Introducing the Behavioral Product Manager

Action-Design Radio: Episode 1

Kristen Berman joins hosts Zarak Kahn, Behavioral Innovation Director at Maritz and Erik Johnson, an independent Behavioral Science Consultant for Action Design Radio. They discuss Kristen’s philosophy of incorporating behavioral science into the Product Manager’s domain, creating what she dubs the Behavioral Product Manager. Kristen outlines how behavioral science gives us the missing pieces of the Product Manager’s toolkit.

For example, a BPM would prioritize measurement and experimental infrastructure sooner than a normal PM would, highlighting that you can’t move a company toward consumer outcome if you’re not properly measuring it. Most companies, as well as their Product Managers, use traditional methods like focus groups and interviews to find out what their customers “think” and how they “feel.” But the Behavioral Product Manager concentrates on things like behavioral mapping and identifying friction, because the behavioral world focuses more on what people do and less on what they say.

Action-Design Network with Kristen Berman