Expert Tips For Product Management: Insights From Namratha Peddisetty

With over 11 years of experience, Namratha Peddisetty brings a wealth of product management experience, working with prominent global organizations like TATA Consultancy Services, Cognizant, and Dell Technologies. Her career trajectory demonstrates her adaptability and strong foundation in developing customer-centric solutions across diverse sectors, including e-commerce, retail, marketing technology, and mobile applications. She is known for driving business transformation and wide variety of projects through her strategic mindset and expertise in both Waterfall and Agile methodologies.

After completing a Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication Engineering, Peddisetty continued her education with an MBA in Finance and Operations. With a dual focus on teamwork and personal growth, Peddisetty blends analytical skills and problem-solving to create streamlined processes, reducing project time and increasing team productivity.

Professional Background

Starting her career at TATA Consultancy Services, Peddisetty worked in the retail domain on mobile Point-of-Sale (POS) devices. This early experience laid the foundation for a customer-centric approach to product development that she continues to use today. She managed end-to-end project execution, gathering requirements and creating detailed process flow diagrams to guide the development process. Namratha was also part of the team that launched Tatacliq.com where she coordinated with cross-functional teams on various modules, including payments, risk management, and UI/UX. She also conducted sprint demos, prioritized requirements in JIRA, and worked closely with stakeholders to ensure smooth project delivery. Her efforts helped create scalable solutions tailored to client needs, emphasizing her ability to enhance collaboration and optimize workflows.

Namratha worked as a consultant at Cognizant for a short term where she acted as a critical liaison between business and development teams, ensuring alignment across project phases. She later joined Dell Technologies and was a pivotal part of many Marketing Technology related implementations, working closely with Internal team members and stakeholders to gather and implement requirements within the platforms for streamlined and simplified processes. She collaborated with IT teams to ensure seamless integration, supported change management efforts by creating training materials and conducted live training sessions. Her involvement extended to user acceptance testing and post-launch support, where she helped address team queries. Her hands-on approach to stakeholder engagement and training support highlighted her commitment to a customer-centric development process.

Peddisetty has gained valuable lessons over the course of her career, which she shares through her commitment to teamwork, streamlined processes, and product success.

Tips for Product Management

1. The Importance of a Holistic Vision

Product managers must connect end-to-end workflows. This requires understanding the distinct details of the project that contribute to the bigger picture. This comprehensive approach assures that all project aspects are integrated harmoniously for a cohesive, user-friendly product.

“My skill of connecting various end-to-end workflows and linking processes to technology is an added advantage,” Namratha says. When product managers are too focused on one aspect of the project it is possible to lose the actual sense of a project’s overall goal, which must be maintained as it moves from team to team until its completion.

Her biggest tip is to always keep the entire user journey in mind. She says “setting clearly defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is crucial for maintaining alignment with the bigger vision of any project”.

2. Centering Customer Needs

Customer needs should be at the core of product development. While most product managers may work with the mindset of appeasing stakeholders, Namratha advises focusing on the end users. Stakeholders want a project that is easy to sell to consumers, but the users’ satisfaction determines the end success. Designing products with the primary goal of achieving the best user experience leads to results that exceed expectations. Reducing one’s own biases and remaining open-minded allows product managers to spearhead the creation of innovative products.

3. Building Trust and Collaboration

Effective product management involves building trust and promoting collaboration within teams and stakeholders. Product managers oversee both projects and people, making relationships a key to smooth processes. Peddisetty emphasizes the importance of understanding a technical team’s language. “It is not that product managers need to be technical experts, but speaking their language helps build trust,” she says. It’s critical to become accustomed to any unfamiliar terms your team may use.

4. Embracing Change With a Commitment to Learning

“In the world of product management, the methodologies are ever changing, and I have seen it affect the workflow drastically. Staying informed about new developments is a must,” she says. Namratha is committed to perpetual learning, particularly emerging technologies like generative AI. New technologies make products more tailored towards evolving customer needs. Her tip for others in the industry is to make learning and adapting a priority—whether it’s new methodologies, tools, or technologies.

5. Simplify and Standardize Processes

Simplification and standardization should be the core of every product manager’s work strategy. Always work to simplify where possible to avoid complicating projects unnecessarily. Trying to attack issues from multiple angles can become overly complicated and may mean vital solutions are missed. Instead of bogging down teams with unnecessary or redundant steps, simplicity allows them to focus on what they’re best at.

To optimize performance and maintain consistency, standardizing processes across teams is the most effective approach. While initial challenges may arise, the long-term benefits outweigh the short-term costs. This creates a culture of consistency ensuring team success and furthers reliable product outcomes.

Namratha’s Final Thoughts on Product Management

Namratha Peddisetty’s diverse background in various fields brings a unique perspective to product management. Her comprehensive vision coupled with a commitment to continuous improvement, positions her as a trusted advisor for product managers navigating complex challenges.

Her commitment to fostering strong team dynamics is instrumental in driving product success and ensuring seamless collaboration. She highlights the critical role of flexibility, cross-functional collaboration and the ability to bounce back from setbacks in navigating the ever-evolving product management landscape. Her story is a reminder of the impact a dedicated product manager can have on the success of products, the satisfaction of its users, and achieving personal success in one’s career.