Darrell focused on how he broke into product. He walked through his career and some of the lessons that he learned on the road to becoming a Product Manager at Uber.

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7. Darrell Stone
TONIGHT’S SPEAKERS

8. Breaking into
Product
Darrell Stone
Uber Product Manager
July 19, 2018

9. 2012 Graduate (Econ &
English)
Interests include photography,
running, podcasts, cooking,
parenting.
Product Manager for
Uber’s Driver Platform.
Hi, I’m Darrell.

10. What’s Driver Platform?
Driver Platform
TripExperience
OnBoarding
Compliance
Learning
Earnings
Navigation
Safety
We support the core reliability, performance and
usability of the driver app. Our mission is to ensure
the driver app works for everyone, everywhere,
everytime.

11. What’s Driver Platform?
Driver Platform
TripExperience
OnBoarding
Compliance
Learning
Earnings
Navigation
Safety
We ensure the app reaches its global maximum, building
the core UI frameworks and usability standards that
preserve and enhance the driver experience.
Local
Maxima
Global
Maximum

12. Each day drivers
spend 1,000
years on the Uber
app.
Improving the
driver app
impacts the lives
of an amazing
group of people
on an incredible
scale.

13. Launch iPhone 6, first
phone with 128GB
2014 2017
Launch first successful
uberPOOL walking
product
Driver Platform
PM
2018
How’d I Get There?
2013 2015 2016
Begin working at Apple in
NAND Flash Memory
group
First Dedicated uberPOOL
Ops during $5 POOL
campaign
Join Uber as
Ops Manager
Introduce redesigned
driver app
uberPOOL
Product Ops

14. My first product,
BarreLEDecor

15. Launch iPhone 6, first
phone with 128GB
2014
Moving to Apple
2013
Begin working at Apple in
NAND Flash Memory group

17. Procurement analyst on the
NAND flash memory team.
Hybrid industry analyst /
forecast manager.
Promoted to Global Supply
Manager in 6 months.
Working at Apple

18. In 2014, Apple decided to
expand their iPhone storage
options.
This would put immense
pressure on our suppliers to
scale, and we lacked a
forecasting tool flexible
enough to contemplate all of
our production constraints.
2014 iPhone Ramp

19. My Second Product: Forecasting
Model

20. My Second Product: Forecasting
Model
I built an Excel Model which ingested our demand forecasts, contemplated our
supplier constraints, and output a credible forecast we could share with
suppliers.
This reduced our TAT for supply simulations down from 24 hours (run in Asia)
to 30 mins (run in CA) and allowed us to communicate critical updates with
executives and suppliers.
I quickly had a team full of users and got to field feature
requests for additions to the simulator. It was awesome.

21. I felt an immense sense of
pride on launch day when
Phil announced the new
iPhones.
It reminded me why I wanted
to spend my career working
on consumer products.
Launch Day

22. 2016
Moving to Uber
2015
First dedicated
uberPOOL Ops
Launch first successful
uberPOOL walking
product

23. “If you're offered a seat on a rocket
ship, you don't ask what seat. You just
get on."

24. Apple Commute Uber Commute

25. Build products that surprise
and delight customers
Reliable transportation,
everywhere for everyone

26. Career
Growth
Build products that surprise
and delight customers
Reliable transportation,
everywhere for everyone

27. My first assignment was
to design and purchase
this shipping container
so that we had a place
drivers could visit for
vehicle inspections.

29. ...but actually, SF was incubating uberPOOL

30. $5 POOL Launch
At the time, POOL was only active in a
few cities with meager adoption.
$5 POOL was a chance to take a big
bet and prove the product could work
with more liquidity.

31. My Role
I was the first dedicated POOL Ops.
The role was a hybrid data Analyst /
GM / Marketer.
I helped take uberPOOL from 0 to 1.

32. First Product
Experiment
We believed walking could be a lever
to improve efficiency while making
pickups easier for drivers.
To test willingness to walk, we sent
riders in the surrounding geo this
email.

33. Adding Value to Product Development
Analyzing our early data
helped us understand a
nascent product.
Thanks to POOL, I was in
the top 0.1% of queries
written at Uber in each of
my first two years.

34. Moved to POOL program team as Product
Ops
PM
● Defining the vision for the the Program
● Crisp, clear product definition
● Timeline/Roadmap
● Prioritization
● Product rollout strategy
● Analytics
● Technical requirements and scoping
● Quarterback for the Program/ultimate
decision-maker
PRODUCT OPS
● Voicing global Ops opinion to influence
roadmap
● Providing product feedback to ensure
the product satisfies the right
operational need
● Product rollout strategy and execution
● Comms to Ops about new products and
education of new Ops about existing
products
● Escalation
● Analytics
The PM and Product Ops both evaluate each other

35. Adding Value to Product Development
You know you’ve left your mark on something when
deprecating your creation requires this type of
messaging.

36. uberPOOL taught me how to iterate quickly
to successfully ship products.

37. 2018
Transitioning to Product
Management
2017
Introduce redesigned driver appPM on Driver App
Redesign

38. 2017 was a hard year
for Uber and anyone who
worked there.

40. I saw a lot of my
amazingly talented friends
move on.

41. Still, there was no
shortage of problems to
solve...

42. ...in particular, there was
a major opportunity to
improve our driver
experience, which had
reached the limits of its
design and engineering
architecture.

43. The opportunity arose to
work with Yuhki
Yamashita, a friend and
mentor who was willing
to champion my
transition to Product
Management as part of
the Driver App redesign
project.
Yuhki had recently led the
rider app redesign, so he
knew a thing or two about
Product Management

44. Trips Agenda View
Starpower / Areas to Drive / Waybill
HOME
DxGy Tracker
Map / state of market
- Boosts (current)
Music controls
Feed / “Messages”
- Earnings tracking
- Upcoming promotions
- New feature education
- Milestone celebration
- Alerts for impt updates
EARNINGS
“This Week”
- Earnings
- Trip Count
Trip History
- Balance
Quest Tracker
Promotions
Quest tracker
Boost schedule
Invites
Transaction activity (???)
ACCOUNT
Profile (+edit)
Vehicle (+selection)
Help
Waybill
Driver Profile
Documents
Settings
[Bug reports]
Music
Beacon
About
Vehicle Solutions
Sign out
RATINGS
Overall stats
- 5-star trips
- Rating
- Acceptance Rate
- Cancellation Rate
Rider Compliments
Rider Feedback
Driver Style Dashboard
Driving Rewards
Pro Tips
Weekly Reports
Go Online
Bundles (shown after online)
Auditing the IA

45. Trips Agenda View
Starpower / Areas to Drive / Waybill
EARNINGS
“This Week”
- Earnings
- Trip Count
Trip History
- Balance
Quest Tracker
Promotions
Quest tracker
Boost schedule
Invites
Transaction activity (???)
ACCOUNT
Profile (+edit)
Vehicle (+selection)
Help
Waybill
Driver Profile
Documents
Settings
[Bug reports]
Music
Beacon
About
Vehicle Solutions
Sign out
RATINGS
Overall stats
- 5-star trips
- Rating
- Acceptance Rate
- Cancellation Rate
Rider Compliments
Rider Feedback
Driver Style Dashboard
Driving Rewards
Pro Tips
Weekly Reports
Go Online
Bundles (shown after online)
CONFUSING / BURIED / SHOULD BE FIXED
HOME
DxGy Tracker
Map / state of market
- Boosts (current)
Music controls
Feed / “Messages”
- Earnings tracking
- Upcoming promotions
- New feature education
- Milestone celebration
- Alerts for impt updates
Auditing the IA

46. ME (Running my business)
Everything about me and
managing my business.
E.g.,
Ratings
Earnings
Feedback
Profile
Docs
...
DRIVING (Doing my business)
Offline
Helping me get
started.
E.g., helping answer:
Should I go online?
What opportunities are
available to me, based on my
preferences?
Is there anything I need to
absolutely do before I go
online?
Online, off-trip
Helping me decide the
best thing to do next.
(needs work...)
E.g., helping answer:
How am I doing against my
goal (set implicitly or
explicitly)?
What opportunities are
available to me, based on my
preferences?
Where should I be going?
Online, on-trip
Helping me complete
the task at hand.
At the highest level...

47. Earnings Expectation
Is now a good time to drive? How’s trip
eligibility based on preferences?
Opportunities
Boost, bundles, etc.
Messages (Inbox)
Me (Account / Ratings)
(Show here preview of rating / relevant stats)
Earnings
Progress Tracker (HUD)
Music Preferences
Control Panel
Go Online
Warnings (if applicable)
SearchSettingsHelp Me
“Me” Hub “Driving”: Offline
Earnings Expectation
Is now a good time to drive? How’s trip
eligibility based on preferences?
Opportunities
Boost, bundles, etc.
Progress Tracker (HUD)
Control Panel
Go Offline
Warnings (if applicable)
“Driving”: Online, off-trip
Looking for riders….
[ Or did you find a rider? Enter PIN ]
Search
Current Task
Task Details
Task-related
secondary
actions
Complete Task
Help
Notifs About Rider
Notifs About Rider
Help
Current Task
Upcoming Tasks
Pause
Control Panel
Me
One level lower
Dispatch
Thought: there’s probably some elegant
grouping of “Looking for riders”, Progress
Tracker, and Earnings Expectations. And this
transforms into the Do Panel and feels
accessible from within there while on-trip.
Help
Navigation
Directions
“Driving”: Online, on-trip
Current Task
Manager

48. Develop the global rollout
strategy for the redesign
& build the in app comms
framework.
I would have a 3-6 month
trial period before
interviewing and formally
converting to PM.
My Role

49. Our design iterations led
to some major
improvements to the app.

50. Earning info all over the place.
How am I tracking against my
daily and weekly goals? What’s
the progress on my quest?
A single earnings tracker

51. What’s important?
What’s new?
Where’d that card
go?
A simple,
predictable
inbox.

52. What opportunity should I
pursue? I have to look all over
the place. One recommendation.

53. “I can’t begin / end trip”
(due to internet connectivity)
It just works, even for cash trips!
Drivers can begin and end trips, regardless
of connectivity.

54. We opted for a beta to
ensure we really nailed
the experience.

55. First, why a Beta?
● Test core flows at reasonable scale (and in ways
employees just won’t be able to)
● Collect driver feedback and actually improve our
product prior to full launch
● Build trust with a core group of drivers who could
advocate for the new app come launch
Why is it a good idea?
● Better for Uber. Focus on quality of core areas
and de-risk broader rollout
● Better for drivers. Building together produced a
better product

56. 7
cities
470
drivers & couriers

61. Cairo

62. London

63. Melbourne

70. Launching the Beta:
Building Together

71. Dialogues, not
monologues

72. Lunches, not
launches

73. Closing the loop

74. Driver & Couriers liked

75. Estimated time to
request
(“ETR”)

76. Off Trip Navigation

77. Simpler, cleaner
designs

78. Drivers & Couriers
wanted...

79. Driver forum
Quest tracking

80. Better in app support

81. Error free trip flow

82. We focused on “making it real” to help the
team do their best work
Dara went driving
Internal social forum
posting driver
High quality video content

86. Parting thoughts
Your first product might not require any engineering.
Find ways to add value to your company’s product
development.
Build a network that’s willing to go to bat for you.

87. Parting thoughts
Your first product might not require any engineering.
Find ways to add value to your company’s product
development.
Build a network that’s willing to go to bat for you.
Thank You

88. Part-time Product Management Courses in
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Boston, Seattle, Chicago, Denver, London, Toronto
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