How being a former PM helps me be a better Designer

Prior to my transition into design, I was a Project Manager at a localization company helping large organizations translate various materials into over 100+ different languages. Beyond working with translators, I’ve collaborated closely with designers and engineers to meet our client's needs and internal timelines.

Reflecting on that experience made me realize how much it strengthens my ability as a designer. In this article, I’ll go over 3 different reasons why my PM enhanced my UX Skills.

Communicating with Stakeholders

As a PM I functioned as the main point of contact for a project and collaborated with sales to ensure client needs are met. A large part of my role was gathering context prior to initiating a project and ensuring that sales asked the client all the right questions. An example would be a client asking for a document to be translated into Chinese, however there are dialects in Chinese and to better meet the clients needs we needed to confirm with them. In instances where clients were unaware of the specifics, I would walk them through the specifics and send resources to help the client clarify their needs.

2. Prioritization!

My previous role entailed handling over 15+ projects on a daily basis ensuring proper project scope, appropriate budget, and assigning the project to a translator. The scale at which I was handling these projects required a substantial ability to prioritize in order to meet client deadlines.

3. Leveraging and coordinating resources to improve client satisfaction

I worked regularly with QA, translators and designers with complex projects often requiring a quick and efficient handoff from one team to the next. As a PM as was able to effectively determine timelines and ensured a seamless handoff throughout a projects lifecycle while maintaining its profitability. The experience allowed be to engage in productive conversations with multiple different teams and allowed me to gain their trust.