Alyssa Amir - Product Lead @ LottieFiles

I'm currently a Product Lead in LottieFiles and been building products since 2016 in various industries. I started my career as a project coordinator and got a kick out of building products from scratch. I have built and scaled products for banks, OTT and now design tech!

What does your typical day look like?

My typical day is divided into three parts:

1. Connecting and communicating - I host regular meetings with my core team and various teams within the company.

2. Learning and analyzing - I examine product usage data, review the team’s OKRs, or conduct research on competitor’s tools.

3. Deciding and documenting - I record important outcomes from meetings and write statements outlining the problems we are trying to solve.

Why did you choose to become a product manager? How do you see things differently than the rest?

It's collaborative, challenging, and provides me with a lot of opportunities. In my opinion, product managers are builders. I enjoy collaborating with so many people and converting concepts into tangible software, websites, and apps.

What's the one thing that you absolutely love about your job?

You have the opportunity to see the full impact of the product on everyone! Most importantly, it makes me proud to see others using my product on a daily basis to enhance their quality of life.

What are some of the cool things that you are working on currently?

I'm currently creating a product for creators! I'm super excited to empower users to be able to create from scratch being a builder of things myself.

What are some of the emerging trends in your industry that excite you? And why?

When talking about design tech, we can't run away from talking about the Metaverse where  aspects of digital and physical world is combined. Bringing items from virtual world to another/ physical world is an enormously complex task that no one company can solve.

Do you follow any product/prioritization frameworks when making decisions? If yes, what are some of the top frameworks that you recommend and why?

I find Jobs-To-Be-Done (JBTD) framework super useful in my day-to-day and it helps me to focus on what the customer is trying to get done when solving a problem. The JBTD Theory includes a framework you can use to build practical solutions to your customers’ specific problems and challenges.

What’s the one tool you couldn’t do your job without, and which very few people know about?

I honestly can't live without FigJam. It has helped me to brainstorm and organize my ideas better all in one space.

Collaborative, Online Whiteboard for Teams | FigJamFigJam is a free online whiteboarding and collaboration tool you and your team can use to brainstorm and organize ideas.Figma

What's something that you learned/realized recently in your work journey that you wish you knew earlier?

Nothing is personal, understanding what everyone is trying to get done/ their motivations around it goes a long way to making your life easier.

If you don't mind sharing, what's the one mistake you've done and will advise others not to repeat?

Being too metric-obsessed! While metrics are crucial, it's important to keep in mind that success is ultimately determined by the quality of the customer experience. Take the numbers with a pinch of salt and track sentiment metrics beyond the business goals.

What are some of your biggest inspirations that help you get up and do your best work?

I look at the gaming industry (Mario Games in particular) and was completely blown away with the amount detail and thought on each feature they introduced. Although the story remains the same, with each iteration, Mario games have achieved perfection and never shies away from making creative ideas come to life!

Mario games - My Nintendo Store - Nintendo Official siteJump for joy with Mario and all his friends in this list of games for the Nintendo Switch™ system.Nintendo Official site

What would you recommend to people who want to start their careers in your space?

Spend time with developers and designers in your company. You'll grow your own perspectives on problem solving and gain a deeper understanding of the process by spending time with the people who create products.

Any new companies you know of that you think are going to make a big difference, which we should keep an eye on?

I think companies within the Climate Tech industry. How can technology help to address the issue of climate change would be interesting to solve for.

Are you open to people new in the industry reaching out to you for help?

Yes

Alyssa Amir - Afspraken