Stef’s ReadMe

How I Work, Make Decisions, and Collaborate

📌 About Me

Hi! I’m Stefanie, a Product Manager at HubSpot working on analytics and reporting. My mission is to make data more accessible, actionable, and insightful so that users can make better business decisions.

I’m passionate about customer experience, cross-functional collaboration, and iterating to continuously improve our products.

🧠 How I Think About Product

My Approach to Product Management:

User-Centered: I focus on understanding customer pain points and use their feedback to guide decisions. I always ask, “What’s the real problem here, and how can we solve it for our users?”
Data-Driven: I balance both quantitative data (metrics, adoption trends) and qualitative insights (user interviews, feedback loops) to make informed decisions. Numbers are important, but I also trust real-world feedback.
Collaboration-First: The best solutions come from engineering, design, and product teams working together. I value cross-functional teamwork and always seek alignment with the broader team.
Iterate & Optimize: I believe in shipping incrementally, learning fast, and continuously improving the product. We can always tweak and refine our solutions over time.

🚀 How I Work

Making Decisions

Prioritization Frameworks: I use a combination of impact vs. effort, customer urgency, and alignment with our product vision to prioritize tasks and features.
Customer Signals: I rely on customer interviews, usage data, and feedback from Sales & Support teams to validate what matters most.
Trade-offs & Alignment: I communicate the why, what’s in scope, and what’s not to ensure alignment with the team and stakeholders.

Communication Style

Async-Friendly: I prefer structured updates over async channels like Slack, Notion, and Loom. I’ll always aim to be clear and keep things organized for efficient communication.
Direct but Collaborative: I value open discussions, constructive feedback, and transparency in decision-making.
Frequent Check-ins: I regularly update the team on progress and proactively share key milestones to keep everyone aligned.

🤝 How to Work With Me

If You’re an Engineer:

I believe in aligning on the problem space and the ‘why’ before diving into execution.
I’m happy to dive deep into trade-offs, constraints, and technical feasibility when needed.
While I push for usability and performance, I trust your expertise on how to implement the solution.

If You’re a Designer:

Expect deep conversations around discoverability, information hierarchy, and UX patterns to make sure we’re solving the problem intuitively.
I’ll advocate for a customer-first approach, sharing real user feedback to guide our designs.
I love seeing quick sketches and wireframes before committing to full design execution. I find it helpful to validate ideas early.

If You’re a Fellow PM:

Collaboration is key! I love sharing learnings, pressure-testing ideas, and brainstorming together.
If our work overlaps, let’s sync early to align on goals and avoid duplication of effort.
I’m always open to working through hypotheses together and refining ideas as we go.

📣 How I Gather Feedback

User Research & Customer Calls: I actively participate in customer interviews and listen in on support calls to gain deep insights.
Analytics & Adoption Data: I track usage metrics and monitor adoption trends to identify potential friction points and areas for improvement.
Internal Feedback Loops: I regularly connect with Sales, Customer Success Managers (CSMs), and Support teams to stay updated on what customers are saying and asking for.

🎯 What I’m Currently Focused On

Improving Discoverability in the Analytics Suite: I’m working on making it easier for users to find the reports they need with more intuitive search and filtering.
Enhancing Personalization in Reporting: We’re focusing on enabling users to tailor dashboards and reports to their workflows for a more personalized experience.
Refining Onboarding: We’re improving the product onboarding experience to help new users get up and running more quickly, ensuring they understand the full value of the tool from day one.

🎉 Fun Facts About Me

Based in Toronto 🏙️
Big fan of cold plunging and sauna sessions ❄️🔥
Favorite podcast: Lenny’s Podcast 🎙️
Last book I read: Evidence-Guided by Itamar Gilad 📚