Micro-Interview: Antoaneta Tsaneva, VP Product Design | Quantive
🎨 A designer's perspective about product management 💭
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Antoaneta Tsaneva is a VP of Product Design at Quantive, a Strategy Execution Platform based on the OKR methodology.
In under 500 words, she shares:
What design brings into product management…
How she starts her mornings for maximum productivity…
Some of her sources of learning…
And more…
Enjoy!
“What does design bring into product management?”
My experience as a design leader allowed me to bring the user perspective to the table, influencing the build process and the product. I soon realized that product design and management are closely interrelated, and transitioning between these roles was natural.
“How do you start your mornings at work?”
With a large cup of coffee! I start my workday early to review my priorities and schedule without interruptions. I use Slack to catch up on messages, channels, and questions from the US team.
“What do you know about product management now that you wish you’d known when you first started?”
As in design, knowing when to stop is critical in product development. Early on, I often found myself blocked by a lack of courage to decide and hesitated to move forward. Accepting that creating a product is an ongoing cycle of experimentation and iteration was liberating.
“What did your biggest product failure teach you?”
Experiment, learn, and take risks. Both failures and successes are natural parts of the process. While failing is easy, learning from successes is more valuable to gain insights. This approach helps me move forward more confidently, knowing what's working.
“What’s the #1 thing that has helped you create great products?”
During my years in Telerik, I've been lucky to have the opportunity to learn directly from Vassil Terziev and the rest of the Telerik founders. They were all obsessed with quality and super focused on the customer, so our approach to building the right product and delivering value was to stay close to our users and integrate their feedback early on.
“How do you stay updated on the best practices in product management?”
I stay updated by reading top authors and colleagues on Medium, following reputable sources like Nielsen Norman Group, FastCompany, TechCrunch, SVPG, and experts like Jeff Gothelf, Peter Merholz, Scott Belsky, and others. I follow other companies and keep an eye on the software products they are building to stay on track with emerging trends.