Why I Never Used Data as a Product Manager

A former software engineer turned product manager reflects on the challenges of effectively utilizing data in decision-making, despite having technical skills and access to ample data tools. Initially, the transition to product management led to a reliance on intuition rather than data-driven insights, compounded by the complexity and inefficiency of existing analytics tools and processes. The author highlights the friction and context-switching involved in data analysis, which discourages frequent exploration and hypothesis testing. Recognizing these challenges, the author and their team developed Supersimple, a self-service business intelligence platform designed to facilitate iterative exploration of complex ad-hoc questions without requiring technical expertise, thereby enabling more actionable insights and focused problem-solving.