What’s more challenging than beating the deadline on a major software release? Beating the deadline on a major software release during a global pandemic while becoming the new leader of the team.
Cat Mathison is the product manager for Tideworks’ flagship product, Mainsail, which released version 10 very recently. Although she’s only been in that position for four months, she and her team have already made an indelible stamp on Tideworks’ future.
Cat couldn’t have been more excited about the new position but was also quite aware of the challenges she faced. “It’s always gratifying to hear from your company’s leadership that they see qualities in you that they believe will help make a team more successful, “ Cat said. “However, I was also clear on the fact that I’m not imbued with supernatural powers that would make a product ready to launch.”
As it turns out, supernatural powers weren’t required. Cat and her team successfully rolled out Mainsail 10, from home, amid the worst public health crisis in a century through hard work, vision, and an unwavering commitment to Tideworks’ customers.
A Different Perspective
One of the most significant shifts Cat had to make in her new position was thinking more holistically about Tideworks’ products.
Before her promotion, Cat was a Tideworks customer success engineer. In this position, she built features into Mainsail to satisfy specific applications. She realized she needed to begin thinking more generally as she transitioned into a formal leadership role. Instead of fitting the software to particular customers, she needed to start thinking about how to satisfy Tideworks’ entire customer base.
It wasn’t enough to just listen and react. Cat needed to understand why customers made the requests they did. As she put it, she was “really trying to consider not just from the empathetic point of understanding a customer and their pain point, but truly looking with a deeper analysis at what the problem is reflective of.
“What is missing in the overall solution that allows that pain point to even come up?”
She realized that she could simultaneously solve the branching problems if she traced back to their root causes. The process was gradual, but soon she found herself settling into a rhythm, and before long, the most dynamic version of the world’s best TOS was on its way.
Honesty is the Best Policy
She credits much of her success to her dedication to open, honest communication. In her view, trust comes when people know that you mean what you’re saying. This foundation of trust binds groups together, allowing them to lean on each other when needed, inspiring creative solutions to difficult problems.
This commitment to candid communication became particularly important just weeks after starting in her new position. The pandemic was just taking root, and the company delivered its first work from home orders. She credits deliberate collaboration for getting her team up to speed in those early days.
“When you’re in the office, you lean over, and you ask the question to your colleague. There’s a little bit more friction to do that with the virtual world. So we had to shorten that distance. And so [we came up with] places of deliberate collaboration and deliberate knowledge transfer. [We didn’t] just hope that it happened.”
This strategy allowed Cat and her team to push past the daily difficulties, keeping their ultimate goal at the front of their minds. And it paid off.
Learn More About Mainsail 10
Mainsail 10 is Everything Cat Hoped it Would Be
The road to rollout was frantic at times, but she kept her head, and it shows in the results. Mainsail 10 delivered on the promise Tideworks made to its customers. Cat didn’t mince words when asked what she was most proud of: “Supporting the team that delivered our brand new product to our affiliates. I think that you’re only as good as your last software delivery. I think we nailed it. I’m incredibly proud of that.”
It was hard for her to nail down just one or two things she likes most about the product. When pressed, though, she admitted that Mainsail’s intuitive information access capabilities impress her most.
Terminal operators don’t have time to hunt for critical information. They need instant access to answer questions quickly and respond rapidly to customer demands. Mainsail’s data-driven approach allows operators to view their terminals as granularly as needed — giving them easy access to their entire operation.
“We had users after the rollout…their first day using the system…they logged in, and all of a sudden they had a new system in front of them and they had to function. And they did,“ she quipped, smiling proudly. “I think that speaks volumes to the thoughtfulness of the design so that it would be intuitive for the users…just how quickly they’re able to find and leverage information.”
Cat looks to the future with her signature honesty. “Well, the boilerplate answer would be, we’re aiming to deliver more efficiently increasing quality, etc. But I think the most important thing is, make sure that we’re listening to our customers and hearing what will make them stand out in a really dynamic industry.”
“Part of my role as a product manager is to make sure that we’re building the right things at the right time. So I want to make sure that we’re building the right feature sets, the right road map items into the products that are going to set our customers apart. I know that just sounds cheesy, but that’s kind of it. That’s the job.”
