When you arrive at the event, head down to the session voting area and drop your poker chips into the number box that corresponds with the sessions posted.
We have a ton of amazing session this year, so to help you out, we are previewing all of the proposed sessions leading up to the event. Check them out below!
Attendees can still submit sessions the morning of the event. If you are submitting the day of, please come early so your session is up in time for voting. Voting runs from 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM.
We have a ton of amazing session this year, so to help you out, we are previewing all of the proposed sessions leading up to the event. Check them out below!
Attendees can still submit sessions the morning of the event. If you are submitting the day of, please come early so your session is up in time for voting. Voting runs from 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM.
#1 How Radical Visibility Transforms Product Teams
Richard Pollick, Product Release Manager, SoftWriters
"Visibility isn’t just a reporting function — it’s a strategic enabler. This session explores how building and evolving visibility systems can transform how teams align, make decisions, and own outcomes together. By treating internal reporting and communication workflows as products themselves, product professionals can deliver clarity with intent — iterating based on feedback, value, and adoption.
Drawing from real-world experience scaling release operations across teams and tools, we’ll look at how to surface the right signals at the right time to support trust, accountability, and momentum. If you're leading product efforts across functions or just trying to reduce friction in the day-to-day, this session will give you the mindset and methods to make visibility a strategic advantage."
Richard Pollick, Product Release Manager, SoftWriters
"Visibility isn’t just a reporting function — it’s a strategic enabler. This session explores how building and evolving visibility systems can transform how teams align, make decisions, and own outcomes together. By treating internal reporting and communication workflows as products themselves, product professionals can deliver clarity with intent — iterating based on feedback, value, and adoption.
Drawing from real-world experience scaling release operations across teams and tools, we’ll look at how to surface the right signals at the right time to support trust, accountability, and momentum. If you're leading product efforts across functions or just trying to reduce friction in the day-to-day, this session will give you the mindset and methods to make visibility a strategic advantage."
#2 The Human Value Prop: What PMs Miss When They Only Build for Growth
Akanksha Janna, Graduate Teaching Assistant, CMU
As product managers, we’re trained to chase adoption, engagement, and retention—but what if the real opportunity lies in understanding the human value proposition behind the features we build? In this session, we’ll explore how PMs can use human-centered thinking to guide not just discovery, but prioritization, success metrics, and stakeholder alignment. I’ll share real examples from my work in both social impact and AI tools—like how toilet equity projects and creative ideation platforms taught me the same lesson: real impact starts with empathy. You'll leave with a reframed lens for roadmap decisions, and practical tools to uncover user needs that are often left off the spreadsheet.
Akanksha Janna, Graduate Teaching Assistant, CMU
As product managers, we’re trained to chase adoption, engagement, and retention—but what if the real opportunity lies in understanding the human value proposition behind the features we build? In this session, we’ll explore how PMs can use human-centered thinking to guide not just discovery, but prioritization, success metrics, and stakeholder alignment. I’ll share real examples from my work in both social impact and AI tools—like how toilet equity projects and creative ideation platforms taught me the same lesson: real impact starts with empathy. You'll leave with a reframed lens for roadmap decisions, and practical tools to uncover user needs that are often left off the spreadsheet.
#3 Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration
Akanksha Janna, Graduate Teaching Assistant, CMU
The Product Multilingual: How to Speak Engineer, Designer, and Exec
Great product managers are fluent in more than just customer needs—they’re translators between disciplines. Having worked as a developer, designer, consultant, and now PM, I’ve experienced first-hand how easy it is for cross-functional teams to misalign. In this session, I’ll share real-world tactics for building trust across silos, adapting communication styles, and aligning people with different priorities toward a shared product vision. We'll cover strategies to reduce friction in handoffs, hold better cross-discipline meetings, and navigate conflicting incentives without losing momentum. If you’ve ever struggled to get buy-in or felt stuck between tech and business, this one’s for you.
Akanksha Janna, Graduate Teaching Assistant, CMU
The Product Multilingual: How to Speak Engineer, Designer, and Exec
Great product managers are fluent in more than just customer needs—they’re translators between disciplines. Having worked as a developer, designer, consultant, and now PM, I’ve experienced first-hand how easy it is for cross-functional teams to misalign. In this session, I’ll share real-world tactics for building trust across silos, adapting communication styles, and aligning people with different priorities toward a shared product vision. We'll cover strategies to reduce friction in handoffs, hold better cross-discipline meetings, and navigate conflicting incentives without losing momentum. If you’ve ever struggled to get buy-in or felt stuck between tech and business, this one’s for you.
#4 How to adapt and succeed as a product manager in the era of GenAI and Cloud
Rakshana Balakrishnan, Senior Product Manager Technical, AWS
The role of tech product management is rapidly evolving, given the meteoric rise of the dual forces of Cloud computing and GenAI. It is fundamentally reshaping how products are designed, built, and iterated upon. Succeeding in this environment requires product managers to continuously adapt, upskill, and significantly increase their productivity. In this session, I will provide strategies and actionable advice to help you maximize your value, evolve, and thrive as a product manager in the age of GenAI and Cloud.
Rakshana Balakrishnan, Senior Product Manager Technical, AWS
The role of tech product management is rapidly evolving, given the meteoric rise of the dual forces of Cloud computing and GenAI. It is fundamentally reshaping how products are designed, built, and iterated upon. Succeeding in this environment requires product managers to continuously adapt, upskill, and significantly increase their productivity. In this session, I will provide strategies and actionable advice to help you maximize your value, evolve, and thrive as a product manager in the age of GenAI and Cloud.
#5 Master the Art of Data-driven Product Roadmapping
Rakshana Balakrishnan, Senior Product Manager Technical, AWS
Product roadmaps set the business and engineering direction for your product. Creating a compelling roadmap is a key leadership skill that is expected of a product manager and oftentimes, the most daunting one. This session demystifies the roadmap prioritization process by offering an interactive, data-driven exercise to help you master the art of building top-tier product roadmaps.
Rakshana Balakrishnan, Senior Product Manager Technical, AWS
Product roadmaps set the business and engineering direction for your product. Creating a compelling roadmap is a key leadership skill that is expected of a product manager and oftentimes, the most daunting one. This session demystifies the roadmap prioritization process by offering an interactive, data-driven exercise to help you master the art of building top-tier product roadmaps.
#6 CTRL+ALT+PM: Reboot Your Product Management Career for the AI Era
Ryan Cantwell, Principal Consultant & Trainer, ProductSide
AI is changing everything—including your job.
If you're in product and wondering whether AI will replace you, this session is for you. We’ll break down which parts of the old PM playbook are dead—and which skills will make you indispensable in 2025. Join this high-energy talk and walk away with practical tips you can use Monday morning.
Ryan Cantwell, Principal Consultant & Trainer, ProductSide
AI is changing everything—including your job.
If you're in product and wondering whether AI will replace you, this session is for you. We’ll break down which parts of the old PM playbook are dead—and which skills will make you indispensable in 2025. Join this high-energy talk and walk away with practical tips you can use Monday morning.
#7 From Pilot to Profit: Commercializing & Scaling B2B Fintech SaaS
Tanisha Kulkarni, Product Manager, JPMorgan Chase
You’ve built a great fintech product—now what? This session dives into the commercialization journey of B2B SaaS in fintech, with real-world lessons from launching and scaling analytics and payments solutions at a major financial institution. We’ll cover how to move from MVP to monetization, design tiered pricing strategies, structure pilot programs that convert, and navigate enterprise sales cycles. You'll also learn how to use client feedback loops, marketing campaigns, and internal stakeholders (like bankers or sales leads) to drive adoption. Whether you're at a startup or in a corporate innovation team, walk away with actionable frameworks to scale smarter and faster. Bonus: we'll touch on how to leverage platforms like Salesforce for go-to-market campaigns and use data storytelling to win buy-in.
Tanisha Kulkarni, Product Manager, JPMorgan Chase
You’ve built a great fintech product—now what? This session dives into the commercialization journey of B2B SaaS in fintech, with real-world lessons from launching and scaling analytics and payments solutions at a major financial institution. We’ll cover how to move from MVP to monetization, design tiered pricing strategies, structure pilot programs that convert, and navigate enterprise sales cycles. You'll also learn how to use client feedback loops, marketing campaigns, and internal stakeholders (like bankers or sales leads) to drive adoption. Whether you're at a startup or in a corporate innovation team, walk away with actionable frameworks to scale smarter and faster. Bonus: we'll touch on how to leverage platforms like Salesforce for go-to-market campaigns and use data storytelling to win buy-in.
#8 Taylor Swift for Product Managers
Ryan Strength, Product Manager, Kiavi
Taylor Swift can tell an entire story in one line. Her songs might be about relationships and her personal experiences, but there are many lyrics I can relate to in my day-to-day as a Product Manager. Come chat through some Taylor lyrics and what she's taught me about Product Management.
Ryan Strength, Product Manager, Kiavi
Taylor Swift can tell an entire story in one line. Her songs might be about relationships and her personal experiences, but there are many lyrics I can relate to in my day-to-day as a Product Manager. Come chat through some Taylor lyrics and what she's taught me about Product Management.
#9 What to do in your first 90 days as a new PO/PM
Nate Dinet, Founder, The Step Manager
Joining a new team as a product owner / product manager is a lot like pushing back the ocean with a splintered push broom. The person you are backfilling is either non-existent or has ghosted you, the backlog is a mess, and the roadmap is simultaneously unrealistic and slower than the stakeholders want. Where should you start? In this session we'll cover the 'quick and dirty' version of what to do as a brand new PO, in your first 90 days.
Nate Dinet, Founder, The Step Manager
Joining a new team as a product owner / product manager is a lot like pushing back the ocean with a splintered push broom. The person you are backfilling is either non-existent or has ghosted you, the backlog is a mess, and the roadmap is simultaneously unrealistic and slower than the stakeholders want. Where should you start? In this session we'll cover the 'quick and dirty' version of what to do as a brand new PO, in your first 90 days.
#10 Navigating Hard Conversations
Noah Ketterman, Senior Product Owner, TrueFit
We all have times at work when we need to have a hard conversation. It may be delivering bad news about a project to a customer, dealing with interpersonal conflict, or talking to a coworker who isn't pulling his/her weight. This talk will aim to equip you with some perspective, tips, and tricks that, if understood and leveraged effectively, can go a long way toward making the conversation a productive one.
Noah Ketterman, Senior Product Owner, TrueFit
We all have times at work when we need to have a hard conversation. It may be delivering bad news about a project to a customer, dealing with interpersonal conflict, or talking to a coworker who isn't pulling his/her weight. This talk will aim to equip you with some perspective, tips, and tricks that, if understood and leveraged effectively, can go a long way toward making the conversation a productive one.
#11 The Role of AI in Shaping Next-Generation Digital Banking Products
Rahul Autade, Sr. Manager, Payment Implementation, PNC
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming fintech product management, reshaping how financial products are designed, delivered, and optimized. In this session, Rahul Autade will explore how AI-driven technologies, including machine learning, blockchain, and predictive analytics, are revolutionizing payments, fraud detection, and customer experiences. Attendees will gain insights into effective strategies for managing AI-powered fintech products, understanding key ethical considerations, and leveraging AI to enhance innovation, personalization, and competitive advantage.
Rahul Autade, Sr. Manager, Payment Implementation, PNC
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming fintech product management, reshaping how financial products are designed, delivered, and optimized. In this session, Rahul Autade will explore how AI-driven technologies, including machine learning, blockchain, and predictive analytics, are revolutionizing payments, fraud detection, and customer experiences. Attendees will gain insights into effective strategies for managing AI-powered fintech products, understanding key ethical considerations, and leveraging AI to enhance innovation, personalization, and competitive advantage.
#12 If we're on the same team, why doesn't it feel like it?
Ben Mosior, Principal, Hired Thought
If we're on the same team, why doesn't it feel like it?
- Why aren't we making more progress?
- Why is everyone going in different directions?
- Why doesn't anyone care?
Teams are more than just part of an org chart! They stand for a belief that working together will help us accomplish so much more than if we worked separately. So why aren't we getting the benefits? Why don't we FEEL like a team?
This session will offer practical lessons in team alignment — how to get different people with different expertise, different experiences, and different ambitions to act together and get results you can REALLY feel.
The secret is strategic thinking, which we'll practice together with timeless questions and simple activities to try with your peers and team members (in as little as 5 minutes at a time). The lessons will stick with you for years to come.
Ben Mosior, Principal, Hired Thought
If we're on the same team, why doesn't it feel like it?
- Why aren't we making more progress?
- Why is everyone going in different directions?
- Why doesn't anyone care?
Teams are more than just part of an org chart! They stand for a belief that working together will help us accomplish so much more than if we worked separately. So why aren't we getting the benefits? Why don't we FEEL like a team?
This session will offer practical lessons in team alignment — how to get different people with different expertise, different experiences, and different ambitions to act together and get results you can REALLY feel.
The secret is strategic thinking, which we'll practice together with timeless questions and simple activities to try with your peers and team members (in as little as 5 minutes at a time). The lessons will stick with you for years to come.
#13 Leave No Customer Behind: 6 Way To Get Buy-In for Accessibility
Stephen Morrissey, User Experience Designer, IRS
You likely have already heard about the importance of making your product fully accessible. However, getting stakeholder buy-in for delaying your ship date is another story. Here are six methods I have used to get stakeholder buy-in, along with tips and lessons I learned over my 14-year career in UX.
Stephen Morrissey, User Experience Designer, IRS
You likely have already heard about the importance of making your product fully accessible. However, getting stakeholder buy-in for delaying your ship date is another story. Here are six methods I have used to get stakeholder buy-in, along with tips and lessons I learned over my 14-year career in UX.
#14 Improving Customer Research: 4 Ways to Increase Your Empathy
Stephen Morrissey, User Experience Designer, IRS
Fully understanding the root cause of your customer’s problems is the most effective way to design a solution for them. Even if you have the time to conduct this research, where do you even start? Here are four tools I use to increase my empathy. They changed how I approach design work, seeing problems from multiple perspectives.
Stephen Morrissey, User Experience Designer, IRS
Fully understanding the root cause of your customer’s problems is the most effective way to design a solution for them. Even if you have the time to conduct this research, where do you even start? Here are four tools I use to increase my empathy. They changed how I approach design work, seeing problems from multiple perspectives.
#15 Building Trustworthy Products: Navigating AI Ethics in Product Management
Ramakrishna Ramadugu, Product Implementation Expert, PNC
AI is changing the way we build products but with that power comes responsibility. As product managers, we’re not just shipping features anymore we’re shaping decisions made by algorithms that impact real people. This session is all about the ethical side of using AI in product management how do we make sure what we build is fair, transparent, and truly serves users?
We’ll talk about where things can go wrong like biased data, black-box models, and privacy pitfalls and how to spot those red flags early. You’ll leave with practical tools and frameworks to help you think critically about AI at every stage of the product lifecycle. Whether you're working with a data science team, prioritizing features, or deciding how transparent your product should be, this session will help you ask the right questions and lead with integrity.
Let’s talk about building products that people can trust.
Ramakrishna Ramadugu, Product Implementation Expert, PNC
AI is changing the way we build products but with that power comes responsibility. As product managers, we’re not just shipping features anymore we’re shaping decisions made by algorithms that impact real people. This session is all about the ethical side of using AI in product management how do we make sure what we build is fair, transparent, and truly serves users?
We’ll talk about where things can go wrong like biased data, black-box models, and privacy pitfalls and how to spot those red flags early. You’ll leave with practical tools and frameworks to help you think critically about AI at every stage of the product lifecycle. Whether you're working with a data science team, prioritizing features, or deciding how transparent your product should be, this session will help you ask the right questions and lead with integrity.
Let’s talk about building products that people can trust.
#16 From One to Many: Mastering the Second Product Challenge
Greg Coticchia, CEO, SE Healthcare
Most companies fail when launching their second product—not because of poor ideas, but because of culture, structure, and strategy. Join Greg Coticchia, seasoned CEO and product expert, as he shares hard-earned lessons and real-world examples from Apple, Netflix, and Vertex. Learn how to overcome the “Second Product Problem,” structure autonomous teams, and build trust with dev, sales, and execs to scale your impact and your product portfolio.
Greg Coticchia, CEO, SE Healthcare
Most companies fail when launching their second product—not because of poor ideas, but because of culture, structure, and strategy. Join Greg Coticchia, seasoned CEO and product expert, as he shares hard-earned lessons and real-world examples from Apple, Netflix, and Vertex. Learn how to overcome the “Second Product Problem,” structure autonomous teams, and build trust with dev, sales, and execs to scale your impact and your product portfolio.
#17 When NOT to listen first to ANY Customers/Stakeholders?
Pratap Khanwilkar, Founder/CEO, Ignition Key LLC
VOC, traditional market research, user research usually and mostly leads to 'incremental' innovation. On the other hand, 'disruptive' innovation typically uses different techniques and methods. The facilitator will use his experience and accomplishments in conceiving and implementing several 'disruptive' innovations and solicit ideas and promote discussion amongst the audience to elicit some understanding and insights into this 'dark' art.
Pratap Khanwilkar, Founder/CEO, Ignition Key LLC
VOC, traditional market research, user research usually and mostly leads to 'incremental' innovation. On the other hand, 'disruptive' innovation typically uses different techniques and methods. The facilitator will use his experience and accomplishments in conceiving and implementing several 'disruptive' innovations and solicit ideas and promote discussion amongst the audience to elicit some understanding and insights into this 'dark' art.
#18 The impact AI can have on the Product / UX Design process
Peter Zuidema, Human-Centered Design Manager, OpenArc
AI services are finding their way into our many processes to bring a product from concept to deliverable.
In the design process, it might not be as straightforward as it might be in some other step along the way. Does AI save time in the design process, and is it even smart to use AI to do the design?
This session will bring up opportunities and concerns, possibilities and limitations around the subject, and leave time to get your feedback and ideas to discuss.
Peter Zuidema, Human-Centered Design Manager, OpenArc
AI services are finding their way into our many processes to bring a product from concept to deliverable.
In the design process, it might not be as straightforward as it might be in some other step along the way. Does AI save time in the design process, and is it even smart to use AI to do the design?
This session will bring up opportunities and concerns, possibilities and limitations around the subject, and leave time to get your feedback and ideas to discuss.
#19 Accessibility the how and why in design, development and testing.
Peter Zuidema, Human-Centered Design Manager, OpenArc
Accessibility is mainly, but not only about allowing the more than 1 bn people worldwide who experience a disability to use your product, but it also makes perfect business sense.
Creating accessible products is a requirement for certain businesses, but not all. So, why might you still want to create an accessible product if you don't have to? Will it cost more money to do so?
During this session, the topic of accessibility in the design, development, and testing phase of your product will be discussed - not only the challenges but mainly the opportunities that make you able to reach a broader audience.
Peter Zuidema, Human-Centered Design Manager, OpenArc
Accessibility is mainly, but not only about allowing the more than 1 bn people worldwide who experience a disability to use your product, but it also makes perfect business sense.
Creating accessible products is a requirement for certain businesses, but not all. So, why might you still want to create an accessible product if you don't have to? Will it cost more money to do so?
During this session, the topic of accessibility in the design, development, and testing phase of your product will be discussed - not only the challenges but mainly the opportunities that make you able to reach a broader audience.
#20 What can AI do for UX? Separating fact from fiction
Sauvik Das, Assistant Professor of Human-Computer Interaction, CMU
Usability is a major problem for many of the estimated 1.8 billion active web sites. Research has found that poor usability leads to increased interaction costs, high cognitive load, and loss of trust. Good usability, in contrast, leads to reduced development and maintenance costs, increased web traffic and sales revenue, fewer user errors, higher productivity, and lower support costs. Part of the challenge with building usable websites is that usability work is time and labor intensive, and most companies simply do not have the resources to engage in usability best practices for the hundreds of UI/UX decisions they must make. Can AI help?
In this talk, I pose three common questions you might have: Can I use AI to automatically generate useful and usable UIs? Can I use AI to automatically fix my UIs? Can I use AI for quality assurance? I will cover the state-of-the-art in computational UI research and practice to help answer these questions, separating fact from fiction.
Sauvik Das, Assistant Professor of Human-Computer Interaction, CMU
Usability is a major problem for many of the estimated 1.8 billion active web sites. Research has found that poor usability leads to increased interaction costs, high cognitive load, and loss of trust. Good usability, in contrast, leads to reduced development and maintenance costs, increased web traffic and sales revenue, fewer user errors, higher productivity, and lower support costs. Part of the challenge with building usable websites is that usability work is time and labor intensive, and most companies simply do not have the resources to engage in usability best practices for the hundreds of UI/UX decisions they must make. Can AI help?
In this talk, I pose three common questions you might have: Can I use AI to automatically generate useful and usable UIs? Can I use AI to automatically fix my UIs? Can I use AI for quality assurance? I will cover the state-of-the-art in computational UI research and practice to help answer these questions, separating fact from fiction.
#21 The Promise and Perils of AI for Product Managers
Jason Hong, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction, CMU
This is a general talk for people with little or no knowledge of AI. This talk is based on my and my colleagues' research done at Carnegie Mellon University and courses we have taught there on UX Design and Responsible AI. The goal of this talk is to give realistic expectations about the potential of AI, its limitations, common misconceptions, risks that product managers need to be aware of, and major design issues for products.
Jason Hong, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction, CMU
This is a general talk for people with little or no knowledge of AI. This talk is based on my and my colleagues' research done at Carnegie Mellon University and courses we have taught there on UX Design and Responsible AI. The goal of this talk is to give realistic expectations about the potential of AI, its limitations, common misconceptions, risks that product managers need to be aware of, and major design issues for products.
#22 Spelunking – a surprising, yet powerful way to grow!
Ned Uber, retired MEDRAD / Bayer Distinguished Science Fellow
These perspectives will help you see new opportunities whatever your job is.
MEDRAD grew >16% per year for 25 years. Looking back, I see that we did this more via spelunking that summiting, that is, by inexpensively going after small markets that we helped grow into markets much larger than anyone could have predicted, rather than going after known, large markets.
I’ll share observations and theories on how and why this worked, including frameworks based on Clayton Christensen’s “Disruptive Innovation”, Geoffrey Moore’s Zone to Win, Red Oceans and Blue Oceans, and “Innovation by Acquisition”.
Our exercise for this session will then be to develop ideas on how to help senior managers understand and embrace spelunking as part of an overall business strategy given that unknowability prevents the computation of a sufficiently big NPV to justify their investment.
Ned Uber, retired MEDRAD / Bayer Distinguished Science Fellow
These perspectives will help you see new opportunities whatever your job is.
MEDRAD grew >16% per year for 25 years. Looking back, I see that we did this more via spelunking that summiting, that is, by inexpensively going after small markets that we helped grow into markets much larger than anyone could have predicted, rather than going after known, large markets.
I’ll share observations and theories on how and why this worked, including frameworks based on Clayton Christensen’s “Disruptive Innovation”, Geoffrey Moore’s Zone to Win, Red Oceans and Blue Oceans, and “Innovation by Acquisition”.
Our exercise for this session will then be to develop ideas on how to help senior managers understand and embrace spelunking as part of an overall business strategy given that unknowability prevents the computation of a sufficiently big NPV to justify their investment.
#23 A secret tool for stronger patents and a more valuable product/company.
Ned Uber, retired MEDRAD / Bayer Distinguished Science Fellow
I’m an inventor on 130+ US patents with hundreds more around the world. I’ve got one “secret” technique, morphological analysis, is little know and even less used, but it is incredibly powerful for generating the broadest possible patent coverage. I’ll walk you through the magic.
I’ll also share perspectives, tips, and tricks about patents in general.
If you are staring a company, after a working product/service, your IP is one of your most valuable asset. The stronger it is, the higher the value you’ll receive for your work.
Ned Uber, retired MEDRAD / Bayer Distinguished Science Fellow
I’m an inventor on 130+ US patents with hundreds more around the world. I’ve got one “secret” technique, morphological analysis, is little know and even less used, but it is incredibly powerful for generating the broadest possible patent coverage. I’ll walk you through the magic.
I’ll also share perspectives, tips, and tricks about patents in general.
If you are staring a company, after a working product/service, your IP is one of your most valuable asset. The stronger it is, the higher the value you’ll receive for your work.
#24 SWIFT ISO 20022, GPI & Blockchain: The Future of Global Payments
Sridhar Yerram, Payments Specialist, PNC
Discover how SWIFT’s ISO 20022 and Global Payments Innovation (GPI) are reshaping cross-border payments with enhanced transparency, speed, and end-to-end tracking. This session will explore how blockchain can complement GPI by enabling secure, real-time settlements, smart contract execution, and improved reconciliation. We'll discuss practical applications, benefits to financial institutions, and how combining ISO standards with blockchain enhances operational efficiency, compliance, and customer experience in the global payments ecosystem
Sridhar Yerram, Payments Specialist, PNC
Discover how SWIFT’s ISO 20022 and Global Payments Innovation (GPI) are reshaping cross-border payments with enhanced transparency, speed, and end-to-end tracking. This session will explore how blockchain can complement GPI by enabling secure, real-time settlements, smart contract execution, and improved reconciliation. We'll discuss practical applications, benefits to financial institutions, and how combining ISO standards with blockchain enhances operational efficiency, compliance, and customer experience in the global payments ecosystem
#25 Reframing UX: From Design Luxury to Product Necessity
Alina Bengert-Lombardi, Lead Product Designer, UPMC Enterprises
UX is often seen as a design layer rather than a strategic function. In this talk, I’ll share insights and guidelines to help UX and product teams better position user experience as a business asset, not a design add-on. I’ll also introduce a pragmatic framework that explores how to align UX work with product goals, timelines, and trade-offs to make its value clearer and more actionable. This session is for product designers, UX professionals, and product managers who want to make UX indispensable in decision-making and delivery.
Alina Bengert-Lombardi, Lead Product Designer, UPMC Enterprises
UX is often seen as a design layer rather than a strategic function. In this talk, I’ll share insights and guidelines to help UX and product teams better position user experience as a business asset, not a design add-on. I’ll also introduce a pragmatic framework that explores how to align UX work with product goals, timelines, and trade-offs to make its value clearer and more actionable. This session is for product designers, UX professionals, and product managers who want to make UX indispensable in decision-making and delivery.
#26 Permission to Cancel: Live
Heather Miller, PM Consultant/CEO, PDRM Consulting
I will build on my popular “Permission to Cancel” guide—and bring it to life in real time. We’ll talk honestly about the pressure Product Professional feel to say yes, to show up, and to overcommit to meetings—and what it really looks like to reclaim your time without sacrificing impact. Join us for an open discussion on boundaries, expectations, and the power of strategic no’s. Bring your questions, your stories, and a mental picture of your calendar (or your phone)—we’re rethinking how product leaders show up.
Heather Miller, PM Consultant/CEO, PDRM Consulting
I will build on my popular “Permission to Cancel” guide—and bring it to life in real time. We’ll talk honestly about the pressure Product Professional feel to say yes, to show up, and to overcommit to meetings—and what it really looks like to reclaim your time without sacrificing impact. Join us for an open discussion on boundaries, expectations, and the power of strategic no’s. Bring your questions, your stories, and a mental picture of your calendar (or your phone)—we’re rethinking how product leaders show up.
#27 Making Liquidity Management Smarter with AI in Modern Banking
Laxman Doddipatla, Technology Engineer, PNC
In today’s fast-moving world of banking especially in the payments sector, it is critical for banks to always have enough funds on their settlement account. This is known as liquidity management. As banks handle a growing number of real-time payments, international money transfers, and stricter rules from regulators, the old ways of managing liquidity just aren’t fast or flexible enough anymore. They often rely on static processes that can’t keep up with the speed or complexity of today’s financial environment.
This is where Artificial Intelligence (AI) steps in as a powerful solution. AI technologies, especially machine learning and predictive analytics, can help banks improve how they manage their money throughout the day. By analyzing past transaction data, real-time payment flows, and even market trends, AI can forecast how much cash a bank will need and when they’ll need it. Instead of reacting to problems after they happen, banks can use AI to plan ahead.
Laxman Doddipatla, Technology Engineer, PNC
In today’s fast-moving world of banking especially in the payments sector, it is critical for banks to always have enough funds on their settlement account. This is known as liquidity management. As banks handle a growing number of real-time payments, international money transfers, and stricter rules from regulators, the old ways of managing liquidity just aren’t fast or flexible enough anymore. They often rely on static processes that can’t keep up with the speed or complexity of today’s financial environment.
This is where Artificial Intelligence (AI) steps in as a powerful solution. AI technologies, especially machine learning and predictive analytics, can help banks improve how they manage their money throughout the day. By analyzing past transaction data, real-time payment flows, and even market trends, AI can forecast how much cash a bank will need and when they’ll need it. Instead of reacting to problems after they happen, banks can use AI to plan ahead.
#28 Operational Excellence Can Kill Product Innovation
A. Robert Wasson, Professor, CMU
“Portfolio Management” is a slippery term with a few distinct interpretations. Most of the energy goes into what I would call “Operational Portfolio Management.” Its focus is project resourcing—who works on which projects, budget levels, and scheduling priority. The central question is how do I make sure I get everything done to meet the portfolio objectives in the most efficient way? Or, as a colleague puts it, “How do we get more juice from the lemon?”
In contrast, the “Strategic Portfolio Management” perspective is very different. The focus is fundamentally economic—what creates value, what the big opportunities are, how I do well no matter how the world works out. This perspective on portfolio management is built on a foundation of Strategy: Embrace uncertainty. Play to win or get out. Create options. And so on.
This discussion will talk further about the differentiation between strategic portfolio management and operational portfolio management.
A. Robert Wasson, Professor, CMU
“Portfolio Management” is a slippery term with a few distinct interpretations. Most of the energy goes into what I would call “Operational Portfolio Management.” Its focus is project resourcing—who works on which projects, budget levels, and scheduling priority. The central question is how do I make sure I get everything done to meet the portfolio objectives in the most efficient way? Or, as a colleague puts it, “How do we get more juice from the lemon?”
In contrast, the “Strategic Portfolio Management” perspective is very different. The focus is fundamentally economic—what creates value, what the big opportunities are, how I do well no matter how the world works out. This perspective on portfolio management is built on a foundation of Strategy: Embrace uncertainty. Play to win or get out. Create options. And so on.
This discussion will talk further about the differentiation between strategic portfolio management and operational portfolio management.
#29 Mining Gold From Feature Requests
Stacey Weber, Managing Partner, Ci2 Advisors
Taken at face value, requests for features can lead us in the wrong direction. Join Stacey Weber to uncover the secrets of transforming feature requests into extraordinary product enhancements. Discover techniques for digging in and mining gold from “pesky” feature requests.
Stacey Weber, Managing Partner, Ci2 Advisors
Taken at face value, requests for features can lead us in the wrong direction. Join Stacey Weber to uncover the secrets of transforming feature requests into extraordinary product enhancements. Discover techniques for digging in and mining gold from “pesky” feature requests.
#30 Ask Me Anything with Stacey Weber
Stacey Weber, Managing Partner, Ci2 Advisors
Ask me anything related to Product Management and Product Marketing! If I don't have an answer, the room will be full of smart people with practical suggestions.
Stacey Weber, Managing Partner, Ci2 Advisors
Ask me anything related to Product Management and Product Marketing! If I don't have an answer, the room will be full of smart people with practical suggestions.
#31 Harnessing AI to Supercharge Product Management Strategy and Execution
Bishal Dasgupta, Associate, Expert Consulting, McKinsey & Company
Artificial Intelligence is transforming how product managers build, launch, and scale products. This session explores how AI tools—from predictive analytics to generative AI—are reshaping product strategy, roadmapping, customer insights, and experimentation. Attendees will learn practical frameworks for integrating AI into product development workflows, enabling faster decision-making, smarter prioritization, and more personalized user experiences. Real-world examples will highlight how leading companies are leveraging AI to uncover unmet needs, streamline operations, and drive growth. Whether you’re new to AI or looking to scale its impact across your product organization, this session will equip you with actionable insights to future-proof your product management practice.
Bishal Dasgupta, Associate, Expert Consulting, McKinsey & Company
Artificial Intelligence is transforming how product managers build, launch, and scale products. This session explores how AI tools—from predictive analytics to generative AI—are reshaping product strategy, roadmapping, customer insights, and experimentation. Attendees will learn practical frameworks for integrating AI into product development workflows, enabling faster decision-making, smarter prioritization, and more personalized user experiences. Real-world examples will highlight how leading companies are leveraging AI to uncover unmet needs, streamline operations, and drive growth. Whether you’re new to AI or looking to scale its impact across your product organization, this session will equip you with actionable insights to future-proof your product management practice.
#32 Rapid Research Methods
Raelin Musuraca, Associate Teaching Professor and Director, MHCI Program, CMU
Traditional UX research is outdated. Product development requires quick, iterative feedback cycles from users and stakeholders. Learn new ways to validate product improvements or new product ideas using a rapid research method based on start-up practices. The Assumption Artifacts method focuses on isolating your largest product development risks and creating low-low-low-low fidelity artifacts to test iteratively, and Analogous Domains allow you to leverage alternative users when yours may be difficult or expensive to reach. This is a mini-workshop where you will work in teams and conduct both methods.
Raelin Musuraca, Associate Teaching Professor and Director, MHCI Program, CMU
Traditional UX research is outdated. Product development requires quick, iterative feedback cycles from users and stakeholders. Learn new ways to validate product improvements or new product ideas using a rapid research method based on start-up practices. The Assumption Artifacts method focuses on isolating your largest product development risks and creating low-low-low-low fidelity artifacts to test iteratively, and Analogous Domains allow you to leverage alternative users when yours may be difficult or expensive to reach. This is a mini-workshop where you will work in teams and conduct both methods.
#33 For Designers, a 101 to working with Developers
Peter Zuidema, Human-Centered Design Manager, OpenArc
You are a designer, and you know your design best. You know why you designed something a specific way and why it will work best for your users.
Why are you getting pushback from developers? Why do they tell you it will not work and you must change your designs? Why don't they understand you?
This session is about helping you navigate the team dynamics between developers and designers, why pushback happens, and how to learn to design with development in mind. After all, without development, there will be no product. However, without a good design, we will not have a product with which users can and will work.
We will address how to communicate with team members who are not designers and how to empathize with developers, as well as have them empathize with you as a designer.
Peter Zuidema, Human-Centered Design Manager, OpenArc
You are a designer, and you know your design best. You know why you designed something a specific way and why it will work best for your users.
Why are you getting pushback from developers? Why do they tell you it will not work and you must change your designs? Why don't they understand you?
This session is about helping you navigate the team dynamics between developers and designers, why pushback happens, and how to learn to design with development in mind. After all, without development, there will be no product. However, without a good design, we will not have a product with which users can and will work.
We will address how to communicate with team members who are not designers and how to empathize with developers, as well as have them empathize with you as a designer.
