Season 3

Cindy Alvarez is an expert in customer research and iterative development. She’s the author of Lean Customer Development, a hands-on guide for validating product and feature ideas. She’s worked for small and medium-sized startups – and now runs user experience for Yammer (a Microsoft company). Cindy’s got a flair for explaining user-centered design in a compelling and understandable way. From her early days doing tech support for her professors at Harvard—to her current leadership role evangelizing lean tactics at Microsoft—Cindy thrives on new challenges. Listen in and learn how a seasoned UX expert blends customer development with product leadership.

Dan Olsen is a seasoned product manager – and the author of the Lean Product Playbook, a soup-to-nuts handbook for doing smart product management with Lean principles. Dan runs the Lean Product & Lean UX Meetup in Silicon Valley, where he brings cross-functional teams together to lean how to create great products. Dan is an articulate proponent of a lean & disciplined approach to product development – and he knows the power of choosing the right mental model to organize your thinking. In this interview, you’ll learn how an experienced product manager approaches customer discovery, rapid prototyping and smart MVP development.

Teresa Torres is a rising star in product management, and the author of the popular “Product Talk” blog. She’s got an eclectic background in cognitive science, UX design, startup management and organizational change – which gives her a unique perspective on product discovery. Teresa shares her deep & hard-won product wisdom – and her inspiring perspective on the long game of product management. Learn how one talented product manager is forging a new path & shaking up the organizational change management game.

If you’ve ever struggled to get your team or organization to adopt Lean principles that really work – this interview is for you. Jeff Gothelf is a Lean UX expert who specializes in enterprise software & change management. In his new book, Sense & Respond, Jeff and his co-author Josh Seiden provide tools & techniques that help large organizations listen to customers & create new products continuously. In this fascinating interview, Jeff summarizes what he’s learned working with enterprise leaders – and pinpoints the speed bumps that get in the way of effective Lean product development. Listen in and discover how to implement change management that really works.