AMA: GitLab VP, Product, Mike Flouton on AI Product Management
January 9 @ 10:00AM PST
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GitLab VP, Product, Mike Flouton on AI Product Management
Top Questions
What are the different types of AI Product Managers. Are we going to see a role that's similar to a Technical Product Manager focused towards the data science team?
My question is more to understand if a PM needs to understand the AI concepts to be a successful AI PM?
Mike Flouton
GitLab VP, Product • January 9
I think this is hard to say, but if I had to guess I think this does evolve into a specialized function. At Barracuda we had a platform PM function and I was lucky enough to work with a phenomenal PM who owned threat detection efficacy. He interfaced with our data scientists and ML engineers on a......Read More
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Mike Flouton
GitLab VP, Product • January 9
First and foremost, there are certain traits I value in any PM and I'd say these are the basic non-negotiables. * Intelligence. You can't coach height in basketball and you can't coach raw smarts in PM * Curiosity. Great PMs ask a lot of questions. * Strong customer focus. You love talki......Read More
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Mike Flouton
GitLab VP, Product • January 9
Let me preface this by defining a product team as PM, UX and Engineering. I'd suggest there are at least two sets of metrics you should be looking at. First and foremost, don't forget you're here to solve a customer problem. Judge success according in how the capability is driving that specifi......Read More
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Mike Flouton
GitLab VP, Product • January 9
I've often said that PM is misunderstood as a relatively junior and technical job. It's actually best when it's treated as a strategic function, and being technical is a bonus but not necessarily the be all end all. I do think AI PM might be a bit of an exception to the last piece. You need to......Read More
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Mike Flouton
GitLab VP, Product • January 9
For sure. There are certain things AI does really well, and others that humans or traditional deterministic algorithms do better. That sounds obvious, but there's some nuance here that users often miss. At Barracuda, we were the first major email security vendor to market with an AI based appr......Read More
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Mike Flouton
GitLab VP, Product • January 9
This will be anti-climactic, but my advice is "don't forget you're a PM." Stay laser focused on the customer, their pain and problems and solve the problem. AI is an incredibly powerful tool to solve customer problems, but that's all it is. A tool to solve problems. And it's not always the best t......Read More
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