Prior to joining SentryOne, I was a product manager for a large retail organization, primarily focused on anything related to payments. That role didn’t turn out to be what I expected from a professional and personal perspective. I realized there wasn’t consensus around moving to Agile. This created tension across business groups, which made it difficult for change to happen. There was also the mindset that product managers needed to be onsite in the early morning hours for releases. I spoke to others regarding their thought on this part of the process, and I found consensus that change needed to happen. However, fear of change by some in the organization made this challenging.
Ultimately, the lack of a clear path of advancement and work-life balance led me to search for other opportunities. The great thing about being a product manager is that the principles and practices are relevant and useful across any software platform or vertical.
I joined SentryOne because I was impressed with the people and products, and I saw an opportunity to grow in new ways. I also knew I would add valuable experience as a product manager, get to share my experiences in ways that would help our Product Management team grow and mature, and learn from many knowledgeable people who are always willing to answer questions and share their knowledge.
I want to give you a peek into a piece of my professional journey as a product manager by sharing some of my challenges and what keeps me up at night. My hope is that something I mention is relatable or helpful to someone who might be considering professional changes or find themselves working through a challenge.
What Has Been a Challenging Topic for Me?
There are always challenges with any new venture, and those challenges can help us grow. I am someone who picks up information quickly. In the world of SQL Server monitoring, there is so much to learn. The SentryOne client is full of incredible tools to help data professionals identify performance issues. However, learning about all aspects of a comprehensive solution that has 15 years of innovation behind it takes time. There is so much valuable information and analysis available in the product, and I want to know it inside and out. I consider this challenge to be a good thing because I do not see myself getting bored or having a shortage of things to learn.
What Do I Look Forward to Each Day?
Every day, I look forward to the Slack and Teams chats I have with various SentryOne team members. They are not always work related and often are check-ins to see how things are going. As we navigate the “new normal” because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been valuable to talk to leaders within SentryOne.
One thing I love about working at SentryOne is the genuine nature of people. I look forward to the impromptu chats about a new feature or an issue that just pops up. One of the best ways I learn is through doing, so I enjoy walking through the software with our incredible Client Services team members. SentryOne is filled with brilliant people throughout every function, and I’ve found their willingness to share this information with me to be unmatched.
What Keeps Me Up at Night?
One of the top reasons I love being a product manager is being able to talk to customers and help solve their issues. There are 3 things that keep me up at night: New features to make life easier for our customers, communication efforts, and “keep the lights on” (KTLO) activities. Let’s look at each of them in greater detail.
#1: Product Features That Improve Quality of Life
We all want and love new features that make our lives easier. As a product manager, I spend a lot of time thinking about ways to make our products better. This encompasses research of new technologies, current trends, and, of course, customer feedback. As a result, there are many things that can be created or enhanced within our products. The main question then becomes, what is most important? How will I contribute to improving the quality of life for our customers? One of my goals is to maintain open and consistent communication with customers. This helps ensure we are constantly seeking to improve and perfect an already incredible suite of products.
#2: Keep the Lights on (KTLO) Activities
KTLO efforts are also important because these are the things that exist already. These are the bugs and enhancements that might create more efficiencies, but not necessarily be visible. These are performance optimizations that are so important, take time, but might go virtually unnoticed. I think tackling KTLO items can sometimes be the toughest to gain buy in for, as they can be easy to push off. Ultimately, as a product Leader, I know it is important to prioritize these efforts to ensure the stability and overall maintenance of our systems and software.
#3: Communication
Last, but certainly not least, is communication, which is key to success. Without effective communication, things fall apart. In product management, it is my responsibility to communicate when features, enhancements, and fixes will be available. This information must be shared internally so that our Sales team members, support personnel, and leaders know what teams are doing and when things will be delivered. If there is poor communication about what new features do or other pertinent information, our Sales and Support teams could be left “holding the bag” of misunderstood, unclear, and surprising changes.
I believe the combination of these three things, when done effectively, produce a superior experience for our customers and the SentryOne team.
Conclusion
Ultimately, all the things I covered in this blog post make for an interesting, challenging, and rewarding day, every day. I have made some good and bad decisions in my life—becoming a part of the SentryOne family is one of my excellent choices.
Tanisha Adams is a senior product manager; she is responsible for using customer and market knowledge to create actionable roadmaps and requirements for the best Database Performance Monitoring and DataOps tools in the market. Her experience includes product management at AvidXchange and Lowes. In her free time, she loves spending time with her family, travelling, baking, and reading.
