Meet Ha Nguyen to listen to her story in the most unique and captivating version of her own. Her identity revolves around the curiosity beyond the tech world and the resilient transition you would be amazed to know, from a Software Developer, Product Designer, and now a Product Manager.
Q. What are the 3 most suitable keywords to introduce yourself, and why?
Ha: Hmm, let me see… The first one I would think of is “communicative introvert”; I could quite comfortably socialize with others, but then I need twice as much time alone to recharge grinning face with sweat. The second one would be “foodie” - simply because I make a hobby out of eating delicious food. The third one, if we take a fine-tuned word, I may call myself a generalist. Otherwise, “messy” works well too haha. I am not very attentive to details. Regardless of anything, I always take a holistic approach and want to see problems from their root.
Q. How did you land on this career path?
Ha: My major is Information Technology, naturally I worked as Software Engineer. I had followed the path of a full-stack engineer for a few years. Back in my previous company, it was a start-up company with small-sized teams, so everyone had to multitask. I was not only involved in the technical aspect but also in product management, UI/UX design, etc. Since then, from only writing lines of code and spreading bugs here and there, I felt more captivated by solving user root-caused problems and enhancing their experience. I found it as a job fulfillment. So after being exposed to different areas and mindsets, the desire to be in a position where I can at least impact and shape the product holistically became more apparent in my mind. I decided to take a one-year gap to upgrade my skillsets (or so I say in my CV and job interviews) and explore new knowledge from personal projects to make sure this new direction suits me. Then here at Katalon, I’m now a one-year-old PM baby-born.
Q. What inspired the transition?
Q. What do you enjoy most about it?
Ha: To me, the feeling of accomplishment when I develop a new feature that receives positive feedback from users is very gratifying. Nothing is more enjoyable to me (being a developer before or a product manager now) than seeing our solutions nicely address user problems. Besides, being a product manager, the nature of work is to coordinate cross-functionally with different teams so that I can have the chance to be exposed to different mindsets, and learn new things on a daily basis.
Q. 03 things that can contribute to building a successful product manager?
Ha: I understand that there are many styles of PM and that each style may fit different companies (and I am also certain that my style of PM may not be welcomed by plenty). However, I strongly believe in the motto "focus on users, all else will follow". Another crucial aspect of PM is effective communication. It is not just about talking more or less, but about communicating effectively with a variety of stakeholders. Prioritization is also a key component; it involves organizing both your individual and team workload. Lastly, "product sense" is often considered an important factor in product management. While the framework is always available, the way different people apply it will vary, leading to different outcomes. Part of this depends on what I refer to as "gut feelings". Most of the time, you need to have a sense to build up a hypothesis first, and then use various methodologies to prove or disprove it.
Q. Your thoughts about balancing between doing things you love and things you are good at?
Ha: Interesting. I used to ask myself this question during the career transition period. When I worked as a developer, I arrogantly thought I nailed it pretty well. However, as I said earlier, I was going around knowing that I wanted something more. So talking about balancing, I think we should assess the trade-offs to decide on an acceptable compromise and find the opportunity that can leverage our strengths. Of course, if we can balance these two, it would be the best of both worlds.
Q. What is Ha like when she is not working?
Ha: You may see me a little bit differently. I communicate quite a lot while working, as my job requires. But outside the working environment, I don't talk that much. It's not about not enjoying socializing, I would always find time to hang out with others. Just that, I also need more time to recharge my social battery by spending some me-time. Delicious foods deserve wholehearted attention.
Q. Your proudest achievement?
Ha: It was during the time I took a one-year gap, and happened to be the final trigger that made me determine my career change. Backstory: my two close friends got married and I was supposed to gift them something emotionally valuable (majorly not because I was broke) for that special milestone. Thinking back and forth, as they are both timid nerdy devs who barely share much about themselves, and I, being an ever-lightening lightbulb that observes their whole love story from day 0, I thought I could deliver something unique: telling their story to everyone attending the wedding, in a format that can even reflect their nature. So, I built a wedding website. For those child-like, minimal life-styled couple, I decided to design the web with a children's bedtime story vibe. I also created a small booth at the wedding entrance, printing their mascots as stickers, and postcards for the guests to read the couple’s story snippets, and in return write their wedding wishes at the back. The feedback was, really great: the guests are impressed with the entrance installation booth and postcard activities, the children were in love with the stickers, and my two main characters told me that was the best gift they could ever have. Long story short, it was not only about the website or design or the printing that matters but the whole “product experience”. When the experience I delivered can bring that much delight, I realized that's what I want to pursue in my career.
Q. Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
Ha: Honestly, I am not the type of person who thinks far. In my professional development, what I have been aiming forward is to keep doing the work of building great products and inclusive user experience that brings value to users and delight them.