The grocery industry moves quickly, and this month we sat down with two teammates from the Product team here at Rosie to talk a bit more about their process, and how features come to life – from ideation to execution.
You both are relatively new to the Rosie team. What drew you to your respective roles?
Yi: I’m already coming up on one year in April! I could tell the people at Rosie were really special, and in working together these past 10 months, I know we all value the impact we see from the features added to our software. It’s so rewarding to see fast change, especially in an industry that is constantly evolving. Oh, and food is a big part of my life!
Leanna: At the time, I was looking for my next Product Manager role – I really wanted to be in the food space. In a previous life, I was a farmer for many years (ask me about sheep!), and I was really excited to learn about food from a different perspective.
How do you describe the DNA of the Product Team? How do you work together?
Leanna: When there is a project coming down the pike, we first gather requirements for what the feature needs to do. We accomplish this by talking to our Support staff, developers, sales – basically anyone who touches the feature whether directly with our customers or behind-the-scenes.
Yi: In my role, I do the mockups, test all the buttons, and go through all the iterations. I hammer things out until we can write specific tickets. At Rosie, by shipping smaller changes more frequently we can gather feedback and make sure we have an end product that is really on target for our customers.
What’s been the most exciting project you’ve worked on so far?
Yi: Since design problem solving is my favorite, I really enjoy the competitive analysis and roadmap planning. This part of the process really unites the business side and design background together.
Leanna: It’s been really incredible to work on launching our store branded mobile app, which is a white-label version that was built with independent grocers in mind. Retailers are now able to offer their shoppers a seamless experience because it has the look and feel of their own app, with their own branding.
Product at Rosie in three words.
Yi: Adaptive, innovative, and solution oriented.
Leanna: listening, communication, and ambiguity.
Anything you can tease that independent grocers should have on their radar?
Adding items after checkout – get excited! We’ll have more to share in the coming months.
As always, food is a big part of Rosie culture. What’s in your basket?
Yi: I’m a big fan of carbs! Pasta – baked mac and cheese is my go-to – and definitely lemon bars.
Leanna: Carrots, onions and chicken bones. I love making my own stock!
