YANN AND GIULIANA
USER LEADERS
AT DECATHLON | NABAIJI

At DECATHLON, User Leaders are experts on users and their needs (the former job title was: Product Manager).

If I had to sum up our role, we are like orchestra conductors, adds Giuliana.

This role revolves around what we refer to as "the offer" at NABAIJI. We are the interface between design (Engineers, Designers, Pattern Makers, etc.) and marketing (Commercial Directors, Buyers, etc.). Being an expert on the user and their needs helps fuel the design of the product and especially the usage specifications that will enable the creation of the product.

At the very beginning, we launch the product with the project team. We all start together, then everyone sets off towards a goal: turn the idea into a product. A product is like a living thing. You can't just launch it and then stop there. We interact with customers on a daily basis based on their feedback on the product. If the rating is good, perfect, if it's not, we have to be able to identify what we need to improve, and then we start the cycle from the beginning again so that the product suits our users. It's a living chain!

According to Giuliana, without a Product Manager, the product development process is bound to come to a halt eventually. It all depends on the stage of the development process: at certain times, nothing serious would happen if the Product Manager was no longer there because the projects have been launched and could continue to exist, on the contrary, at other times the project would stop completely. During product testing, for example, the Product Manager's role is essential. It is also important to note that if a decision is even a few weeks late, the impact can be enormous. For example, if the product cannot hit the shelves by the scheduled date, there will be no availability for the customer. In short, according to Giuliana, if the product manager is away, there is no more conductor!

Yann now tells us how he sees things. In the short term, what would happen? I'm tempted to say: nothing. We plan ahead by at least two years (to make a product, improve a product or meet a need with a product or service that does not yet exist). So throughout this development period, the whole process is already underway. If I were to disappear, there would be complications, but the process has already started and can carry on without me. On the other hand, as soon as we look at the longer term, it is quite the opposite. As Product Managers, we are the link between the collections of the past and those of the future. We catalyse the global need, this also involves knowing how to prioritise needs according to the markets. If we drill down to specific projects, one of my most important roles is the usability test. Being responsible for the user's comfort, I am responsible for the final usability tests in order to certify that nothing in the product hinders the user in any way. If I'm not there, there's no one to take care of it.

Pretty much all the time! We are there from start to finish. There are times when we have more involvement than others, such as during the testing or product selection phases. These are key milestones. On the other hand, there are other stages where we are less involved, for example when we are waiting for prototypes for selection or for testing.

At the very start, we are trying to identify the "who", i.e.: who our users are. Then, we focus on the "what", in other words, answering the question: "What do they use and how?". The goal is to really get to know our users, their needs, their obstacles, their habits, etc. We then turn to the market to look at the solutions that exist and identify those that we could offer. The aim: for users to be able to find the right solution to meet their needs. We then develop what we call the "offer poster", which answers the question: "What do we need in the offer?" to meet the needs of our users. Once all those boxes have been ticked, we prioritise! You can't do everything, so you have to be able to choose, give up and prioritise things.

We are mainly motivated by:
- The customer rating of the product (which must be more than 4.2/5) as well as replies to customer reviews (response time and quality of the reply).
- Eco-design: we must ensure that our offer is increasingly more eco-friendly.

Currently, the teams we interact with the most are those involved in design, so Engineers, Designers, Pattern Makers, Supply Managers, etc.

Giuliana: It is also important to interact with other people even if they have nothing to do with our project group or our sport. We can't be closed off and not discuss with others. Sometimes, we find solutions by cross-referencing information with other brands. The work that everyone does on their projects can be used to feed other projects in other brands, and it is important to see this complementarity.

Yann: The people I'm supposed to talk to the most are my users! But with COVID, these interactions have become more restricted. When I say interactions I don't just mean chatting to them. Working with users literally means being in their midst: swimming with them, watching them train, etc. We need to get as close as possible to our users to understand them and capture as many of their latent needs as possible.

Yann: (Enthusiastic) openness to change! We must constantly adapt and you need the enthusiasm to go with it. Secondly, it is important to have keen observation skills. You need to be able to contextualise everything you observe, not be afraid to be biased and to commit. The third essential quality is being forward thinking. We have to be able to imagine things that do not yet exist while aiming for several targets simultaneously (for example: thinking about European users at the same time as Asian users, working on swimwear at the same time as sunglasses, keeping eco-responsibility in mind while aiming for growth). Lastly, I'd say the ability to unite people and give things meaning. We need to be able to sum things up in a way that allows us to win people over and make them want to get involved in the project.

Giuliana: First of all, I would say that you have to be organised, because the job of Product Manager is in fact project management. Then I would say that you have to be pragmatic and know where you want to go. You have to have a vision and be structured so that projects don't end up all over the place. Lastly, you undeniably need to be a team player! We are in daily contact with others and we have to collaborate with lots of different people. So you need to enjoy that kind of interaction and like working in a team.