Product Knowledge

Comparing Level 1 and Level 2

Level 1

Level 2

Description

At Level 1, you're becoming familiar with the product—its structure, purpose, and core functionality—what it does, who uses it, and why it matters. Your primary focus is still on learning, and your understanding is mostly surface-level or feature-specific. You may know how the feature you're working on behaves, but not always how it fits into the whole experience. You're building awareness of the product as a user-facing tool, not just a codebase.

Description

At Level 2, you're becoming a thoughtful contributor to product development. You understand how your work fits into user journeys and product goals, and you actively look for ways to improve the user experience through small but meaningful improvements. You don't just understand *what* you're building—you understand *why*, and you use that context to guide your implementation decisions.

Key Behaviors

  • •
    Understands the basic purpose and audience of the product
  • •
    Can describe what their current project or feature does
  • •
    Asks questions to better understand user flows and pain points
  • •
    Tests their own work from a user perspective
  • •
    Reads product specs or release notes to understand context

Key Behaviors

  • •
    Speaks confidently about how users interact with the features they build
  • •
    Connects implementation decisions to user and business value
  • •
    Highlights UX concerns or confusing flows during development
  • •
    Asks clarifying questions to better align implementation with product goals
  • •
    Suggests small enhancements that improve usability or consistency

Common Struggles

  • Focuses only on implementation, not the user experience
  • Misses edge cases because they don't fully understand the use case
  • Has trouble explaining how the feature adds value to the user or business

Common Struggles

  • May hesitate to question product direction or raise user experience concerns
  • Sometimes defaults to building exactly what's asked without exploring better options
  • Can struggle to prioritize usability over technical convenience

Success Indicators

  • Understand the purpose of the product and the value it provides
  • Ask product-minded questions about what you're building
  • Begin to test and think about features from a user's point of view
  • Are curious about the product beyond your immediate work

Success Indicators

  • Demonstrate empathy for the user in how you build and test
  • Make decisions that improve both product quality and user experience
  • Flag gaps, edge cases, or misalignments between design and implementation
  • Bring a product-minded lens to code reviews, discussions, and demos

Mindset Shift

From:

"I build features as assigned."

To:

"I build features that help users and serve the product."

Mindset Shift

From:

"I follow product specs well."

To:

"I co-create solutions that solve real user problems."

Questions to Ask Yourself

  • Who uses this feature and what problem are they trying to solve?
  • Where could things break down for the user?
  • What does success look like for this product or experience?

Questions to Ask Yourself

  • What are users trying to *accomplish*, and is this helping them do it?
  • Is there a simpler, clearer, or faster way to solve this need?
  • What's the bigger product goal that this work supports?

Build These Habits

  • 1
    Sit in on product demos or user research sessions
  • 2
    Ask for clarification about product goals when receiving work
  • 3
    Track what's coming next by reading the roadmap and skimming product updates—even a quick glance can help you connect the dots

Build These Habits

  • 1
    Test the product end-to-end—not just the parts you built
  • 2
    Compare actual implementation to product designs and flag discrepancies
  • 3
    Ask designers and PMs about intent, edge cases, and expected outcomes

Seek Feedback

  • "Does this solution really solve the user's problem?"
  • "What tradeoffs are we making with this implementation?"
  • "How will we measure success for this change?"

Seek Feedback

  • "Does this behavior make sense from a user perspective?"
  • "What assumptions are we making about the user here?"
  • "Could we make this flow simpler or more intuitive?"

Signals You're Ready to Level Up

  • You test your work with the end-user in mind
  • You ask questions about why a feature matters, not just how to build it
  • You show curiosity about how users experience the product

Signals You're Ready to Level Up

  • Others see you as product-aware and user-focused
  • Your input is reflected in how designs or features evolve
  • You help spot usability issues before they reach production

Focus Summary

  • Use the product
  • Ask why
  • Build for someone, not just something

At Level 1, product knowledge is about beginning to think like a user. You're no longer just coding a task—you're starting to care how it helps someone.

Focus Summary

  • Think like a user
  • Speak like a partner
  • Build like it matters

At Level 2, product knowledge becomes active. You use it to make better decisions, ask better questions, and create better experiences.