Our consultant Aurora shares her journey from product design to product management.
Hello, I’m Aurora, a product manager & designer who, over the past years, has been transitioning from product design to product management, shifting my focus from details to the bigger picture.
During this transition, I learned how to identify the right problems, solve them, and build those solutions, not just design them.
Transitioning into product management wasn’t a straightforward journey. While it might seem like a natural progression on paper, the reality was a series of small steps, questions, uncertainties, and hard-earned lessons. What kept me moving forward was a deep curiosity to understand products beyond just their design. I wanted to bridge the gap between user needs and business goals.
So, let’s rewind for a moment.
It was March 2020: I was living in Spain, studying foreign languages and literature. At some point, I realized this path wasn’t right for me. I wanted something more challenging. That summer, I discovered UX design and fell in love with it. By January, I was working as a UX designer and researcher.
However, I didn’t have a design school background or years of experience in digital products: I was simply curious enough to leave my comfort zone, study hard, learn new tools, and start fresh in a different field.
After working for a few years as a designer, I started to get involved beyond the typical design space: prioritization, roadmapping, and product discussions. This made me realize something: I wasn’t just interested in designing the product; the whole product lifecycle got my interest.
Initially, it felt familiar, as many design skills naturally translated into product work. Some of these transferable skills were:
User empathy: designers are used to listening to users, identifying their pain points, and solving real problems. This mindset is valuable when deciding what to build next and understanding its significance in the bigger picture.
Storytelling: presenting design deliverables or sharing a product vision both require clear communication to stakeholders.
Data-informed mindset: I’ve always been the kind of designer who uses data to back decisions and test hypotheses, a skill that remains valuable in product management.
Product discovery: designers' skills in research, testing, and iterating are second nature, providing a solid foundation for exploring solutions and validating ideas early on.
Until now, everything looks easy! Right? Let’s address the challenges because, as I mentioned, the switch came with its fair share of hard work, some of them included:
Prioritization is not about urgency: Learning to distinguish between urgent and important tasks in product management was a particularly intense task.
People pleasing is a limitation: whether it's to a stakeholder or a teammate, saying no has always been uncomfortable for me. However, protecting focus, strategy, and ultimately, the product is essential.
Aligning people (not stakeholders: people): Bringing together differing opinions requires significant communication and negotiation skills, areas less emphasized in design.
Risk management is a crucial part of the job of a product manager. It involves navigating uncertainty and making sure the team and decision-makers are aware of what’s at stake.
Luckily, I was not alone in this transition. dualoop offered a robust mentorship program, and my manager supported me through weekly one-on-ones. I also followed the dualoop product management training, which provided me with theory and practice, enabling conversations with other PMs and professionals in the digital industry.
If you’re a designer curious about transitioning to product management, here’s my advice for you:
Keep learning, and do it with structure. Read, observe, and look for frameworks and communities that help you connect the dots.
Stay humble and patient with yourself. You won’t know everything, and that’s okay. Allow yourself time to grow. You will make mistakes; what matters is what you do after they occur.
And when you're stuck, just ask for help. This isn’t a solo journey. Talk to others, share your doubts, and lean on those who’ve been there before.
Trust me when I say that in product management, the worst thing isn’t failing; it’s not trying at all. This mindset applies not only to building products but also to building our careers, especially when you decide to change paths.
