8 ways I am using AI to help me be a better product manager (and 4 ways I am not) - Alan Wright

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses how the author, a product manager at an AI startup, is using AI to improve various aspects of their product management practices. It covers 8 ways the author is using AI, such as generating postcards from future users, ideating solutions, identifying risky assumptions, writing product requirements, rewriting content, transcribing meetings, writing code, and using AI as a search engine. It also covers 4 ways the author is not using AI, such as relying on AI outputs without further editing, using AI to summarize important meeting notes, analyzing user research findings, and writing blog posts.

🙋 Q&A

[01] 8 ways I am using AI to help me be a better product manager

1. What are the 8 ways the author is using AI to be a better product manager?

• Generating postcards from future users and personas using AI-powered creative writing
• Ideating solutions by asking AI for ideas and examples of popular products using those solutions
• Identifying risky assumptions by having AI generate a list of potential ways a feature could fail
• Drafting product requirements and then having AI identify weaknesses in the requirements
• Rewriting and proofreading content using AI tools like ChatGPT
• Transcribing meetings and interviews using voice recognition and transcription tools
• Writing SQL/Python code using AI-powered code generation and review
• Using AI-powered search engines like Perplexity instead of traditional search engines

[02] 4 ways I am not using AI

1. Why is the author not using AI for more than just a draft? The author does not fully rely on AI outputs because AI models can make mistakes, misunderstand context, and fabricate content. The author prefers to edit and verify the AI-generated content to ensure accuracy.

2. Why is the author not using AI to write notes for important meetings? The author finds that AI-generated meeting summaries often overemphasize irrelevant information and miss important details. The author also uses the process of taking notes as a way to facilitate the meeting in real-time.

3. Why is the author not using AI to analyze user research findings? The author finds that AI summaries miss important contextual information from user research, such as facial expressions, pauses, and tone of voice. The author also values the synthesis process that happens immediately after user research sessions.

4. Why is the author not using AI to write blog posts? The author prefers to write blog posts themselves, as they want the content to be an original work rather than AI-generated.