
Mike Lattiak
Senior Product Manager
A Closer Look
Key Strengths
Emphasizes data over theory, using metrics and user interviews to dig deep into a problem and identify solutions.
Experience in working with stakeholders to turn the chaos of competing objectives into direction and order. Expert in funneling business, technical, and customer challenges into a clear and coherent product plan.
Detailed oriented mindset with heavy emphasis on documenting user needs. Comprehensive experience in developing clear backlogs that connect pain points with market values.
Previous cross-functional development experience allows him to get into the mindspace of developers, designers, stakeholders, and QA.
Able to quickly identify risks with the team, translate technical speech to stakeholders, and communicate product vision to the entire organization.
Fields of Experience
B2B / B2C
K-12 Inventory Management
Automotive Industry
Education Software (Music, Neurological)
Mental Health / Wellness
Video Game Industry
Augmented Reality
Highlighted Skills
Creation
Begins by focusing on the pain point to be solved. Establishes a foundation where all stakeholders and developers can effectively analyze pain points and become passionate about moving toward a solution.
Utilizes Pragmatic Marketing framework, using qualitative and quantitative data, win/loss analysis, competitive analysis, and personas to validate market direction.
Performs deep dives into available technologies, understanding risk and scope for potential solutions. Transforms this data into an actionable product plan that outlines the required resources to reach an MVP.
Extensive UI/UX experience allows for more in-depth focus on the overall user flow, utilizing user maps and rapid prototyping before development begins.
Iteration
Focuses on Agile methodologies to foster an environment where features, roadmaps, and metrics can change throughout the product life cycle based on continual learning.
Continuously grooms and prioritizes the backlog to validate product direction and give engineers clarity around where to focus.
Conducts user interviews and performs experiments with each iteration of the product, working side-by-side with developers and designers to continuously improve the user experience.
Updates and communicates the roadmap to all stakeholders, making sure it continuously reinforces product values alongside with the overall business strategy.
Maintenance
Evaluates both product stability and business metrics to determine whether additional iterations or maintenance passes are required.
Iterates on the product value proposition to maintain the backlog and roadmap post launch.
Ensures we have solved the pain points identified in the discovery phase.
Creates ‘feature funnels’ to allow for easy gathering of user feedback, empowering the entire organization to listen to the market and be able to identify improvements to the product.
Projects & Roles
Utilized Cross Departmental Design Collaboration to Launch Help Desk Software Aimed at Teachers and Students
In 2017, Mike led an effort to introduce a new module for a company's K-12 software product line. This module would introduce teachers and students to a workflow previously restricted to technicians and administrators. The feature allowed users to submit data directly to the system, cutting out an administrative “middle man.”This opened up new design challenges, including single sign-on for students, sensitive data entry, integrations, and non-intrusive notifications. To solve these challenges, Mike organized and facilitated several Google Venture Design Sprints, with representatives from each department. Utilizing data from customer support, sales, marketing, development, and operations, Mike was able to develop and validate prototypes in under one week. Integrating validation and user feedback, Mike confidently developed an MVP in a few months and released it to the market. After initial release, the team continued to gather data on user feedback, continuously improving the product based on user needs.
Developed a Transparent, Data Driven Prioritization System
One of Mike’s first projects involved organizing a backlog of over 200 requests into a functioning roadmap that could be leveraged across the team’s functional disciplines and be implemented quickly. Utilizing the Pragmatic Marketing framework, Mike worked to break down each request and score it based on factors like market impact, unique request frequency, and internal risk. This methodology organized the roadmap, communicating feature priority and product direction, while still allowing the team to pivot as new information was received. Mike provided full transparency for the development team and business stakeholders, breaking down how each feature request had been analyzed and prioritized. This created an honest and productive relationship with business leaders and end users.
About
Home Town
Charlottesville, VA (hometown)
Current Town
Austin, TX (current city)
Education
Bachelor of Computer Science, Full Sail University
Connect with Mike
Skills
<p class="font_8"><u><strong>Certifications:</strong></u> Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Scrum Master (SCM), Pragmatic Marketing (PMC-III) </p>
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<p class="font_8"><u><strong>Product Management:</strong></u> Aha!, Productboard, Google Analytics, Project Management: JIRA, Confluence, Pivotal Tracker, Trello, Visual Studio Online, </p>
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<p class="font_8"><u><strong>UX + Development:</strong></u> Invision, Zeppelin, Balsamiq, Miro, Gliffy, Backlog Prioritization, Product Strategy & Roadmapping, Stakeholder Management </p>
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<p class="font_8"><u><strong>Agile Methodologies:</strong></u> User Story Creation, Win / Loss Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Buyer/User Personas, Cross Department / Cross Team Communication, Wireframes / Prototyping / Google Venture Design Sprints</p>