Observation Book

Observation Book: a blog on software, art, business and other pre-occupations of Vandana Guru

B2B versus B2C Product Management

Analyzing B2B and B2C product management based on Users and Buyers, Business Model, Market Landscape, PM Knowledge and Skills, Product Usability, Data and Analytics, Product Management Culture, Business Metrics, Release Cadence, Work Life Balance and Customer Relationships

August 17, 2021
Bridging Education, Employment and Equity With Technology

Susan Morrow from Salesforce and I discuss the ongoing pandemic’s effects on education, the system constraints, and innovative technologies that could reverse this trend.

May 28, 2021
Some Personal News

My experience of moving from the Miami of India to Silicon Valley.

March 31, 2021
Why Telegram Rocks

Find out why Telegram is a superior messaging app for privacy conscious people.

November 26, 2020
From First Female Product Manager at Google to Advancing 1000s of Women in Tech

In this candid conversation, Nancy Wang shares insights on what helps talent to have a shot at being in the C-Suite and how her non-profit helps more women advance their career in tech.

November 24, 2020
Evolving Microsoft’s Supply Chain Management

Kavita Krishan opens about the evolution of supply chain management at Microsoft, D&I efforts under Satya Nadella’s leadership and her passion for hiking.

November 12, 2020
System Design: Horizontal vs Vertical Scaling

This is a primer on System Design written as a series to explain fundamental ideas. In this post, we discuss Horizontal and Vertical Scaling.

September 17, 2020
The Most Important Thing to Me is to Stick to My Core Values and Philosophies

Our guest this week is Kalpana Sundar — Director of Product Management, Pricing at PayPal —who lives in San Jose. Kalpana’s career trajectory is phenomenal, so are the lessons she’s picked up along the last decade. I am excited I discovered her and can’t wait to share her thoughts.

August 19, 2020
Charting Her Own Course in Software with a Knack for Extreme Empathy

I caught up with Sushma Padmanabhan — a Senior Product Manager at Intuit — for profiling her trail-blazing career. A native of Mumbai, she explored the nine yards of finance for a decade — from stockbroking, banking, insurance to taxes, before moving to Bengaluru for opportunities in FinTech. In 2008, Sushma joined Intuit as a…

August 13, 2020
How This Military Veteran Switched Gears To Tech And Set Her Career On Autopilot

An abrupt end to her career in military was the start of her fast-paced journey in product management. Brittany credits her mother’s lessons on building relationships and finding a partner who supports her line of work.

June 1, 2020