Nikil Ramanathan walks you through his journey from business analyst to product manager at Amazon. His talk focuses on his work as a business analyst, how he discovered product management, and what motivated him to become a product manager. He also shares his thoughts on the parallels between analytics and product management and effective way to make the jump into product management in the tech world.

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Transitioning from Analytics to
Product by a Former Amazon PM

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8. Nikil Ramanathan
TONIGHT’S SPEAKER

9. Transitioning from
Analytics to Product
By Nikil Ramanathan

10. Background
● Currently Senior Product Manager at WeWork
● Real Estate and Development Technology team
● Focused on improving discoverability and sourcing of CRE properties

11. Background
● Prior to WeWork was at Amazon for 5 years
● Worked on 3 different teams in 3 different roles
○ NA Sales -- Business Analyst
○ Amazon Video -- Analytics Program Manager
○ Last Mile Technology -- Product Manager

12. What does a Business Analyst at Amazon
do?
● Focused on key business metrics for the overall organization
● Led meetings with internal stakeholders
● Identified trends and patterns for the business

13. First Position Change at Amazon
● Wanted to get more technical
● Interested in working on a customer-facing product
● Wanted to solve challenging problems

14. Product Analytics
● Joined Amazon Video focusing on the X-Ray feature
● Role expanded to encompass Mobile Devices
● Eventually led all of all product analytics for Amazon Video

15. Discovering Product Management
● Background was solely in analytics
● First became interested in Product Management while at Amazon Video

16. Time to Learn
● Wanted to learn more about what product management really meant
● Sought out Product Managers within Amazon Video for guidance and
mentorship
● Asked a lot of questions

17. Who else were you speaking to?
● Spoke with current product managers, leadership, current analysts, and
former analysts
● Each group of people has their own story and their own thoughts about
Analytics and Product

18. What questions were you asking Product
Managers?
● How did you get into Product Management?
● What does your day-to-day look like?
● What are the most valuable skills of a Product Manager?

19. What questions were you asking Product
Managers?
● What can I do in my current job to get a better sense of product
management?
○ Design and conduct A/B Tests/Experiments
○ Data-driven decision-making
○ Product Insights
○ User Research
● Double down on these elements to further your relevant experience and to
see if you enjoy these aspects of the job

20. What questions were you asking day-to-day?
● Why are you asking me to do X?
○ Think about problems end-to-end
○ Understand the whys behind what you’re doing. Why are you asking me for this metric?
○ Challenge PMs with suggestions of your own to 1) establish credibility and 2) Get a baseline
for the appetite for your ideas.
■ Have you thought about trying this? I think the metric you are really looking for is this.
● What are your goals for this initiative? How are you measuring success?

21. What questions were you asking current
analysts?
● What gets you excited about this role?
● Have you thought about changing your role? Why or why not?

22. What questions were you asking former
analysts?
● Why did you transition out of Analytics?
● What appealed to you about Product Management?
● What’s the biggest difference between being an Analyst and a PM?

23. What questions were you asking former
analysts?
● How did you go about making the transition from Analyst to PM?
● Who did you speak to when making the transition?
● Overall, how do you feel about your decision?

24. Why ask these questions?
● The purpose of meeting a wide variety of people and asking a lot of
questions is to get first-hand feedback from people who are doing what you
want to do
● These questions aim to get sentiment. How do people feel before, during,
and after transitioning?
● These questions also aim to give you knowledge. Who else should I be

25. Next Steps
● At this point, you’re likely itching to get more a taste of Product
Management. How do you get experience before you make the formal
transition?
● Ask current PMs to include you in more of their meetings, particularly ones
where product decisions and tradeoffs are being made/discussed
● Start acting as the PM for your data team. Create a backlog of items and

26. Next Steps
● Be clear with your manager that you are interested in making a change to
PM
● He/she can start to give you projects that enable you to start acting like a
PM without the formal title. This experience is invaluable in the transition
step

27. Making the Switch
● It is easier to make a positional switch internally vs. externally
● If you work at a large company, seek out mentors and current PMs who
you’ve worked with in the past. Often times, they are most willing to help you
make the formal transition
● Good managers who know you’re interested can also help in changing the
title of your role to Product Manager if you can show you can do that type of

28. Making the Switch
● Try and get as much experience with “Product Management” work in your
current role as possible
● Look for PM roles that are more analytical or require a more data-savvy PM.
These roles are a natural fit for former Analysts
● Have a strong handle on the metrics for your team’s business and product.
Be able to speak to your goals and how the team measures success

29. Key Takeaways
● Talk to lots of people, get feedback, and ask lots of questions. Ask why?
● Develop relationships with teammates and mentors as they can help you get
your foot in the door
● Figure out what type of work in your current role most resembles the day-to-
day for PMs and focus your efforts there

30. THANK YOU!
Questions?

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