We’re back with part 25 of Overheard in product—a series where we round up all of the tantalizing conversations from product folks that you may have missed on the web last week. 

This week, we’re listening into conversations about what product managers should know, a tech-y New Yorker cartoon, user needs, product/market fit, and the Munker illusion.

Let’s get to it. 

Ignorance is bliss

Dr. Donna Malayeri, Product Manager, Serverless at Google, had some great advice for product managers.

She concluded her thread by saying that “it’s okay if you’re ignorant about the details. It’s not your job, and you can always ask the right questions to get the information you need.”‍

Food for thought: Do you agree? What other advice do product managers need to hear about working with engineers more effectively?

Let me doodle on it

Vlad Magdalin, Co-founder and CEO at Webflow, shared a New Yorker cartoon that struck a cord.

Food for thought: How has the rise of code-free tools changed the way you work?

Can you dig it?

Clara Greo, Designer and UCD trainer at GDS Team, encouraged people to dig deeper.

‍Food for thought: What kinds of questions could you be asking your users to understand their needs better? 

If the product/market fits...

Hiten Shah, Co-founder of FYI and Product Habits, started a discussion about product/market fit.

The answers ranged from the straightforward to the jargon-y, but ultimately most folks came up with some version of “people want to pay for the thing you sell.”  
Food for thought: How would you explain other startup terms to your friends? Beyond helping people understand what you do, is there a benefit cutting out the jargon?

Bonus: It’s not a trick, it’s an illusion

The Munker illusion is a relatively simple chromatic illusion that tricks the eye into seeing colors that aren’t really there. To experience the illusion in action, check out these same-same-but-totally-different tennis balls or this grayscale photo that doesn’t appear grey at all. Wild, huh?

Visual illusions like this are a good reminder that sometimes, you just can’t believe your eyes. It’s worth thinking about how that fact might impact our digital experiences. Can you think of any ways that knowledge of the Munker illusion might come in handy for digital designers?