AMA: Asana Head of Product Operations, Saikat Paul on Product Operations

The most important thing I’ve learned about feedback is that it is not given unless requested and is predicated on a safe environment. Hearing 'everything is great' feels good, but it often masks areas for improvement. We've learned that the most valuable feedback reveals both strengths and weaknesses. We need to know what didn’t work so we can address it. But how do we get folks to be honest and forthright? While some people naturally share feedback openly, others might hesitate due to fear of ...Read More

Change is inevitable. In product operations, designing adaptable processes to navigate it is key. How? This three-pronged approach minimizes the pain of pivoting and keeps us agile: Explicit Decision Points: Each process stage should culminate in a clear decision point. Think research informing a "pain to solve" choice, with the freedom to even disinvest based on findings. We embrace this at Asana. Our PMs regularly choose to "persevere, pivot, or quit" at key milestones, and each path is celebr ...Read More

This is an easy one for me 🙂 I’m very lucky to be at a company where we can actually dogfood our product 24/7. As an operations lead, Asana is my tool of choice (de facto or not). I love the flexibility of the data model, the power of automations, and the ease of use. At Asana, dogfooding is a way of life- from culinary to sales to product operations, we are all in Asana every day. But I’m not answering this question just to boast 😉. I’ve been in situations at previous jobs where we had to make ...Read More

I leverage a variety of methodologies and frameworks to streamline operations, depending on the specific challenge and context. Here are some of my go-to tools: Lean Methodologies: Identify and eliminate waste: Monitor cycle times to find waste and bottlenecks in your processes. Did an approval by a manager take 3+ weeks? Consider recontracting around an SLA. Are folks spending hours navigating and creating tasks? Consider what could be automated. Continuous improvement: Always be on the lookout ...Read More

An environment for effective collaboration requires continuous support and nurturing, all built on a foundation of trust and transparency 🌱 Trust and transparency Shared Goals and KPIs: Align everyone on company-wide goals and show how each department can contribute to the bigger picture. This creates a sense of shared purpose and motivates collaborative efforts. At Asana we call this the Pyramid of Clarity Transparency in decision-making and information sharing: Be honest and forthright with de ...Read More