Distances & Maps
My Journey from Software Support Analyst to Product Manager with Distances and Maps
The product
Distances and Maps product is not just a tool for calculating distances between ports; it is the original and foundational product that the company I used to work for sold to its customers. This vital tool in the maritime industry serves as the bedrock for commercial voyage financials, determining bunker costs, laytime calculations, ETAs, ETDs, and other critical voyage expenses. As the first product ever offered by the afore mentioned company, Distances and Maps played a pivotal role in shaping the company's trajectory. However, over time, it became outdated and needed a serious revamp to align with today's technology and user needs.
my journey
My journey with Distances and Maps began on the Technical Solutions Team. The company's initiative to develop Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) led me to choose Distances as my specialization. As I delved deeper into the product, I identified inefficiencies and, over six months, successfully advocated for and convinced stakeholders to entrust me with the full responsibility of the product. I found myself doing product management without explicitly knowing it, making the transition to the next career step a natural progression.
the development process
The development process was a challenging yet rewarding experience. Initially unfamiliar with repositories, pull and merge commands, and the intricacies of code changes, I immersed myself in the engineering world. Not only did I gather customer feedback, but I also actively participated in the product management role, overseeing the development work, executing code changes, managing releases, and more. This hands-on approach allowed me to become a bridge between customers, the product, and the engineering teams. The transition process involved a comprehensive proposal and collaboration with various teams, including Platform, Infrastructure, Marketing, and Technical Solutions. This collaboration led to a successful transition that significantly improved the product's UI, reduced maintenance hours, and eliminated unnecessary server costs.
challenges
The challenges I faced included the need to balance competing priorities and convincing stakeholders of Distances' importance. I learned to gather customer feedback, discern between bugs and features, and say no to feature requests when necessary. Simultaneously, I actively participated in the development process, executing code changes, managing releases, and more, effectively performing product management without explicit recognition.
success
The transition process brought additional challenges, such as navigating an outdated product and justifying the need for a significant overhaul. To handle these challenges, I wrote a compelling transition proposal and collaborated closely with various teams to ensure a smooth process. The results were remarkable – we streamlined operations, increased revenue, improved client satisfaction, and reduced maintenance costs, as evidenced by the following success metrics:
Removed non-paying customers
Upsold to 20 more accounts over the next 6 months
Increased the price of the product by 40%
Made significant improvements in the UI
Client satisfaction rate increased from 7.5 to 8.6
Decreased maintenance by 12 hrs/month and completely eliminated extra server costs
In the pursuit of progress, it's essential not to fear moving from legacy to something new. In the case of Distances and Maps, I had to make the challenging decision to retire features and products that were no longer serving our clients optimally. Although we lost a dozen customers in the process, over the next four years, we gained hundreds more. This strategic move allowed us to evolve with industry demands, proving that embracing change is crucial for sustained success.