https://www.patreon.com/datameshradio (Data Mesh Radio Patreon) - get access to interviews well before they are released Episode list and links to all available episode transcripts (most interviews from #32 on) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZmCIinVgIm0xjIVFpL9jMtCiOlBQ7LbvLmtmb0FKcQc/edit?usp=sharing (here) Provided as a free resource by DataStax https://www.datastax.com/products/datastax-astra?utm_source=DataMeshRadio (AstraDB); George Trujillo's contact info: email (george.trujillo@datastax.com) and https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgetrujillo/ (LinkedIn) Transcript for this episode (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LPYc0Be6Fq8latz41FNKLkDNiOfgiFxYjfFdWxxo4dU/edit?usp=sharing (link)) provided by Starburst. See their Data Mesh Summit recordings https://www.starburst.io/learn/events-webinars/datanova-on-demand/?utm_campaign=starburst-brand&utm_medium=outbound&utm_source=&utm_type=&utm_content=dmradiodnvid&utm_term= (here) and their great data mesh resource center https://www.starburst.io/info/distributed-data-mesh-resource-center/?utm_campaign=starburst-brand&utm_medium=outbound&utm_source=&utm_type=&utm_content=dmradiodmcenter&utm_term= (here). You can download their Data Mesh for Dummies e-book (info gated) https://starburst.io/info/data-mesh-for-dummies/?utm_campaign=starburst-brand&utm_medium=outbound&utm_source=&utm_type=&utm_content=dmradiodnvid&utm_term= (here). In this episode, Scott interviewed Alla Hale, a Data Product Manager at Ecolab. To be clear, she was only representing her own views rather than anything on behalf of the company. She is hiring in Barcelona as well, see https://jobs.ecolab.com/job/15770737/data-product-manager-barcelona-es/ (here) Some key takeaways/thoughts from Alla's point of view: The most useful question in your quiver as a data producer is "what value would having this unlock for you?" It's not about pushing back, it's about skipping to collaborative negotiation. How can you work together to unlock business value? It's important to remember this when there is a data request: "they are coming to you because they need your help." Act accordingly - with empathy and patience. You need to really consider your data user experience (DUX) for your data products. How can you quickly get people past figuring out "what the product is" to leveraging the data product to drive value? You want users to enjoy using your data product. User stated requirements often do not match actual user needs. To maximize the return on your data work, look to exchange context to find the needs instead of just taking requirements at face value. And do so with patience and empathy. No prototype, no meeting = having something tangible - even if that is simply a process map on a Post-It note - for people to react to. Otherwise, what will the conversation be about? How do you prevent the meeting from being a waste of time unless there is a specific topic to address? We need to take lots of learnings/practices from tangible/physical goods product management when thinking about data products. We have users who have needs. How can we best serve those needs and drive value through that? It's always about serving the users' needs. Another product management learning - how can we do fast prototyping? Prototypes have an actual cost, even in data/software. What gets us to value quickly? How can we capture value early as we iterate towards product quality? All products - and their features - have a lifecycle. Be prepared to prune features or an entire product if they no longer drive more value than the cost to develop + maintain. Discussing sunsetting and pruning should happen with users even in the development process. Far too often, data consumers are used to data assets being available in perpetuity - even as they degrade. We need data consumers to be part of an active conversation about if they are still using something and how to create more...