By Teresa Torres · producttalk.org · @ttorres on X · LinkedIn
Teresa Torres interviews Laura Klein, who moved from interaction design and user research into a product role at a small company. Laura argues the transition felt natural because good designers and researchers already ask the core product questions about who the user is, what they need, and what to build. The move also gave her ownership over prioritization and follow-through, so she designs only what will actually be built. Torres closes by arguing that product and design should collaborate rather than guard territorial boundaries, especially at smaller companies where generalists can cross them easily.
01Key takeaways
- Strong interaction designers and researchers already ask many of the same questions a good product person asks.
- Owning prioritization lets you design only what the next sprints need, reducing wasted design work.
- Designing just ahead of engineering, Lean UX style, keeps design output aligned with what actually ships.
- Product and design should share responsibility for representing user needs rather than guarding boundaries.
- Generalists who can move across design and product are especially valuable at smaller companies.
02Key sections
- Background and motivation
- Laura had long worked as a UX designer and consultant for early-stage startups, teaching them to do research and design themselves. She saw the product role as a natural next step because she was already asking product questions.
- Why the move made sense
- Her design work already focused on who the user is, what they want to accomplish, and what features would help. A small team lacking enough engineers made combining design and product into one role practical.
- What changed in the role
- Laura now owns prioritization and follow-through, not just design decisions. Designing only slightly ahead of engineering, in a Lean UX style, means her work almost always gets implemented.
- Regrets and open questions
- She wishes she had made the move sooner, since frustrations from design work, like persuading others to prioritize UX, were resolved by it. She is unsure whether she can keep designing once the team grows.
- Torres's perspective
- Torres argues product and design should share responsibility for representing user needs, and that generalists who cross disciplines are valuable.
03From the post
“This post is part of the So You Want To Be a Product Manager series. We've heard from Oded and Colin who had some product experience from the context of account management type roles. We've heard from Zaz who switched to product from engineering. Today, we are going”
04Frameworks mentioned
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.