In today's product management landscape, UI/UX design integration is vital for innovation and customer satisfaction. Darice, who honed her skills during internships, exemplifies its importance. Joining her is Jing Xuan, a Product Manager intern, who offers unique insights into UI/UX and Product Management intersection, underscoring its significance in modern product development.

In exploring the dynamic relationship between product management and UI/UX, a fundamental question arises: What is the pivotal role that UI/UX plays in the realm of product management, and how does it influence user outreach and engagement? Acting as a crucial conduit, UI/UX connects product managers with users, facilitating the transformation of conceptualized features into tangible, user-friendly experiences. Let’s hear from our friends with prior internship experiences in this field!

How her first go at UI/UX went:

“I did a few UI/UX internships across startups and government agencies. I was initially a UX and Product Intern at a business networking startup, ReferReach. Being an intern in an early-stage startup meant that I had lots to do outside of my UI/UX role, but my contributions to the startup in terms of just UI/UX involved me helping the UI/UX designers with user research, editing their designs a little, creating prototypes for testing and also aiding them in conceptualising the main format of the Ask feature on ReferReach’s app back in 2022. 

Honestly, I did more Product work here such as doing competitor research and leading quality assurance efforts for the app (basically I find bugs/design errors and bring it up to the business analysts and developers to resolve) as compared to design work as I was still so new to UI/UX back then, so everything was a struggle…but it helped me understand how product and business functions as a whole.”

How her experience was like as a UI/UX intern after NOC:

“I interned at GovTech twice, once from July 2022 till Dec 2022 (I took LOA!). This was after I came back to Singapore from NOC. I was attached to this team called WOGAA (Whole-Of-Government Application Analytics). Basically, the product is to help public officers managing their own agencies' websites and mobile apps track and make sense of users' data and sentiments. My internship experience here was very very fulfilling because I got the opportunity to do many many things that a regular internship might not have. Besides the usual design enhancement that I do, I also got the rare opportunity, to do accessibility testing (basically we make sure our product is usable for citizens who are PwDs) and plan and facilitate a workshop! I also got the chance to work on a small feature from end to end, so I did the designs and tested it out with actual public officers!

During my second GovTech internship in the summer of 2023, I worked with GatherSg, focusing on GatherCare and the HDB Contact Centre Team. GatherCare is a CRM tool for community nurses and AAC staff/volunteers to monitor the elderly's vital signs and activity levels. Despite the steep learning curve and early-stage products, I found the experience fulfilling. I participated in user research sessions, conducted contextual inquiries to understand user needs, created service blueprints, conducted user training, and revamped an entire module for GatherSg. This involved considering various tracks within GatherSg and addressing unique requirements, making it a challenging yet rewarding experience.”

Now let’s move on to Jing Xuan’s POV, a current PM intern at Changi Airport Group!

Collaboration between UI/UX designers & PMs, how’s that like:

“During our feature development process, the PMs have to conduct our research and consult the UI/UX designer to understand any considerations if we were to launch the feature. Once it gets cleared with the designer, we will then detail the requirements for the UI/UX designer. 

As a PM intern, I had to think about the different scenarios in which the feature could be used and list them all out. This would make the design process easier for the UI/UX designer when creating the screens and ensure that edge cases are being accounted for. The designer would then conduct user testing with her different prototypes to explore solutions and then share the insights with us. For the PMs, this was very insightful as we would be able to understand our user behaviours better. It was also useful to involve the designer in the QA testing as she would be able to identify the more UI-related issues e.g. issues with padding, colours and typography.”

Methods used by PMs & UI/UX designers:

“For the PMs, we carry out data analysis through click rates, A/B testing and surveys. For UI/UX designers, they used user interviews and guerrilla testing.”

Some interesting takes from her internship:

“I really enjoyed having discovery sessions with the designers and other PMs, where we all get together, share and discuss ideas. We would split the pillars of our product on a board and go around to see what we should prioritize. As the PMs here are more data-centric, and the UI/UX designers have conducted more qualitative research, this session allows us to combine our ideas and ensure our product developments can better meet our users’ needs. The weekly sharing sessions about various pillars of the product by PMs and designers allow me as a PM intern who has only been in the team for a few months, to understand the decision made behind the product.”

In conclusion, Darice and Jing Xuan's stories highlight the crucial role of UI/UX in product management. Through their journeys, we recognize the transformative power of collaboration between product managers and UI/UX designers in delivering innovative and user-centric products. As we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of product development, let us continue to embrace collaboration and bridge the gap between product management and UI/UX design for greater success.

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