The Aha! team on effective product development

When are you most in a state of flow? We recently asked you this on LinkedIn. Responses were pretty evenly split between building solutions, connecting with customers, and collaborating with teammates. The fusion of all three fuels our own passion for product building, but it is the third — teamwork — that is most essential. Without it, we would not be able to release new functionality to our customers every week.

Product development thrives on collective effort: blending the talents of individuals across disciplines to drive innovation and deliver value.

We are a close-knit team, and we move fast. This is possible in part because we have codified how we work — we plan ahead, connect our daily work to strategic goals, and have visibility into the impact of what we deliver.

There are additional factors that help us succeed. We hire for motivation, effort, skill, and curiosity. Every new team member completes an intensive onboarding program so they are familiar with team roles and responsibilities, our workflows, and our software suite. We set aside time to discuss process improvements and keep our documentation fresh.

But just because we are disciplined does not mean the work is simple. Product building is complex and unpredictable. Like many of you, we straddle and revisit different attributes of the product development lifecycle regularly — working together to deliver what customers need. We continuously update our roadmap, rescope technical work, and ship product enhancements. The overall cycle and its individual aspects are always spinning.

More holistic than linear, product development involves every team member collaborating on the process at once.

Each Aha! team member has unique insights that amplify our success. So we asked a few to share what kind of work that they contribute energizes them most. Here is what they had to say:

Creativity ignites

Senior Product Manager Sarah Moisan-Thomas is energized by collecting and brainstorming new ideas. Whiteboards are her tool of choice for this work — where she and her teammates can co-create on a big canvas.

Sarah says, "I love to problem-solve collaboratively. Whether it's ideating about how a feature might come together or sketching a new user flow to help make it a reality, when everyone is engaged and curious about finding the right solution, that's gold."

Connections build

UX Group Manager Jessica Murray cares deeply about understanding what customers need and linking design work to strategy.

Jessica says, "It is a joy to work with the UX team — weaving together strategy and user narratives in our design decisions. Having a clear plan and being able to explain why we chose a certain design direction over another is a very fulfilling process."

Relationships are revealed

Kristina Gass on our Product Concierge team works with large enterprises to help them bring their product plans to life and make the most of Aha! software.

Kristina says, "As a former product manager myself, I know how challenging it is to decide what to build next and how to communicate priorities to the development team and broader organization. I get so much joy from collaborating with customers on their roadmaps — it's especially rewarding when they see how easily they can track relationships across work and visualize data in different ways. I love the idea that even small adjustments in how you plan and roadmap can make it easier to envision the future."

Knowledge nurtures

Jessica McFall writes content for the Aha! knowledge base. She thinks of each article as a mini conversation with the reader on the other end.

Jessica says, "When Erik and I create help documentation, we think about transforming a user's curiosity or pain point into a lovable moment. We get that we can do more than just answer a question — we can help them glean what's possible."

Discoveries await

Senior UX Designer Ali Pordeli was closely involved in the designs for our newest offerings, Aha! Whiteboards and Aha! Knowledge. He is fueled by experiences that stretch him.

Ali says, "Any opportunity to launch new products is exciting. It feels like being a startup again: Customer feedback comes fast and iteration is ongoing. Designing wireframing functionality for whiteboards was a journey — we started simply and quickly built something customers love. It was a growth process and total adventure for the team."

Embrace the complexity and show gratitude to teammates who do the same.

These are just a few snapshots of the team's work. As we continue to grow, we will keep learning new ways to work together. And we will share more about how we actually build lovable software. We hope that talking about our experiences helps you reflect on or reimagine your own.

We set ambitious goals, work hard, and are recognized for it. Read how we achieve individually and as a team.