Product Management: Simple UX for Complex Platforms

SpotHero Product Lead on Simplifying UX Product Management (Part 2)

It’s easy to think that simple interfaces do not carry a ton of complexity on the back-end of development. In reality, the opposite is true. In order to build intuitive products that customers love, UX product management teams must work tirelessly to simplify complex processes. Furthermore, this forces us to think a bit like product designers. In other words, you’re trying to create a user experience that is so straightforward that the design work fades into the background.

Ever since joining SpotHero, I have a deeper appreciation for working on an app that simplifies unexpectedly complex transactions. For example, the UX interaction that customers have with our app is very straightforward. You simply open it, press a button and you magically have a parking spot. In reality, the parking systems that we’re managing to simplify for these customer interactions are incredibly challenging.

For starters, our product management team has to account for more than 50 hardware systems that manage parking lots. As you might imagine, it’s not easy to create a universal experience when customers have so many options. In addition, there are differences in how you enter and exit open-air parking lots vs. multi-level parking garages. As a result, our team has to account for unique entries/exits across multiple parking options.

Minding the UX

The key to creating these solutions is to always have the end-user in mind.

In other words, user-centered design is at the heart of every successful product management team. At SpotHero, one of our mantras is to “give drivers the right of way” (which is just one of our many parking puns!).

Every day, I hear members of our team saying we need to solve this problem because of customer issues at X parking lot. It may seem daunting to solve every customer issue – but that’s a major piece of what makes any product culture special.

Ultimately, the only way to continue making complex processes more simple is a fanatical dedication to your users. As a result, our new hires have to sit with our customer service team constantly during their first month of employment. Why? Because product management teams are only as effective as their ability to understand their users and the user experience.

Click here for Part 1