between the product manager (PM) and the Scrum Master. He believes that when this communication is lacking, it can lead to misunderstandings and misalignment within the team. To address this, he advocates for frequent meetings and discussions, particularly during the retrospective process after each sprint.
During these retrospectives, Mr. Buttler actively encourages team members to share ideas for improvement. When engineers or team members propose alternative approaches or solutions, he supports their initiatives and suggests piloting those ideas to see their effectiveness. If successful, he suggests sharing these insights with other teams during team meetings, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and knowledge sharing.
In situations where the team is experiencing significant growth, Mr. Butler believes it can be beneficial to bring in external expertise. In his own experience, he recounts how his team, after doubling in size, invited a Scrum trainer from an external company. This training session included not only engineers but also product managers and designers, providing a diverse perspective on the Scrum process. He acknowledges the value of learning from someone who trains numerous companies and gaining insights into new ideas and practices.
Mr. Buttler concludes by highlighting the importance of periodically seeking external perspectives. While this may not be a regular practice, he believes inviting external experts to provide fresh insights and challenge existing norms is valuable. This allows the team to avoid becoming insular and encourages them to explore different approaches and methodologies.
Navigating Team Scaling: Insights from the Remote Work Era
According to Mr. Falko Buttler, prior to 2020, he had experience working with distributed teams, although they were co-located in different locations. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, his company was in the process of expanding to Vancouver, Canada. Due to the circumstances, they fully embraced remote work and hired team members from various locations, including Brazil, Argentina, Canada, the US, and Ukraine.
“What we’ve learned very quickly is that it’s actually easier when everyone is remote than if you have teams that are co-located.”
Falko Buttler – Senior Vice President Of Engineering, at Accolade Inc.
Surprisingly, Mr. Buttler found that working with fully remote teams was actually easier than working with co-located teams. While physical proximity facilitates communication, remote collaboration tools such as Zoom, online collaboration platforms, and specialized tools like GitHub and Jira enable effective communication and productivity. Mr. Butler even observed increased productivity compared to pre-COVID times, as remote work eliminated commuting and provided greater flexibility in reaching team members.
The nature of engineering work, which involves knowledge-based tasks and extensive written communication, lends itself well to remote collaboration. Mr. Butler admits that he previously held the belief that people needed to be physically together in a room for effective teamwork. However, his experience during the pandemic completely changed his perspective, as he witnessed the success of fully distributed teams and their ability to adapt to the challenges of remote work.
Defining and Exploring the Remarkable Aspects of the Wow Factor
According to Mr. Falko Buttler, their company aims to provide a “wow experience” for users, focusing on delivering the best possible experience throughout their healthcare journey. This customer-centric approach has been ingrained in the company’s culture since its inception. Their goal is not just to offer healthcare services but to ensure that users have an exceptional and phenomenal experience.
“We don’t just want to provide you with health care. We want you to really have an absolute phenomenal experience while you’re going through your healthcare journey.”
Falko Buttler – Senior Vice President Of Engineering, at Accolade Inc.
The company strives to change that perception in the healthcare industry, where people typically associate negative experiences with being sick or unwell. They aim to eliminate unfair treatment, reduce waiting times, and simplify the process for users. They want to provide a wide range of services, akin to having a personal concierge for all healthcare needs, without the exorbitant costs associated with such personalized attention.
“We want to provide a wow experience for users as well as all the employees at the organization.”
Falko Buttler – Senior Vice President Of Engineering, at Accolade Inc.
This commitment to the “wow experience” extends beyond primary care and mental health services. It encompasses aspects such as advocacy, where they assist users in finding the right care and providing expert medical opinions for severe diagnoses. Their focus on delivering exceptional experiences is not limited to patients or consumers alone. They also measure employee Net Promoter Score (NPS) to ensure a positive experience for everyone within the organization. Additionally, they aim to provide a “wow experience” for buyers, as Accolade operates in the enterprise business, where health plans or employers purchase their services for their employees.
Preparation for Smooth Transitions and Navigating the Acquisition Process
“Given that I’ve gone through multiple of these transitions and seen things that work and don’t work, I feel what’s important is that before you try to integrate products, fully understand both your existing product as well as the product and the company that was acquired, and see how they actually fit together.”
Falko Buttler – Senior Vice President Of Engineering, at Accolade Inc.
According to Mr. Falko Buttler, based on his experience with company acquisitions and product integrations, he believes it is crucial to thoroughly understand both the existing product and the acquired product, as well as the company behind it. Building trust between the teams is essential, allowing time for them to familiarize themselves with each other’s products, functionalities, and potential overlaps. It is important to deeply comprehend the use cases and explore how the integration can be optimized.
Mr. Butler cautions against rushing the integration process, which often leads to negative outcomes. Acquisitions should not be hurriedly pushed into the product to satisfy shareholders or customers. Instead, a thoughtful approach should be taken, allowing for an extended integration timeline. Trying to expedite the process without proper understanding and alignment between teams results in difficulties in maintenance, longer-than-expected timelines, and overall dissatisfaction among stakeholders.
In his company’s case, they followed a strategic approach during the first 12 months after the acquisition. They continued with their independent roadmap while fostering regular check-ins and interactions between the different teams. This enabled a deeper understanding of each other’s capabilities and products. Eventually, they successfully launched their first integrated solution in January, which was well-received. Despite the challenges and stress involved, the integration was deemed a success due to the trust, careful thought, and planning invested in the process.
Mr. Butler acknowledges that full integration is a long-term endeavor, but he emphasizes that a thoughtful and patient approach significantly increases the chances of success. Allowing teams the necessary time to understand each other, build trust, and plan integration steps carefully makes the overall outcome more likely to be positive.
The Power of Autonomy: Balancing Product Development Processes in Bigger and Smaller Companies
Mr. Falko Buttler believes that when integrating teams from different companies, it is important to recognize and appreciate their slightly different processes. Each team has developed its own processes independently, and understanding the reasons behind these variations can be enlightening. Mr. Butler suggests that there may be benefits in maintaining some of these differences, at least for a period of time, rather than forcefully imposing a single set of processes.
The acquiring company may even learn valuable lessons from the company it acquired and choose to adopt certain practices from them. The acquiring company may have more technical depth due to its longer market presence, but the acquired company’s processes may have unique insights from its history. Mr. Butler emphasizes the importance of learning from each other and creating a combined set of processes that works well for the newly merged company.
In terms of product development, Mr. Buttler highlights the different approaches between his company, Plus, as a consumer brand, and Accolade, a more traditional enterprise company. He suggests that finding a balance between these two approaches is crucial. It’s not about favoring one over the other but rather selecting the most effective elements from each to create a process that suits the combined company’s needs.
This process of marrying different approaches is an ongoing endeavor for their company, and Mr. Butler believes that this principle applies not only to healthcare but to any company merging with another.
Analyzing the Pace of Health Care and Factors Affecting Tech Adoption
According to Mr. Falko Buttler, who has been working in the industry since 2005, health care is generally slower to adopt new technology compared to other industries. This is partly due to the highly regulated nature of the field. Patient safety and privacy are paramount concerns that often come into conflict with the implementation of new technologies.
However, there has been a significant shift in the healthcare industry in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic has played a crucial role in accelerating the adoption of certain technologies. For instance, video conferencing, which was not widely used before, has now become widely adopted for remote healthcare consultations.
Sometimes, a significant event like a pandemic acts as a forcing function to drive legislative changes and change people’s perceptions. In the case of healthcare, COVID-19 has helped people recognize the value and convenience of virtual care. Virtual care provides a solution for individuals living in rural areas with limited access to quality healthcare. It allows them to connect with experts in the field, regardless of their geographical location, in a short amount of time.
Spotting the Recipe for Success: Common Denominators of Thriving Companies
According to Mr. Falko Buttler’s opinion, he considers several key aspects when evaluating startups. Firstly, he looks at the leadership team and whether they possess deep knowledge and understanding of the specific field, including its challenges and opportunities. Additionally, having connections and knowledge of how to effectively sell the product or service to potential customers is crucial.
Moreover, he emphasizes the importance of great execution skills, especially in managing limited funds. It used to be relatively easy to raise a large amount of money based on a promising idea, but the real challenge lies in utilizing that capital to launch a product, achieve adoption, and avoid constantly relying on raising more funds.
He also stresses the significance of staying laser-focused on the customer and the product. Rather than attempting to build a full solution from the start, finding the minimum viable product (MVP) and iterating on it with clear goals in mind is crucial. This iterative approach allows for incremental improvements while conserving resources.
In conclusion
During our captivating podcast featuring Mr. Falko Buttler’s entrepreneurial journey and insights, we acquired invaluable wisdom specifically tailored to aspiring entrepreneurs, engineers, and product managers. Below are five valuable takeaways from our enlightening conversation:
Recognizing market needs: Understand the challenges companies and freelancers face in the tech industry.
Embracing failure and learning: Embrace failures as valuable learning opportunities and experiences about running a business and adopting a business owner mindset.
User-centric product development: A product’s success depends on its positive user experience, viral expansion, and user feedback-inspiring new features.
Importance of effective communication and strategy: Mr. Butler emphasizes the significance of clear communication, alignment, and a well-defined strategy across product, engineering, and marketing teams for driving product success
Adapting to change and continuous improvement: Be responsive to user feedback and adaptable to iterate and improve products and processes.
The APP Solutions launched a podcast, CareMinds, where you can hear from respected experts in healthcare and Health Tech.
Who is a successful product manager in the healthcare domain? Which skills and qualities are crucial? How important is this role in moving a successful business to new achievements? Responsibilities and KPIs?
Please find out about all this and more in our podcast. Stay tuned for updates and subscribe to channels.
Listen to our podcast to get some useful tips on your next startup.
Welcome to another CareMinds podcast episode featuring Sameer Desai, Senior Director of Engineering and Product Management at Verona Health. In this two-part episode, Sameer Desai shares his invaluable insights into the limitations of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) in addressing interoperability challenges comprehensively.
Sameer Desai’s expertise allows us to delve into the specific hurdles smaller and niche healthcare practices face in achieving interoperability. With over 12 years of experience in software development and HL7 C certification, Sameer Desai has extensive knowledge of EHR systems and their intricacies.
Throughout the episode, he sheds light on slower adoption of the FHIR standard and the cumbersome process of custom integrations they must endure to overcome interoperability challenges.
The Role of AI in Healthcare and Addressing Data Standardization Challenges
“I think we have heard about everybody transitioning to FHIR. Now, especially in the space I work in, we are going across 50 different EHRs. When you look at the FHIR standard, the maturity of FHIR APIs across EHRs varies a lot.”
Sameer Desai – Senior Director of Engineering & Product Management at Verana Health
According to Mr. Sameer Desai, the problem of lack of standardization has persisted over time. While there are standards in place, most healthcare providers consider them guidelines rather than strict requirements, leading to issues.
He mentions the transition to the FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) standard, which many in the industry adopt. However, the maturity of FHIR varies significantly across different EHR systems. For example, one EHR may populate all the required fields correctly, while another may not adhere to the same structure or location for data population.
Mr. Sameer Desai also highlights the challenges faced in specialty areas like ophthalmology, where specific EHR systems may lack the resources or capabilities to implement the FHIR standard. Thus, some EHR systems can communicate effectively using standard formats, while others lack the capabilities or resources to do so. This presents a dilemma for building an inclusive AI program that accommodates all EHR systems, regardless of their size or resources.
He emphasizes the importance of enabling participation in AI advancements for all healthcare providers, not just those who can afford or have implemented systems like Epic. However, the customization of workflows within EHR implementations adds another layer of complexity to the FHIR framework. This is because even two Epic implementations may differ in appearance and data organization. Critical information may be stored in notes rather than standardized fields in certain fields like neurology, further complicating data extraction for algorithm development.
Mr. Sameer Desai acknowledges that such diverse data formats pose a challenge, despite recognizing that healthcare data is valuable, akin to oil. Still, it is not uniformly accessible or structured across all EHR systems. He underscores the need to address these issues and achieve standardized data formats to facilitate the development of accurate algorithms, predictions, and improvements in care quality and drug development.
Exploring the Relationship Between the Adoption of FHIR Standard and EMR/EHR Efficiency”
Mr. Sameer Desai expresses his perspective on adopting the FHIR standard and its limitations. He mentions that FHIR is still in its early stages of development and does not address all types of problems in healthcare data interoperability.
He provides an example of their current focus on helping providers submit MIPS reports, which involves administrative aspects of data. Specifically, he mentions the challenge of reconciling medications when patients visit healthcare providers. This type of specific information may not have an exact place within the FHIR standards, as FHIR is primarily evaluated as a clinical data standard. However, he notes that FHIR is also evolving to encompass financial and initiative spaces.
“So I think in the newer world, we expect, like now, we’re going to do something with images; we’re also going to do something with genomic data, which will always result in different formats.”
Sameer Desai – Senior Director of Engineering & Product Management at Verana Health
Mr. Sameer Desai emphasizes that healthcare data goes beyond just clinical information. The data requirements become more extensive as the industry shifts from transactional to value-based healthcare. They must consider factors beyond diagnosis and disease treatment, such as socioeconomic factors. The scope of data expands to include non-healthcare-related information. Progress must be made toward achieving standard formats.
Looking ahead, Mr. Sameer Desai mentions integrating images and genomic data, which will introduce further variations in data formats. However, he highlights that the challenges extend to the core clinical data, which is not yet standardized. He believes that the pace of FHIR standard adoption will help address these issues, noting that larger DH organizations have already taken the leap, and he expects others to follow suit.
Challenges in Data Plumbing: Addressing Development Obstacles for Integrating Diverse EHR Systems
“So at some point, you have to take a hit to convert that to a common model where you can apply these algorithms at scale and move forward.”
Sameer Desai – Senior Director of Engineering & Product Management at Verana Health
Mr. Sameer Desai expresses his opinion on the challenges and significance of working on healthcare data interoperability. He believes that although this job may not appear shiny or exciting to most engineers, it is crucial for the healthcare industry. Waiting for everyone to adopt the same standards is not feasible; therefore, immediate action is necessary to solve the problems at hand and make progress. He emphasized the need to address the challenges faced in the healthcare space today.
According to Mr. Sameer Desai, the challenges in this field start with technical problems such as establishing connections and sharing data, which can be solved through APIs or direct database connections. However, the real challenge arises once the data is in the environment and needs to be understood. This requires collaboration with EHR vendor partners, who may have different priorities and may be hesitant to cooperate, especially when dealing with startups that lack the leverage of larger organizations. Convincing EHR vendors to work together and establish a common data model becomes crucial, particularly when working across multiple entities.
Another obstacle is the operational aspect, where people become more dependent due to the complexity involved. Working with multiple EHR systems (30 to 50 in this case) requires finding a common data model to apply machine learning and analytical algorithms at scale. Operational challenges also arise from capturing data within EHRs, as different systems may have varied data entry and organization approaches.
He provided an example of the complexity involved in medication reconciliation, where different EHRs use diverse methods such as procedure codes, flags, reverse flags, or note templates. Human involvement becomes essential in resolving such discrepancies, leading to a greater need for larger teams to handle multiple EHR systems effectively.
“It’s also about figuring out these operational things – where does it make sense to invest in automating, and where does it make sense to actually just have people do it?”
Sameer Desai – Senior Director of Engineering & Product Management at Verana Health
Additionally, Mr. Sameer Desai mentioned the complexity at the practice level, where non-standard EHRs allow unstructured notes, and each provider or nurse practitioner may have a way of documenting information. These technological and operational challenges require balancing automation and human intervention, depending on the specific situation and the value derived from solving the problem.
He concludes by emphasizing that all startups encounter these challenges, and the key lies in finding a happy balance or a happy medium. This balance involves determining the value of solving problems and deciding whether automation or human effort is the most suitable approach. Mr. Sameer Desai considers achieving this balance to be an art or science in itself.
Unveiling Verana Health’s Strategies for Tackling Standardization Challenges in Healthcare”
Mr. Sameer Desai shares his perspective on Verana Health’s unique position and approach to solving healthcare data challenges. He believes that Verana Health has a distinct advantage in working with societies and specialties, enabling them to leverage their influence with HR vendors. By collaborating with these societies, Verana Health can request additional support in terms of data mapping and establishing connections with HR vendors.
Mr. Sameer Desai emphasizes that Verana Health’s primary focus is to provide the best customer satisfaction for its registry members. To achieve this, they meet their customers where they are. For practices using Epic, Verana Health has an FHIR injection API that allows them to easily ingest the data. This minimizes the burden on hospitals or practices. However, for practices using smaller, specialized HR systems that may not have similar integration capabilities, Verana Health is responsible for directly obtaining data from their databases.
They then work closely with the HR vendors to understand data mappings and ensure compatibility. Alternatively, if the HR systems have standardized data extracts, Verana Health works with those extracts and maps them to their common data model. This approach provides multiple options to customers, allowing them to participate in the registry and benefit from insights into the quality of care while receiving suggestions for improvement.
Additionally, Mr. Sameer Desai highlights that Verana Health considers patients’ well-being. They offer practice opportunities to participate in clinical trials, ultimately benefiting patients. While certain regions may have limited access to breakthrough treatments and trial participation, Verana Health strives to solve data-related problems for them. They facilitate connectivity to platforms and ensure that these regions are included, enabling them to be part of the larger healthcare ecosystem.
Furthermore, Verana Health leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to go beyond structured data. They analyze unstructured data such as notes and employ AI models to identify additional information. Verana Health excels not only in identification but also in converting this unstructured data into a structured format. By doing so, they can provide valuable structured data to research organizations and clinical trials, aiding in research advancements.
Achieving Effective Problem Solving and Execution in Product Development: Verana Health’s Collaborative Model and Success Stories
“I build the platform, I get the data, and then my outbound product managers are building experiences based on which customer they are serving.”
Sameer Desai – Senior Director of Engineering & Product Management at Verana Health
Mr. Sameer Desai discusses the collaborative structure and roles within Verana Health’s product management team. He explains that the structure resembles a common model seen in Silicon Valley, known as inbound or outbound product managers or technical product managers versus traditional product managers. Regardless of the terminology, Mr. Sameer Desai’s focus at Verana Health is on building the platform.
“So I am more technically oriented in terms of setting up the platform and looking at how we can scale this.”
Sameer Desai – Senior Director of Engineering & Product Management at Verana Health
As a technical product manager, Mr. Sameer Desai is primarily responsible for platform development and scalability. He considers the developers and individuals who will create additional applications on top of the platform as his customers. He focuses on the technical aspects of platform setup and operational scalability rather than direct customer interaction.
On the other hand, the outbound product managers work with the data and insights generated by the platform. They use this information to create tailored experiences for different customer segments. Verana Health serves various customer bases, including societies, doctors/providers, and clinical trial sponsors. Each customer base has specific needs, and the outbound product managers build experiences and applications to address those needs.
Mr. Sameer Desai emphasizes that the platform he develops remains agnostic to the specific customer bases. He acts as a layer between the data insights and the engineers, ensuring they clearly understand how the data is used without burdening them with customer-specific details. This structure allows for effective collaboration and streamlines the product development process.
Verana Health’s Resourceful Approach to Ensuring Smooth and Efficient Scaling
According to Mr. Sameer Desai, operational scaling at Verana Health involves several key aspects. Firstly, connecting with different electronic health record (EHR) systems is challenging, some of which are cloud-hosted while others are on-premises. With over 1,500 connections to individual practices, the goal is to make the setup process as easy as possible, particularly for small practices with limited IT resources. Verana Health focuses on building user-friendly and remotely manageable solutions to alleviate the burden on these practices.
In addition to the operational challenges, there is a focus on reducing data latency. In contrast to the traditional approach of working with claims data that may have a lag of 90 days, their goal is to shorten the lag to weeks. Maintaining connections and ensuring stability is crucial in achieving this objective. The company takes responsibility for ensuring the smooth running and uptime of these connections, focusing on maintaining low latency for data refreshes.
Another aspect of scaling involves the staggered implementation of different EHRs. Each EHR system may be adopted by practices at different times, which requires careful planning and program management. Resources on their side and the EHR partners’ side are limited, so efficient planning is necessary to make the implementation process feasible. Verana Health has dedicated mapping and clinical data transformation resources available for this purpose.
Once the data is received, another scaling layer comes into play, addressing data curation and organization for specific disease areas. Verana Health focuses on understanding market needs and the requirements of research organizations to effectively curate and transform the data for analysis and research purposes.
While these aspects are important, Mr. Sameer Desai emphasizes that the first two aspects, which are external-facing and involve operational scaling, hold greater significance. Meeting their partners’ needs is a priority, and achieving it requires a combination of art and induction in the planning process. It is not solely a scientific endeavor but also involves carefully considering various factors to ensure successful scaling and operational efficiency.
The Future of Interoperability: Navigating Integrations and Data Streams for Smaller Startups and Niche Practices
“We are moving towards data set marketplaces, where startups can leverage pre-cleaned data sets and build experiences that other competitors are not focused on.”
Sameer Desai – Senior Director of Engineering & Product Management at Verana Health
According to Mr. Sameer Desai, the healthcare industry lags behind other sectors in effectively leveraging data. He acknowledges that there are reasons for this discrepancy, noting that healthcare cannot acquire data in the same way as consumer industries.
However, Mr. Sameer Desai points out an emerging trend in the overall data landscape: the rise of data set marketplaces. He cites AWS as an example of a company that has recently introduced its marketplace, and he believes that other vendors are pursuing similar initiatives. This development will make the data space more interesting as organizations undertake the initial groundwork. They’ll be responsible for the data cleaning and preparation processes, making curated data sets available in these marketplaces.
Mr. Sameer Desai highlights the potential benefits for startups in this evolving landscape. By leveraging these curated data sets, startups can explore developing new AI models to address challenges that other industries and competitors may not be focusing on. Alternatively, they can utilize the data to build unique experiences that competitors have not yet explored or may not be interested in pursuing.
He emphasizes exhaustively exploring these options before resorting to expensive data acquisition methods. Mr. Sameer Desai acknowledges that establishing numerous connections and acquiring data through traditional means can be a capital-intensive process.
Here are five key takeaways from our discussion with Mr. Sameer Desai:
Data standardization challenges persist in healthcare, hindering interoperability and AI’s full potential.
Although still in its early stages, adopting the FHIR standard is essential for achieving data interoperability in healthcare.
Technical and operational obstacles must be addressed, including reconciling different data entry methods and addressing variations in data organization across different systems.
Verana Health employs unique strategies to tackle data standardization challenges. They also offer multiple options for practices of different sizes and capabilities to participate and benefit from insights into care quality.
Operational scaling, reducing data latency, and effective data curation are crucial for successful healthcare data management.
The APP Solutions launched a podcast, CareMinds, where you can hear from respected experts in healthcare and Health Tech.
Who is a successful product manager in the healthcare domain? Which skills and qualities are crucial? How important is this role in moving a successful business to new achievements? Responsibilities and KPIs?
Please find out about all this and more in our podcast. Stay tuned for updates and subscribe to channels.
Listen to our podcast to get some useful tips on your next startup.
Welcome to the Care Minds podcast! Today, our guest is Adam Jubert, Director of Engineering at Journey Clinical. We’ll cover Adam’s career, explore product design and development, and discuss the role of AI in process optimization.
Now, here’s a thought to ponder for PMs – What if the secret to groundbreaking innovation lies in identifying the right company? Let’s explore this, shall we?
Navigating Career Growth: From a Software Developer to Director of Engineering
“Taking an active role in your own career progression is the most important thing.”
Adam Jubert – Director of Engineering at Journey Clinical
Mr. Adam said a proactive approach and a keen eye for new opportunities drove his career growth and progression. He emphasized the importance of having regular one-on-one meetings with his managers, during which they discussed his career goals and identified potential areas for growth. Through these conversations, he was able to take on challenging technical projects and expand his skills in project management.
As he evolved as a software engineer, Mr. Adam recognized the choice between pursuing an individual contributor track or transitioning into a management track. Opting for the latter, he began working cross-functionally and delving into project management. He actively sought opportunities to lead and demonstrated his capabilities in coordinating projects and collaborating with teams.
One key factor contributing to his growth was the feedback he received from his managers. During their one-on-one sessions, he not only sought constructive criticism but also asked his managers to identify the aspects of his work that they appreciated. This enabled him to receive recognition for his strengths and continue to build upon them.
Mr. Adam’s progression was gradual; he took small steps by managing projects that initially required one to two engineers. Over time, he gained experience handling multiple cross-functional projects simultaneously. He actively sought advice from his leadership, seeking guidance on improving his project management skills and effectively managing people.
Identifying Growth Opportunities in Early Career Choices
According to Mr. Adam, identifying companies that offer growth opportunities early on requires careful consideration during the interview process. While popular rankings and articles about top tech companies can provide a starting point, he emphasizes that many lesser-known companies can still provide a conducive environment for success.
It is essential to present yourself as a candidate and interview the company during interviews. Mr. Adam suggests asking questions about team culture and management style. One effective question he often asks managers is to describe a situation where they had to discipline or handle issues with an employee. Understanding the manager’s leadership approach makes it possible to assess if it aligns with personal preferences and career goals.
Moreover, Mr. Adam highlights the importance of gathering insights from current employees about the company culture and career progression. Asking about recent promotions and success stories within the organization can provide valuable information about growth opportunities. Exploring these cultural questions related to career progression helps in making an informed decision.
Regarding series D startups or later-stage startups, where organizational structures may be less defined, Mr. Adam suggests discussing career progression during the interview process. It is important to inquire about the frequency of promotions and how the company supports employee growth. Once in the role, maintaining open and honest communication with one’s direct manager is crucial. Clearly expressing career aspirations and goals and ensuring that expectations are aligned with the manager’s support can contribute to a successful career path within such organizations.
Mr. Adam acknowledges that navigating promotions can be challenging due to organizational structures, but having a supportive manager who advocates for employee growth is vital. Identifying such managers during the interview process and fostering a strong working relationship with them is key. By collaborating with managers, setting clear expectations, and regularly checking in, employees can enhance their chances of career advancement.
Streamlining Engineering Moves and Balancing Efficiency and Effectiveness in Multi-Sided Marketplaces
According to Mr. Adam, effectively managing a multi-sided marketplace like Journey Clinical involves understanding and acknowledging the diverse needs and perspectives of different user groups. He emphasizes the importance of tailoring the presentation of information to suit the specific requirements of each user segment. For example, doctors may prefer concise, scientifically formatted information, while patients would benefit from a user-friendly and organized experience.
In tackling problem statements within the marketplace, Mr. Adam suggests addressing the concerns of the respective user sets involved. However, it is also crucial to consider the potential ripple effects and impacts on other areas of the application. For instance, changes made in the patient portal should be consistent with and complement updates in the prescriber portal. This ensures a cohesive user experience across the entire marketplace.
Furthermore, Mr. Adam emphasizes aligning communication styles with users’ preferences. By considering not only what users are accustomed to seeing within the app but also what they generally prefer, a more engaging and effective user experience can be created.
Preparing for Product Success: Essential Steps Before Embarking on Component-Driven Development
Adam believes companies must take certain steps before diving into product development. While the instinct might be to start solving problems immediately, he advises against skipping the process of first digitizing and operationalizing the solution. By incorporating the solution into the product design engineering flow, valuable time can be saved, and important lessons can be learned.
“Being lean, being a startup, your goal is to make guesses, make hypotheses, run experiments, see if those experiences were true, see if the hypothesis was true, and then iterate on it.”
Adam Jubert – Director of Engineering at Journey Clinical
Being lean and agile is essential for startups, and their goal should be to make hypotheses, run experiments, validate those hypotheses, and iterate based on the results. Mr. Adam emphasizes the importance of operationalizing things, which involves using tools that facilitate the creation of prototypes or minimal viable products. These tools can range from simple ones like Google Sheets and Forms to more complex automation processes and scheduling software. By leveraging these tools, companies can quickly create hypotheses, test them, and iterate accordingly.
The advantage of operationalizing hypotheses before entering the full product design cycle is to avoid spending excessive time and effort on developing a product that may not align with user expectations. By validating hypotheses early on, companies can gather feedback and make informed decisions about the direction of their product development.
Balancing Speed and Quality and Navigating Pushback between Technical and Product Departments
“Having a culture on the team of having open conversations around tradeoffs is super important.”
Adam Jubert – Director of Engineering at Journey Clinical
According to Mr. Adam, one of the difficulties that technical and product departments in startups frequently face is striking a balance between speed and quality. The need for rapid progress often clashes with the desire for a polished and aesthetically pleasing product. In the startup environment, speed is crucial, and the focus is on delivering a functional solution rather than a perfect user experience.
Creating a culture of open discussions around trade-offs is vital to addressing this challenge. Mr. Adam emphasizes the importance of conversations involving engineering leadership, product managers, and other stakeholders. It is crucial to openly discuss the trade-offs between delivering a shiny, feature-rich product in a longer timeframe versus delivering a functional product quickly for testing and iteration.
In Mr. Adam’s experience, most product managers in startups prioritize functionality over aesthetics during the early stages. They opt for delivering a minimum viable product quickly and gathering user feedback before investing time and resources in refining the user experience. The decision-making process regarding trade-offs is typically non-emotional, focusing on what is best for the business and the users.
As a director of engineering, Mr. Adam aims to ensure the business’s success and the users’ satisfaction. He emphasizes that no matter which trade-off is chosen, his team can still work on interesting projects and contribute valuable code. The level of attention to product and design quality increases as the user base grows. However, in the early stages of startups, having a functional product is generally deemed more important than a flawless user interface.
Mr. Adam cites examples of successful startups that initially operated with simple tools like Google Sheets or manual email processes. These companies scaled their user base significantly before investing heavily in refining the user experience. This illustrates that perfection in UX or UI is not essential at the early stages of a startup.
Essential Solutions and Strategies for Fast-tracking Efficient Go-to-Market
“When researching third party tools, cost is also important, as well as their ability to integrate and provide a seamless user experience.”
Adam Jubert – Director of Engineering at Journey Clinical
According to Mr. Adam, there are several key factors to consider when selecting software solutions for different industries. In the healthcare sector, HIPAA compliance is a must-have requirement. Similarly, in finance, there may be specific regulations like Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance to consider. Mr. Adam emphasizes that they can ensure HIPAA compliance if they build the software in-house. However, HIPAA compliance and cost become crucial when exploring third-party options.
During discussions about problem statements, Mr. Adam applies a cost-benefit analysis. He first considers whether existing companies offer solutions for the specific problem statement, estimating that approximately 80% of problems already have existing solutions. He examines the available companies and their solutions, evaluating factors such as their ability to address the problem statement, ease of integration, and the presence of APIs, which are essential for seamless integration with existing systems. Mr. Adam highlights the importance of integrating the third-party solution in a way that appears seamless to the user, avoiding a disjointed experience.
Furthermore, Mr. Adam considers the resources within his team, particularly focusing on product design and engineering. He evaluates the number of engineers available, the time required to build a custom solution, the scalability of the custom solution, and the need for additional features. If a company has sufficient engineers, building an in-house solution to keep everything internal may make sense. However, with limited engineering resources, integrating with third-party tools becomes a more viable option, allowing the engineers to focus on other tasks.
Mr. Adam acknowledges the tradeoffs between building in-house and buying third-party solutions. While it’s tempting to have most of the solution be internal intellectual property (IP), third-party tools’ practical considerations and advantages should not be overlooked. He suggests that companies carefully assess the benefits and drawbacks of each approach.
“Tools like Github Copilot and Chat GPT can save a ton of time and be useful for tasks like code autocomplete and writing unit tests.”
Adam Jubert – Director of Engineering at Journey Clinical
Shifting gears to AI technology, Mr. Adam shares his enthusiasm for tools like GitHub Copilot. This tool provides code autocomplete suggestions based on the user’s codebase and the vast amount of code available on GitHub. It significantly saves time and is particularly adept at suggesting proper conventions, which is crucial when using frameworks like Ruby on Rails.
Additionally, Mr. Adam mentions the usefulness of chatbot AI tools for writing unit tests. Unit testing and code quality are paramount to him and his team. Tools like Chat GPT enable developers to generate unit tests quickly by providing suggestions and reducing the time spent on manual test writing.
The Ideal Product Manager and Quality Traits Engineers Love to Work With
“Some of the product managers that I’ve really loved working with in the past are proactive and get a full sense of the stakeholders’ needs and problems beforehand.”
Adam Jubert – Director of Engineering at Journey Clinical
According to Mr. Adam, effective product managers are proactive and thoroughly understand stakeholders’ needs and problems before involving the engineering and design teams. He appreciates the use of comprehensive documentation, citing companies like Stripe as an example, where they prioritize documentation and even have documentation about their documentation. Mr. Adam believes writing things down and incorporating visuals when possible is essential for clarity and understanding.
“Making sure that the problem statements and potential solutions align with what already exists in the current context of the application.”
Adam Jubert – Director of Engineering at Journey Clinical
Moreover, Mr. Adam emphasizes the importance of considering the current context of the application being worked on. It is crucial to ensure that problem statements and potential solutions align with the existing framework.
When wireframing and discussing the flow of data elements, he emphasizes the need to know where each data element originates. For example, if a user’s phone number is required to send them a text, it is necessary to consider what happens if the phone number is unavailable. Understanding the data sources and their interaction with different application parts is vital for maintaining a coherent and functional system.
Key Considerations for Enhancing Collaboration between Product Managers and Engineering Teams
“Having blameless postmortems when there are big issues and taking the focus off of who did the wrong thing onto what happened and how to improve it in the future.”
Adam Jubert – Director of Engineering at Journey Clinical
Effective product managers should communicate the problem statement to the engineering team and provide insights into the user’s journey. Sharing user feedback and recordings of user interviews can give engineers a sense of purpose and intrinsic motivation. Data-driven communication, such as highlighting the percentage of users experiencing a specific problem and expressing their frustration, resonates well with engineers who value empirical evidence.
Furthermore, Mr. Adam emphasizes creating a shared experience within a fully remote team. He suggests starting meetings with a few minutes of casual conversation to foster a sense of camaraderie. Writing high-quality code, including tests, conducting pull requests, and conducting code reviews, is essential for a high-performance engineering team.
As a manager, Mr. Adam believes in the significance of regular one-on-one meetings with direct reports to support their progress toward their goals. Additionally, he recognizes the value of occasional skip-level one-on-ones to maintain an understanding of the broader team dynamics. Encouraging a blameless culture is crucial when addressing bugs or issues.
Mr. Adam promotes blameless postmortems to focus on process improvement rather than assigning individual blame. By referring to code issues as “our code” and conducting blameless postmortems, the team takes collective responsibility for their work and focuses on learning from mistakes.
The journey of Mr. Adam provides valuable insights for navigating career growth in the tech industry. Through his experiences and perspectives, we can distill the following major lessons:
Proactively seeking new opportunities and engaging in regular one-on-one meetings with managers serve as a platform to discuss career goals and identify growth areas.
As one’s career progresses, pursuing an individual contributor or management track demonstrates one’s capabilities. It also expands one’s skills beyond technical expertise.
Seeking feedback from managers helps identify areas for improvement while acknowledging strengths and leveraging them to build upon success.
Making informed career choices and identifying growth opportunities early in one’s career requires careful consideration.
Balancing efficiency and effectiveness is very important, especially in startups. Also, prioritizing functionality over aesthetics in the early stages is key.
The APP Solutions launched a podcast, CareMinds, where you can hear from respected experts in healthcare and Health Tech.
Who is a successful product manager in the healthcare domain? Which skills and qualities are crucial? How important is this role in moving a successful business to new achievements? Responsibilities and KPIs?
Please find out about all this and more in our podcast. Stay tuned for updates and subscribe to channels.
Listen to our podcast to get some useful tips on your next startup.
