The user is always right. At least, that’s what folks have long preached. But what does that really mean for product managers?

In 2023, how should product teams leverage user research to develop more customer-centric products and beat the competition? There are a lot of divided opinions and conflicting trends that all seek to tackle that trillion-dollar-question.

With the rise of AI like GPT-3, we’re furthermore seeing emerging technologies redefine the way we plan, create and market products. 

As a product manager, you will need to make your own mind up on the frameworks and principles that will help you achieve success.

And in the rapidly evolving field of tech, that’s no easy feat. So if you’re interested in the core challenges facing PMs today, you’ll be well-advised to follow a few leading voices in the world of product.

From insightful podcasts to engaging newsletters and inspiring books, these seasoned Product professionals are regularly serving food for thought. And yes, Marty Cagen is obviously on the list. 

@tldv.io Im not even a PM and they made me read this book #martycagen #inspired #productmanagement #productmanager #product #tech #corporatehumor #startup #UX #UI ♬ original sound – tldv.io – AI Meeting Recorder

What makes someone a Product thought leader?

Product management is the process of managing the development, launch, and evolution of products. It involves researching the needs of customers and users, developing strategies for meeting those needs, and overseeing the development process of products that meet those needs.

Product managers are responsible for the product’s success and work to ensure that it aligns with the company’s business strategy and objectives. But not every product manager is a thought leader. No, it takes a platform and an audience, proven success in product, and active knowledge-sharing to claim such a title.

Thought leaders within the world of product are often respected for their track record of managing successful product teams, and transforming ideas into lucrative businesses. They will shape opinions, encourage debate, and offer guidance to product managers by challening nomrs and offering original perspectives. 

Why are UX thought leaders relevant for product managers?

User research is a vital part of the product development process. It is the practice of gathering user feedback and insights through qualitative and quantitative data, in order to gain a deeper understanding of how users interact with a product or service. Product managers use this data to inform decisions about product design, feature prioritization, user experience, and much more.

As such, many influential leaders in the world of UX and user research will share relevant insights for product managers. We advise following critical and creative thinkers in this space for a more open-minded approach to product design and user experience.

Here are some great UX/User Research thought leaders any product manager should be following:

Current developments in product management

Product managers are continually finding new and innovative ways to drive their business strategies forward. You’ve probably heard of one of them: agile development. Agile development allows for rapid prototyping, continuous integration and a more iterative approach to product development, allowing teams to quickly test, learn, and make improvements on the fly.

Dual-track Agile

Now, agile is nothing new – but there’s an increasingly-popular kid on the agile block, and its name is Dual-track Agile. It’s a methodology with two separate tracks: Discovery and Delivery. The discovery track revolves around designing, testing, and validating product ideas based on user needs. Turning these ideas into reality happens on the delivery track; this is where the product itself is developed.

Aritifical intelligence / GPT-3

You can also expect product managers to intensify their use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies such as natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML). These technologies have the potential to automate certain aspects of product management, freeing up time and resources to focus on more high-value tasks. 

Product managers and user researchers can increasingly rely on AI tools to gain more accurate insights, enabling quicker and more informed decision-making. Time is money, after all – and that’s especially true when it comes to speedy iterations of one’s product to meet users’ needs.

Futuristic technology

Current developments in user research

Product managers are constantly seeking ways to improve customer experience. To do this, they need to understand user behavior and preferences. User research is an invaluable way of doing this, and recent developments have helped product managers understand their users better than ever.

Sophisticated user research tools

One key trend to look out for in 2023 is the rising use of UX research tools. These tools allow user researchers to collect, process, and aggregate data. This is, of course, with the intention of getting a better grasp on customers’ needs and enhancing their user experience.

A solid contender in this space is a tool called Maze, a platform used primarily to design and run UX card sorting tests (tests where research participants/users sort labels for content into larger categories). The ultimate goal here is to use the collected data to design an information architecture that users understand.  

UX research repositories

Another thing to watch is the growing importance of UX research repositories. Basically a central hub where user research data is stored and organized for analysis. This data can then easily be shared with teams to harness collaboration and amplify the voice of the customer across an organization.

A powerful solution in this space is tl;dv, an online meeting recorder that enables user researchers to record and quickly review user interviews. The data is stored in a cloud-based repository where you have the option to refine your recordings with timestamping, trim & clip what you consider to be essential, and even transcribe the recording in over 20 languages with speaker recognition.

You can even tag colleagues (or other stakeholders, like investors) directly at an important call moment, and make use of GPT-3 to automatically identify user pain points, questions and follow-up items in an user interview. These user insights integrate seamlessly across UX repositories, CRMs, and IMs like Slack.

Believe it or not, but it’s all free.

Influential product managers to follow in 2023

Eric Migicovsky

Eric is an entrepreneur-turned-VC-Partner and founder of Pebble Technology, one of the first producers of smartwatches. Even after watching just a few minutes of his Startup School talk at Y Combinator you’d gather that he has a healthy obsession with talking to users in order to build a strong, durable strategy. He states that it’s not just research teams that should do the talking, but also the founders and C-Levels; and it’s easy peasy to do so with an online meeting recorder like tl;dv.

Marty Cagan

A tried-and-tested heavyweight in the product management universe, Marty has been called “the most influential person in the product space”. Much like Eric, he’s a staunch believer in having direct access not just to customers, but business stakeholders and engineers too. Only product teams with unrestricted access to all three stand any chance of real success, in his opinion.

Shreyas Doshi

He’s one of the best product managers to follow on Twitter – for good reason. Arguably one of the GOAT’s in the field, he has led and scaled products at Google, Yahoo, Stripe, and Twitter. He, too, preaches that there is no substitute for a deep understanding of your customers (among other things) when it comes to developing a product strategy.

John Cutler

John is not your typical product guy. In fact, he stumbled into it as a touring musician, almost by accident. Although he also stresses the importance of interacting directly with users, just like the thought leaders mentioned above, John goes a step further by advocating “impact-focused product development”. In addition to talking to customers, his framework incorporates factors like curiosity, alignment, psychological safety, and trust.

Elena Verna

Miro. SurveyMonkey. Amplitude. These are just some of the places where Elena has led growth teams. No wonder she’s amongst the best product managers to follow on LinkedIn. She’s the face of “product-led growth”, which is a neat term describing a business strategy where a company’s software is the center of the buying journey and customer experience. In other words, the product itself should do the talking.

The one thing all product thought leaders agree on

No matter which product thought leaders you follow for inspiration, there is one piece of advice every influential thinker in this space is going to agree on.

TALK TO YOUR USERS!

A meeting recorder like tl;dv makes use of GPT-3 to help product teams conduct user interviews, timestamp key momnts, document meeting take-aways and easily share insights across an organization.

If you’re serious about your product and want to get the most out of your meetings, start making use of this simple AI meeting assistant straight away. Did we mention it’s free?

Finally, if you can’t get enough of alternative opinions and norm-challenging content, we suggeet following the tl;dv blog for fresh takes on everything Product.

From the reasons why product roadmaps are overrated, to a run-down on why Jobs-to-be-done is an obviously superior framework – you can read it all here.

And when you’re done reading, let us know your thoughts in the tl;dv anonymous Product Community.

Finally, if it’s a laugh you’re looking for – we’ve got you covered, with tons of relatable content for product managers on TikTok and Instagram. It’s not like you needed to get any work done, right? 

@tldv.io WHAT DOES BIZOPS DO????? #tech #startup #product #dev #sales #corporatehumor ♬ original sound – tldv.io – AI Meeting Recorder