Digital product development team in action.

The Real Difference Between Product Managers and Product Management Consultants

The business of digital product development has become more complicated over the years. As the industry grows, the roles needed to offer competitive digital solutions keep expanding. This is especially true for product management. There are well over a dozen roles under the project management umbrella. 

While the role of a product manager (PM) is considered the most fundamental, the role of a product management consultant (PM consultant) is gaining traction as being a crucial element in the product development lifecycle. While a product manager may sing different notes, often the melody, the product management consultant brings in additional notes that, together, result in a beautiful and harmonious outcome. 

In this post, we’ll consider the scope of these roles, their similarities and differences.

Product Manager

Imagine a skilled conductor orchestrating a symphony of tasks, timelines, and talents. That’s your Project Manager! They are the navigators of the development journey, steering the ship through the seas of deadlines and deliverables. Their role involves planning, coordinating, and ensuring every team member hits the right note. From defining project scopes to managing risks, they’re the ultimate problem solvers, keeping the project on track. For specifics on the role of a project manager, including specific job descriptions used for recruitment, do read this article.

Project Management Consultant

Besides being an external resource to an organization, the role of a project management consultant is not just about managing projects; it’s about elevating them to their maximum potential. Think of them as the strategic architects of project success. Project management consultants are the maestros who bring a symphony of expertise to the table. They’re the seasoned professionals hired to sprinkle a bit of magic on your project, ensuring it not only meets but exceeds its goals.

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital product development, these consultants serve as your GPS. They navigate complexities, offer fresh perspectives, and provide a roadmap for seamless project execution. From refining processes to optimizing strategies, they’re the secret sauce for enhancing overall project efficiency and unlocking unparalleled success.

The Differences

PMs and PM Consultants have a shared goal of improving designated metrics such as efficiency and profitability. However, the major difference is in the scope of their responsibilities. A product manager is integrated into the operations of a business and is there from the ideation of a product(s) to all other stages of the product lifecycle. However, a PM consultant is more temporary and transient and may come in when the product is already halfway into its lifecycle and is often brought in for singular projects. PM consultants are essentially hired to use their expert knowledge to guide a company to a desired destination. 

PMs are more hands-on as they oversee the day-to-day activities of the entire product lifecycle within the company. When PM consultants are brought in, their role is essentially to provide strategic advice, ensure process improvements, and optimize product management practices. Consequently, the skill set differs. Whereas both have to exhibit teamwork skills, a PM has to exhibit this skill on a deeper level, ensuring that he sustains deeper connections with individual members of the product development team. A PM consultant who is only with the business for a limited time may not need to connect with the team on the same level. Similarly, although both have to possess product knowledge and product research skills, the PM consultant may not possess these skills to the depth a PM would. 

Embark on a transformative journey with MevNet Studio! Whether you’re steering a product from concept to market or seeking strategic guidance to optimize your product management processes, we’ve got you covered. Our expert product managers are ready to dive into the heart of your projects, ensuring success from within. Alternatively, our product management consulting services bring a fresh perspective and innovation to your strategy. 

Elevate your digital product development with MevNet Studio – where expertise meets innovation. Ready to redefine success? Let’s collaborate! Contact us today and let the journey begin.

Learning UI/UX Design

How Difficult Is It to Learn UI/UX Design? A Guide to Getting Started

The world of UI/UX is an exciting and deeply rewarding one. One of the most exciting parts is that anyone can become a UI/UX design expert with the right level of interest and determination. And there are several reasons why UI/UX design is a great career choice today. 

But learning UI/UX design, like anything that is worth doing, takes some effort. The good news is that you don’t need a degree or some special qualification to break into this field. Yes, having a prior background in, for instance, graphic design or web development does help. But with little to no experience in tech, anyone can become a UX/UI designer. All you need is an appreciation for design, user experience and a hunger for continuous learning. Yep, continuous learning.

Becoming an expert in UX/UI design isn’t something that happens overnight. Understanding the fundamental principles and learning how to use the tools are things that can be learned within a relatively short time. However, developing a mastery of how they are applied to create amazing user experiences can take some time. 

So, how difficult is it to learn UI/UX design? What do UI/UX designers actually do? What are the skills you need to get started and what you can do to ensure your learning experience is as productive as possible? If you want the answers to these questions, stick around and we’ll walk you through them.

What Is UI/UX Design?

Before delivering into what UI/UX designers actually do, let’s do a quick recap of what these specialisations are about. 

User interface (UI) refers to the visual touchpoints an individual encounters while using a digital product. It includes those visual aspects of a website or an application. Essentially, how it looks to the user. A UI designer considers things like icons and buttons, typography and colour schemes, spacing, imagery, responsive design and how they contribute to the user’s experience. 

User experience (UX) covers all interactions between a user and a product or service from the point of first contact. While the term is not exclusive to digital product design, within this context, it refers to the usability of digital products, taking into consideration how a user feels while using the product. 

What do UI Designers Do?

UI designers are like the visual architects of the digital world. They carefully craft the aesthetics of digital products, creating visually appealing and user-friendly interfaces. Their primary goal is to make sure users have a seamless and delightful visual journey through websites and apps. Their key considerations include:

  • Visual Design: Using tools like Adobe XD, Sketch, or Figma, they choose colour palettes, typography, and icons to create a cohesive and engaging visual design. It’s like painting a canvas with pixels.
  • Wireframing and Prototyping: Before the final design, they build wireframes and interactive prototypes. These are like blueprints, outlining where buttons, navigation, and content will go. They use prototyping tools like InVision and Balsamiq to bring ideas to life for testing and feedback.
  • Consistency: A UI designer’s job isn’t done once the design is finalized. They maintain design systems and style guides to ensure every button, image, or text box looks and behaves consistently throughout the product. This consistency is key to a great user experience.

In a nutshell, UI designers bring the “visual charm” to the party, making sure that the digital product not only works well but also looks fantastic. It’s all about blending creativity with user-centric design to create a visually compelling and intuitive interface.

What do UX Designers actually do?

User Research: UX designers start by getting to know the users. They conduct surveys, interviews, and usability tests to gather insights into user behaviour and preferences. Understanding the audience is the foundation of a great user experience. Their key considerations include: 

  • Information Architecture: When they determine who the users are, they work on organizing the product’s content and structure to make it intuitive. They create sitemaps and user flows, making sure users can easily find what they’re looking for.
  • Prototyping and Testing: Similar to UI designers, they also create prototypes, but the focus is on functionality. Tools like Axure RP or Marvel help bring these prototypes to life. When these prototypes are developed, they are tested with real users to identify and fix any usability issues.
  • Iteration: UX designers work closely with the development team, continuously refining the product as it evolves. It involves gathering feedback, analyzing user interactions, and making necessary adjustments to ensure the best possible user experience.

Summarily, UX designers are the user’s best friend. They’re all about creating a product that’s not only visually appealing but also highly usable, efficient, and enjoyable. It’s a combination of art and science, through which designers strive to make digital products not just beautiful but incredibly user-friendly.

How difficult is it to learn?

So far, we hope our explanations have gotten you more interested and excited about UI/UX design. However, the above paragraphs only provide a bare-bones explanation of what UI and UX design entails. The level of difficulty one would experience learning either UI or UX design depends on the field the learner is transitioning from. Definitely, a background in tech would provide a softer landing. However, even some tech professionals struggle to transition to UI/UX design.

For instance, for graphics designers, adding research, testing, and even coding to their skill set may require them to stretch themselves in new directions. For someone transitioning from web design, user research, content strategy, usability and accessibility, information architecture, and overall business goals, project management and communication may be skills that they would need to develop afresh.

For those transitioning from non-tech backgrounds, these soft skills and transferable skills may be a given. What may prove difficult may be the hard skills associated with using design software. Software design software like the ones mentioned above are not your everyday apps or websites and would require consistent practice to master and continuous learning to keep up with the updates. Some aspects of UI/UX design will come easier to you than others. Even established professionals in the field admit to having greater mastery of some aspects of their role than others.

What are the skills needed?

The infographic below provides a comparison between some of the key soft, hard and transferrable skills needed in UI/UX design. Consider which you would be better suited to.

How to get started in UI/UX Design

It all starts with education. Like any profession, you have to learn the ropes. Depending on where you are in life, getting a college degree in UI/UX design may not really be convenient. In truth, many successful UI/UX designers today do not have college degrees at all or have degrees in completely unrelated fields. Because there is no ‘XYZ curriculum’ that covers all you need to know about UI/UX design, non-formal training pathways seem to be the norm.

For a non-formal learning journey, there is an abundance of learning resources easily available to any willing individual. If you are transitioning from a completely unrelated field, it is advised to start with free foundational learning content. Learn the basics of UI/UX design from the infinite content freely available online. There are loads to choose from between books, blogs, tutorials on YouTube or free short courses on Coursera or Udemy. These resources will enable you to understand the design process and the main principles of product design.

“Watching tutorials is a smart addition to your learning process. Just remember it’s not all about learning color theories, or UI patterns—tutorials on how to train your mind to think like a UX designer and understanding user’s needs are also key.” — Bojan Novakovic, Self-taught UI/UX designer

When you have sufficient knowledge of the basics, you can then move on to certification programs. For those with experience in related fields, you can start from this point. There are a host of certification programs, some of which are accessible online and some in person. Before deciding on the certification program, there are a number of factors you ought to consider which we have outlined in a previous blog post. It also features some of the best UI/UX design courses in the US. Certification programs like MevNet Studios’ UI/UX Training Course, provide a hands-on learning experience with real-life projects and are taught by experts who are current in the field.

How to Become a Better UI/UX Designer

Learning does not stop when you complete a course and gain a certificate. Because of how dynamic actual practice can be and the competition in the industry, you have to be at the top of your game. If you went through a good certification program like MevNet’s, upon completing the course, you should already have a standard portfolio that you can showcase. Even before getting any work experience, will have to build on this portfolio by designing more mock products to enable your skills to improve.

Get feedback on your designs from colleagues and seniors in the field and learn from it. Having a mentor who can constantly provide feedback would be immensely helpful. Not only will they be able to provide objective criticisms based on their advanced knowledge and experience, but they can share insight on some mistakes they made while coming up.

Being the best in the field also requires you to be up-to-date with the latest trends. With new tools released frequently, you will have a develop the habit of continuous learning.

Become a UI/UX designer with MevNet Studios

Learning UI/UX design can be challenging, but it’s not impossible. With dedication and practice, you can become a successful UI/UX designer. With MevNet, you can be assured of a seamless and stress-free learning experience that will provide you with the skills and insight you need to launch a successful career in UI/UX design.

Contact us today and let’s get you started!

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Why You Should Hire an Expert Product Development Team for Your Business

With so many options in today’s digital landscape, it only takes a few simple shortfalls for a user to forgo your product and services for another. Whether your company is a startup or small business launching its first digital service or an established enterprise having the umpteenth iteration, staying ahead of the competition requires that you apply the very best technology and deliver software solutions to the highest standards. This is where hiring a team of experts comes into play. 

Here are a few reasons why hiring an expert product development team is an important investment for your business:

  1. Expertise and Experience:

Whether your company already has an IT department that manages your digital service platforms or not, hiring an external team of product developers who have experience in a wide range of products and are trained in the latest technologies and methodologies ensures that your products are developed with the most advanced technologies and relevant stack.

  1. Fresh perspective:

Based on their experience with other products across different industries, external product developers would be able to take an unfiltered look at your product and detect faults and vulnerabilities that your internal team may not. They would also be able to offer solutions and innovations that have proven effective in other industries and other products they’ve worked on.

  1. Time management:

Hiring a team of product developers enables you to streamline the project delivery timeline even further. There can be so many intricacies involved in developing a product, and hiring a team of expert product developers allows you to channel internal resources towards core business functions. Similarly, where there is already an internal team, having a trial-and-error phase for complex projects may slow down the process. 

Hiring a team of product developers can be project-based; which may either be on a fixed-price model (allows you to leave all of the work to the developers until the product is ready) or a time-and-material model (allows constant supervision of task progress, materials used, and budget spent, as well as frequent meetings with the development team). It may also involve engaging a dedicated team that would be responsible for the product lifecycle on a long-term basis. 

We offer a range of engagement models at Mevnet Studios and are willing to work around your resources to ensure that you have products that are the best fit for your business. We have an exceptional team of tech professionals that would offer you a world-class product development experience and would deliver compelling digital solutions for your business. 

Reach out to us today and give your business the best foot forward.