Reetika Gupta

"Building an AI product is like raising a toddler." I was at an event hosted by Khyati B. of eChai Ventures last week, and the toddler analogy captures the shift in how we build products! Guess who said it? It came from Sowmya.S. Vivek. She spoke with this incredible clarity and ownership that just made me sit back and admire her. So, talking about toddlers, Our roadmaps used to be predictable. We'd define a feature, build it, ship it, iterate, and move on. But with AI, you can’t just "build it and ship it." (Nishchay V do you agree with me?) Like a toddler, an AI model is unpredictable. It learns from its environment. It has its own behaviors. And sometimes, it throws tantrums (we call them hallucinations). Now, Your role shifts to: > Constantly observing its behavior out in the real world > Setting clear boundaries and guardrails to keep it safe and helpful > Patiently teaching and retraining it when it makes mistakes or drifts off course So, the "launch" isn't the finish line. It's Day 1. This changes everything about how we manage the product: > The MVP has a new meaning > Roadmaps become dynamic >  Metrics get a complete overhaul (Hallucination rates, answer relevance scores, user correction rates, etc.,) For me, it was just motivating to hear challenges articulated so clearly! This is going stick with me. #AI #ProductManagement #UXDesign

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🚀 From Transactional to Transformational: The Next Era of UX Consulting For years, UX consulting was often treated like a checklist: Run a usability test. Deliver a report. ✅ Done. But today’s challenges require more than transactions. Organizations don’t just need “projects.” They need partners who can help them: 🌍 Reframe problems at the ecosystem level 📊 Connect research insights to business outcomes 💡 Guide cultural shifts toward customer-centricity This is the shift from transactional consulting (deliverables) to transformational consulting (lasting impact). It’s no longer about the deck; it’s about embedding research into decisions that shape the future of a product, a service, or even an entire organization. The best part? Transformation doesn’t happen overnight. It happens when UX consultants earn trust, align with leadership priorities, and prove the ROI of design thinking. 💬 What do you think? Are we ready to leave “transactional UX” behind? #UXResearch #UXConsulting #Strategy #Leadership #HumanCenteredDesign #BusinessTransformation

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"Is Figma prioritising marketing data collection over recognising subscribers?" Refer to the attached video. Such marketing approaches raise concerns about user experience and challenge established UX fundamentals. Loyal subscribers who receive generic emails may perceive mass outreach. Instead, segment by loyalty, tenure, and activity to personalise messaging and provide exclusive offers. Additionally, send targeted in-app notifications to complement conference and event emails, thereby improving engagement and better meeting subscriber needs. Recommend a smooth, personal experience with auto-filled forms, single sign-on, or one-click RSVPs to make things easier and encourage loyalty. Focus on better subscriber communications by reviewing ways to give paid users personal and premium recognition while keeping marketing efficient. Finally, improve campaigns and data quality by implementing server-side validation to complement client-side checks. #UX #UXFundamentals #UserNeeds #NeedforUXstandards #NeedforUXAi #GlobalUXcompliance #StickingtoBasics #email #massemailcampaign #subcribers #loyalty #paidsubcribers #inAppNotification #conferences #events #Figma

In my 4 years of working with Product Designers across industries, I can confidently say one of the best ways to collaborate better with designers is… Marry one. 😂 On a lighter note being married to an exceptionally good Product Designer Kizito Isifeh has genuinely sharpened how I think about collaboration. But beyond the joke, here’s what it’s taught me: 1️⃣ Designers don’t resist requirements they resist unclear problems. 2️⃣ “Make it intuitive” is not feedback. It’s avoidance. 3️⃣ The best product outcomes happen when PMs bring context, not control. 4️⃣ Early alignment beats late-stage redesign every time. 5️⃣ Respect for craft changes the tone of every conversation. Living with a designer means I’ve seen firsthand how much better products become when strategy and craft truly partner not compete. PM x Design isn’t about hierarchy. It’s about shared ownership of the user outcome. Shout out to all designers 🙌🏾 #ProductDesigners #ProductManagers #ProductManagement #Collaboration

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It’s a good question, and one that points to a deeper issue in how we assess product management. My thought is designers are expected to show their thinking and process through a portfolio. PMs, on the other hand, are usually judged by outcomes, what shipped, what moved the needle. But outcomes alone don’t tell the full story. As Marty Cagan and others have said, great product work is about consistent, high-quality decisions. That kind of thinking should be visible. A good PM portfolio wouldn’t just show wins, it would show how those wins came to be, the tradeoffs, the strategy, the customer insight. We don’t talk about this enough. And maybe it’s time we do. Not to add more process, but to raise the bar on how we understand and grow product leadership. #productmanagement #leadership #sundayspice

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Analytics reveal outcomes. UX reveals causes. Many critical UX problems hesitation, uncertainty, lack of trust — don’t appear in dashboards, yet they directly affect user decisions. I approach UX as a discipline of understanding behavior, not just measuring clicks. Because real insight lives beyond metrics. #ZainAnsari #UXLeadership #ProductDesign #CustomerExperience #DesignStrategy

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The current state of UX Research is unfortunate and disappointing. There is a lack of clarity in thought, and many individuals who are influencing, speaking, serving on panels, or leading in this space often lack practical and technical execution skills. Trust me guys, my mentees can speak better than this and everlasting clarity that they can implant with their clarity of thought in UX Research, especially on the practical and technical execution side. This discussion video clearly exposes the reality. Did anyone actually gain clarity from the panel’s response to the question posed? Question: What skills are crucial for UX Researchers to stay relevant and advance in their careers? Also, is "collaboration with stakeholders" considered a skill or merely an experience? And is it truly a core skill required to remain relevant and grow in the UX Research field? Skills like teamwork, collaboration, communication, Curiousity, Adaptability and estimation are universally expected across all career paths. These are foundational soft skills or cultural fit criteria - not specialized or defining competencies of UX Research. https://lnkd.in/gBt95xjh

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Ever picked the ‘middle’ subscription plan because it felt right? That’s the Decoy Effect in action… Here’s how Apple & Zomato do it, and why you should too. In the competitive world of UX design, understanding the Decoy Effect can significantly impact user choices. Learn how to leverage smart pricing strategies to enhance user decision-making. Dive into the details: https://wix.to/SIQGfLw #UXDesign #DecoyEffect #PricingStrategy #UXStrategy #BehavioralDesign #ProductPricing #eCommerceUX #HumanCenteredDesign #ConversionOptimization

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Excited to share insights on building an 'anti-fragile' 💪 UXR Practice, with a reframe of navigating uncertainty, to gaining from chaos; and the use of AI to augment our craft, freeing us up to focus on user-centric questions of ethics, culture and intent. At the same time, looking forward to learning how fellow practitioners are building out the modern practice, especially as we partner closely with AI.

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A Product Manager is like the Jatt in Jatt Mehkma. Bold. Loud vision. Big energy. “Jatt Mehkma” in Punjabi means: a powerful person is only powerful because the whole department/system (mehkma) behind them makes things happen. And hence here’s the real truth: The Jatt is nothing without the Mehkma. Same in product. A PM’s “vision” stays a LinkedIn post unless there’s: Developers who turn intent into working software Designers who turn flows into behavior QA who turn “works on my machine” into trust Support/CS who turn releases into retention Sales/Marketing who turn value into adoption Stakeholders who turn opinions into alignment PM’s real job isn’t “being the hero.” It’s: Making the team win. Influencing without authority. Giving credit loudly. Because product isn’t built by confidence. It’s built by coordination. #ProductManagement #TeamWork #Leadership #ProductOwner

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