Jessica Mean
Verified Expert in Product Management
Product Manager
Chicago, IL, United States
Toptal member since August 5, 2019
Jessica is a former Googler with a master's degree in product management from Northwestern University. She has worked with Fortune 100s, startups, and VCs throughout her career to develop product and innovation strategies and build and launch new products and services. She has launched dozens of products and services across various industries, including tech, healthcare, eCommerce, IoT, education, CPG, and finance.
Project Highlights
Expertise
- Agile
- Design Sprints
- Human-centered Design (HCD)
- Innovation Management
- Product Management
- Product Strategy
- User Research
- User Testing
Work Experience
Owner | Product Consultant
PRD MGR LLC
- Led client projects and teams to develop web and mobile products using Agile methodologies.
- Implemented product management processes and frameworks for clients.
- Led design thinking workshops and trained client product teams.
- Conducted market and user research to identify unmet needs and product priorities.
- Spoke at Women In Product and Tandem Executive Network.
Product Strategist
Table XI
- Partnered with clients to build and launch complex, custom-built web and mobile products with budgets ranging from $50,000 to $850,000.
- Managed cross-functional, distributed agile teams comprised of designers, developers, and researchers.
- Led lean user research sprints to uncover unmet user needs and product feedback.
- Facilitated design sprints and other discovery workshops for clients to build and test prototypes before making project investments.
- Facilitated business canvas modeling workshops for clients to determine product-market fit and business opportunities.
Product Manager
AffinityX
- Launched a national sales portal product to support sales executives with branded resources.
- Managed a backlog of customer feedback and prioritized user stories for implementation.
- Led a team of designers to create marketing content (infographics, whitepapers) for product support.
- Developed advertising assets (HTML5 ads, landing pages, websites, videos) for sales portal and teams.
- Worked with a globally distributed team in North America and Asia.
Program Manager
- Launched and managed Local Guides, a Google Maps product that gamifies users to share reviews, ratings, photos, and other insights.
- Increased active Local Guides users by 10x in target cities through new feature adoption.
- Produced Local Guides product videos in eight languages resulting in 4+ million views.
- Led UX research and trusted tester programs to improve Google Maps and Google+ features.
- Launched an official Local Guides help center, and developed, localized, and managed content in 40 languages.
Digital Marketing Manager
Association Forum of Chicagoland
- Managed the organization's digital presence including website, mobile apps, and email marketing.
- Relaunched the website (+190% visits, +330% page views) and received the 2011 EXCEL Award - Gold, Web Publishing: Redesign.
- Launched the company's first mobile app and two event apps as well as managed content development.
- Designed comprehensive marketing campaigns to boost event sales revenue and generate brand awareness. Received 2011 EXCEL Award - Bronze, Media Innovation: Integrated Mixed Media Campaign.
- Managed digital content for an in-house digital magazine.
Product Marketing Manager
Firm58
- Led marketing initiatives for a new product development team.
- Interviewed customers to generate product development insights.
- Assisted with VC fundraising presentations resulting in $8.5 million Series B capital growth funds.
- Managed top-funnel lead generation and built product awareness through marketing campaigns and tradeshow strategy.
- Administered the $100,000 annual budget and managed one lead generation specialist.
Project History
MVP That Secured $4.4 Million in Funding
https://www.landscapehub.com/Launched LandscapeHub, an eCommerce platform for landscapers and growers.
App Launched for a Fortune 500
Led a cross-functional product team to design and develop Forever Us, a new insurance product from Thrivent Financial.
Time Magazine Award-winning Product
http://time.com/5460054/sustainable-products/Led innovation consulting for Tyson Foods, resulting in a new sustainable food product that earned a Time Magazine award.
Fraud Detection Product Live Redevelopment
https://counterfind.comLed a development team to rebuild a fraud detection product while supporting platform customers.
Education
Master's Degree in Product Design and Development Management
Northwestern University - Illinois
Bachelor's Degree in Communications
Vanguard University of Southern California - California
Skills
Tools
Confluence, Pivotal Tracker, Trello, Jira, Lean Testing, Slack, Google Workspace, Figma, MURAL
Paradigms
User Testing, Agile Workflow, Agile Product Management, Agile, Scrum, Human-centered Design (HCD), Kanban
Industry Expertise
Healthcare, Construction, Insurance, Legal Counsel, Nonprofits, Consumer Products, Education Technology (Edtech)
Other
Product Management, Affinity Mapping, Design Sprints, Product Delivery, Product Strategy, User Requirements, User Stories, Agile Sprints, Product Vision, Product Discovery, Discovery Workshops, Innovation Management, Consumer Insights, Product Owner, Customer-centered Product Development, Digital Product Management, Digital Project Management, Product-market Fit, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Product Ownership, Product Planning, Product Research, Product Requirements Documentation (PRD), Feature Roadmaps, Feature Planning, MVP Design, Training & Training Content Development, Business Model Canvas, User Research, User Flows, User Journeys, User Workflows, User Engagement, User Needs, Scrum Master, Agile Coaching, Agile Transformation, Dual Track Agile, Product Roadmaps, New Products, Project Delivery, Delivery Management, Delivery, Innovation, Innovation Labs, Lean Canvas, Lean Research, Lean Experiments, Lean Startups, Lean Inception, Training, Employee Training, Training Materials, Training Content, Mobile Apps, Mobile, Product Operations, Product Launch, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Lean Project Management, Lean Product Development, New Product Development, Product Marketing, Project Management, Market Research, Audience Targeting, Competition Research, Scope Management, Project Timelines, Monetization, Market Research & Analysis, Project Budget Management, Business Planning, Product Coach, Feasibility Studies, SaaS, App Development, Client Management, Aha!, Finance, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Internet of Things (IoT), eCommerce, eCommerce Payments, Mobile eCommerce, eCommerce Management, Consumer Services, Consumer Technology, Consumer-facing Product Design, Android, iOS, Web App Development, Mobile Web, Mobile Prototypes, Mobile Design, Mobile UX, Mobile UI, Web, Revenue Strategy, Cost Estimation, Budget Modeling, Social Media
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