Favorite Parts Of Working In Software Development As A Product Manager
Evan, a product manager with experience in both hardware and software development, finds the speed and agility of software development most rewarding, contrasting it with the lengthy timelines of hardware projects. The ability to take "the seed of an idea" and quickly create "a meaningful prototype that got board approval within a day," exemplifies the exciting pace and iterative nature of their current role in the B2B SaaS marketplace.
Software Development, Product Management, Rapid Prototyping, Innovation, Agile Development
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Evan Bradshaw
Product Manager
B2B SaaS Marketplace for Creative Production
UCSB
UCSB: Engineering School, Master of Technology Management (MS)
Psychology
Technology, Advertising, Communications & Marketing
Product / Service / Software Development and Management
Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. Rapid prototyping and iteration are key aspects of software development, allowing for quick realization of ideas and faster feedback loops compared to hardware development where projects can span years.
2. Software development offers diverse roles, even for non-developers, enabling contributions to product development and problem-solving.
3. The fast-paced nature of the software industry allows for exploring multiple ideas quickly and satisfying curiosity efficiently. This contrasts with the potentially lengthy timelines of hardware development projects.
Transcript
What do you enjoy most about being in your industry?
I have been in multiple industries, so this is a good question for me. I started in fabrication, in the hardware environment first, and now I'm in the software development world.
What I enjoy most about software development is that you can build things quickly. In hardware, you might be on a 10-year project with millions of dollars and many people involved. It might take years to see what you're building actually happen, and you may not even see it happen at all if it's a military contract.
In software, it's really interesting that you can take the seed of an idea and develop it into a minimum viable product, a prototype, or a story that gets people excited very quickly. For example, with OpenAI's ChatGBT store, I took an idea and made a meaningful prototype that got board approval within a day. My engineering team was excited about the no-code method. Now, we're building it with APIs within our application.
I think that's the most exciting part about software development. Even if you're not a developer, you can play a role in building it. The speed at which things happen is also impressive. You can explore many great ideas fast and satisfy your curiosity almost immediately. In hardware, at least in my experience, it was almost the opposite.