Introduction

Hey everyone, I’m Shota, an Application Designer and Product Manager who’s been with Likha since 2023. My hobbies include brewing craft beer and making tacos. I love bringing them into the office for everyone to enjoy!

I can ride a jeepney, hop on a tricycle, and I even love street pares. So I’m pretty sure I’m about 60% Filipino. Just don’t ask me to speak Tagalog po!

I want to talk about the joys of collaboration in SaaS product development, and share some insights from my unique perspective as both a designer and a product manager.

 

Our Product Development & Challenges

At Likha, we’re building SaaS products designed to solve the complex challenges of B2B businesses. As an Application Designer and Product Manager, my mission here as an expat is to envision these products, translate that vision into concrete forms, and then deliver them to our users as quickly as possible.

What I find particularly challenging, yet stimulating, in this development journey is deeply understanding Japanese legal frameworks and the specific tasks and mindsets of HR professionals in Japanese companies. This can be quite a hurdle for our Likha members. However, their strong curiosity and eagerness to tackle these challenges are a huge help every single day.

 

Strong Collaboration with Engineers & QA

As a designer/PM, what I find most rewarding is when our team members understand the challenges faced by our product’s target users at the same level I do. It’s not easy to grasp unique Japanese business practices, but when I see them reviewing the project background documents I’ve prepared in advance, or when engineers and QA ask insightful questions about business requirements like “What about this use case?”, I feel immense joy. It shows they’re deeply interested and committed to understanding the work. Furthermore, when they propose UI improvements or other detailed suggestions, it’s a clear sign of their profound understanding. I also strongly feel their sense of responsibility towards releases, and they constantly offer ideas on how best to proceed.

When communication challenges arise, I focus on unraveling team issues as collective problems, rather than pointing fingers at individuals. I believe problems aren’t personal faults, but rather shared challenges that the team needs to address.

As a Japanese expat, I also see myself as a bridge between Japan and Likha. It’s crucial to help them understand the differences in Japanese legal frameworks, business customs, and culture. To achieve this, I strive to use clear diagrams and repeat information, but above all, I feel our current excellent collaboration exists because of their sincere and dedicated approach.

 

The Drive Towards a Shared Goal

In product development, facing various challenges and difficulties is just part of the game. One particularly memorable instance was planning a large feature. Understanding why we were doing it, what problem it solved, and how best to address it took a significant amount of time. For that specific feature, the entire engineering team, QA, and I literally locked ourselves in a meeting room for two full days, just to discuss it.

Despite the exhaustion, that was the moment I most strongly felt us pushing towards the same goal together. What made it even more impactful was that this meeting wasn’t my idea; an engineer proactively said, “Shota! We need to do this, let’s make it happen!” That felt like concrete proof that our team had truly become one.

Respecting each other’s expertise and creating better products through open discussions is truly the essence of SaaS product development. Sharing successes and a sense of accomplishment also significantly boosts team morale.

Through my expat experience, the biggest growth I’ve felt as a designer/PM is realizing the importance of crossing roles and collaborating. If you stay confined to your own role, it’s hard for the team to grow. I’ve learned that for the entire team to generate greater value, it’s essential to actively show interest in others’ areas and cooperate.

My key to effective collaboration is this: I always aim to connect their curiosity, interests, and what they genuinely want to do directly to our product development. I believe nurturing their intrinsic motivation and guiding it to contribute to product growth is the most effective way to collaborate.

 

I truly believe that my expat life here has been so fulfilling thanks to all the members of my team – and not just those I work directly with on products. A huge shout-out also goes to our HR team for designing such a welcoming and supportive work environment. I’m genuinely grateful to be able to work and have fun with everyone here. I really appreciate the Likha guys.