From IT requests to a user-driven roadmap
Manutan
Context
When I joined Manutan, product decisions were driven by IT requests - not user needs. No discovery culture, no research process, no shared understanding of who the users were. The challenge: transform how a 1Md€ B2B company thinks about product.
My Role
Led the full transformation - repositioned UX research, built the discovery foundations, created the knowledge base and insight repository, and ran the e-procurement discovery end-to-end. All while embedding product culture into an organisation that had none.
Research as a strategic force
UX research existed - but only to occasionally test mockups. I repositioned the UXR role as an embedded strategic partner, influencing product direction and roadmap prioritisation.
Building from zero
No personas, no experience maps, no documented journeys. We interviewed users across all product lines and built the full knowledge base from zero.
One source of truth
All research outputs centralised in Notion - personas, journeys, use cases. User insights fed into Jira Discovery and connected to the product roadmap. Sales and customer service now contribute directly.
Rebooting a lost product
The e-procurement product had been largely abandoned for 5-6 years. We ran a full discovery over several weeks - generating a 40-epic backlog with two objectives: boost sales by making the product more compelling, and improve retention by fixing what was driving customers away.
Outcome
Customer feedback now genuinely influences the roadmap - where it used to be invisible. Sales and customer service feed insights directly into product decisions. A 40-epic backlog generated from discovery to reboot a neglected but business-critical product.