INFO 380: Product & Information Systems

Overview.

Taking INFO 380: Product & Information Systems at the University of Washington was a transformative leadership experience that strengthened my ability to guide teams, make strategic decisions, and drive product innovation. This course provided me with hands-on experience in product development, user research, and business strategy, requiring me to take on leadership roles within a team-based project. By analyzing information systems and designing user-centered solutions, I honed my problem-solving and decision-making abilities. This experience was invaluable in preparing me to lead cross-functional teams and navigate complex challenges in the tech industry and beyond.

Personal Importance of Work.

INFO 380 deepened my understanding of leadership in the context of technology and product management. The course reinforced my belief that strong leadership is not just about directing a team but also about fostering collaboration, encouraging diverse perspectives, and guiding projects toward meaningful outcomes. Leading within my project team, I took responsibility for structuring workflows, ensuring accountability, and maintaining team morale. This experience helped me develop essential leadership qualities such as adaptability, resilience, and strategic thinking. I now see leadership as a continuous learning process that requires self-reflection and the ability to empower others.

Tasks Accomplished.

• Led a project team in designing a prototype for a digital product that addressed a real-world user need.

• Facilitated team meetings, ensuring alignment on goals, responsibilities, and deadlines.

• Conducted research on existing information systems and their efficiencies to guide strategic decision-making.

• Developed interactive mockups using wire framing and prototyping tools to present user-centered solutions.

• Delivered a final project presentation, showcasing leadership in articulating product vision and research findings.

• Managed conflict resolution within the team to maintain productivity and a positive working environment.

• Applied agile methodologies to enhance teamwork, adaptability, and iterative product improvement.

Leadership Competencies Gained.

Collaboration.

Leadership in a team setting requires balancing initiative with collaboration. In INFO 380, I worked to ensure that all voices were heard and that our project benefited from diverse perspectives. This was a difficult task at first because our team had deliverables that were due each week and we had to have some progress or tangible aspect that we could demonstrate to the teaching team. Often we see collaboration easily implemented in other team settings, but in a team of students with hard deadlines, deliverables, and constant updating of our work that needed to be done, it made collaboration more of something that we had to work toward and earn rather than given. To help counteract this, I facilitated brainstorming sessions, helped resolve differing opinions, and utilized my organization skills ensured that our work remained cohesive. This course solidified my belief that a great leader is also a great collaborator—someone who empowers their team to achieve excellence together and not just on the individual scale. 

Conflict Negotiation.

Differences in opinions and approaches are inevitable in any leadership role, and INFO 380 provided valuable experience in managing conflicts constructively. When disagreements arose over design choices and implementation strategies, I acted as a mediator, encouraging dialogue and data-driven decision-making. For instance, during a conversation over a certain UI design choice, a small argument broke out about why the implementation choice would be best for specific groups of people, to which some of our group mates disagreed on. I suggested conducting user testing to determine the best approach based on real feedback. This experience taught me that effective leaders approach conflict with a solutions-oriented mindset and use negotiation to drive progress.

Self-Understanding.

INFO 380 was instrumental in shaping my overarching leadership identity. Through team interactions and faculty feedback, I gained a deeper understanding of my leadership strengths and areas for growth. I discovered that I thrive in strategic planning and guiding teams through ambiguity, as I am a leader that does plan when it's smart to but also understands when to let things happen and develop organically (kind of like "going with the flow"). I also learned the importance of patience and adaptability. For example, we had to wait a few days in-between feedback cycles for some group work we did which to us, hindered the rate at which we could produce this work. However, taking the time to meaningfully reflect on the work we've done helped access our thinking and approach to future assignments, which in the long run helped us create a more polished prototype. This self-awareness has motivated me to continue refining my leadership style by seeking new challenges and learning opportunities. I now approach leadership with a mindset of continuous growth and a commitment to empowering others.

Productive Relationships.

Building and maintaining productive relationships was central to my leadership experience in INFO 380. I learned to foster trust among team members by promoting transparency, collaboration, and open communication. Additionally, building productive and healthy relationships with your team is vital in doing work and creating projects that have real intentions and causes behind them, rather than vanity or even worse, conflicting ideals. I also realized that a great relationship and environment is critical because it should often be okay to say things like, "no" or "I disagree and here's why". By understanding each team member’s strengths and intentions, I was able to delegate tasks effectively and create an environment where everyone felt valued. This experience reinforced that strong leadership is built on relationships and the ability to inspire and support others toward a shared vision.

Reflection & Application.

INFO 380 emphasized the importance of reflecting on experiences to improve future leadership effectiveness. Throughout the course, I assessed past decisions, identified areas for growth, and applied new insights to improve team dynamics and project execution. I really only understood what good reflection was after the class ended, when I looked back on all the work my team and I did and asked myself questions that challenged my thinking. This is a process I take with me to every team or role I find myself in, because by reflecting and generating new ideas or implementations, it makes the applying those much easier in the future. By leading retrospectives after each project phase, I encouraged my team to learn from challenges and continuously refine our approach. This experience taught me that self-awareness and adaptability are key to becoming a more effective leader.

Excellence.

In college, demonstrating excellence in academics is a highly important skill. However, excellence in other areas such as leadership, collaboration, and learning tremendously important as well because I think while academics shapes your brain, leadership shapes your person. Within INFO 380, I was thrown new concepts and tasks consistently, making the class a challenging but rewarding course. Going through the class from beginning to end, all while engaging with my classmates and performing high-quality work, really helped me get the most out of the class and contributed to not only my academic excellence in the class, but also my excellence in leadership and collaboration. Additionally, having to learn new concepts and integrate them in our final project over the course of 10 weeks required my classmates and I to be present (both physically and mentally) in lectures, labs, outside-of-class work time, and when asking questions. This also demonstrated our excellence in the ability to learn meaningful to reflect and apply as the course went on.

Future Oriented Statement.

INFO 380 reinforced my passion for leadership in product management and information systems, equipping me with essential skills in strategic thinking, collaboration, and conflict resolution. This experience has prepared me to lead teams in the tech industry, where adaptability, innovation, and strong communication are crucial. Moving forward, I plan to apply these leadership competencies in professional settings, guiding teams to develop impactful, user-centered products. I am committed to continuous learning, mentorship, and fostering inclusive work environments where diverse perspectives contribute to meaningful innovation. INFO 380 was a foundational step in my leadership journey, and I look forward to building upon these skills in future roles.

Artifact.

Below is a Figma page that my team created, designed, tested, and presented on during our time in INFO 380. The prototype is an application that is to be used by law and wildlife enforcement to track illegal fishing in highly traveled fishing areas or routes, as our main problem focused on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities. Big thanks to my team, Adam, Meng, and Josh for helping to create this awesome application prototype!