I am an inquisitive, calculated, pragmatic, product person who thrives when fully owning a problem from concept, launch and subsequent iterations.

Inquisitive

Building valuable products is hard. I've found the best way to build successful products is through a proper understanding of the problem at hand. Understanding can only come through questioning and research. Rarely will we understand every user's problem but successful product people obsess over them. 

CaLculated

Product managers are accountable for the product they own and thus are constantly making decisions without the full scope or ideal amount of insights. In order to succeed in this ambiguous landscape, PMs must weigh the consequences of each outcome versus the benefits. I've become apt at running quick cost-benefit analyses prior to coming to a conclusion. 

Lima01.jpg

pragmatic

A product manager, especially at a startup must act in a practical manner given the limited resources that stem from a bootstrapped company. Learning to be a product manager in this type of environment instilled a sensibility in myself which often puts a greater emphasis on action and results versus theoretical consideration.

usability testing higi native mobile apps 

 

In the fall of 2014, I designed and executed a usability testing for my Usability Theory and Practice course at DePaul University. The subject of the testing was, at the time, higi's existing production mobile app as well as a higi-fidelity mobile app prototype which focused on new gamification functionality. The primary intent of this test was to determine current users’ behavior, attitudes, and expectations for higi’s mobile offerings. 

 

This usability testing was conducted during the week of November 3rd, 2014 at the Lincoln Park Whole Foods

Participant recruitment occurred at the Lincoln Park Whole Foods, immediately after the user had finished checking into or engaging with a Station.

The high-fidelity mobile app prototype designs and insights from the higi mobile app usability test informed the higi iOS and Android 2.1 gamification release. Without this user research, our team would not have been aware of the Find a Station interaction issues or the confusion around the introduction of the higi incentive platform to mobile users. This user research provided our mobile team with a better understanding of the user's problems and informed my decision to prioritize Find a Station functionality enhancements and to shore up the value prop during the mobile walkthrough experience. 

Exploring Facebook's Future Product Portfolio

 

With the Facebook Academy design, I set out to explore what the future of Facebook's product portfolio might look like as Mark Zuckerberg drives Facebook towards a more global community. The thesis driving my design exploration was that just as the original iteration of Facebook was modeled after and then eventually displaced collegiate face book directories and yearbooks, Academy would be a successful addition to the Facebook product portfolio because it would retrieve an artifact that allows students to better understand their fellow students through the aggregation and limited publication of basic personal, course and contact information.

 

Will Assembly revive the mini-feed?

Wireframing for Assembly invisible mobile app

Facebook goes back to it's roots with the mini-feed in Assembly

mobileGamificationrelease_2.1.png

Marketing page for academy app

I opted to craft a fictional marketing page for the Assembly app. I was drawn to Facebook's product marketing template and thought it afforded me a means to introduce the app, communicate its consumer value proposition (at times in jest), and introduce the problem statement a user / market perspective. An added benefit was being in the headspace of creating marketing collateral made it easier to consider the impact this imaginary application would have on users and the culture.

Academy Marketing Page

Contact Me

If you are looking to work together or just nerd out about Chicago tech or Fantasy Baseball over beer and pizza please reach out via social media, use the form below, or hit me up via email at mike.a.hayden@gmail.com.

 
 
 

 

 

Powered by Squarespace