Geospatial Intel Tool Product Strategy and Research
This was my first product, and I took it from 0 to 1 adoption in record time. I would like to share my findings about what made it so successful.
Product Strategy: Make Geospatial Intelligence accessible to the rest of the Intel Community
Before working on the Geospatial Intel Tool, I was on the Anti-Corruption Layer team.
An anti-corruption layer is like a translator or middleman who sits between two different software systems to ensure they can work together without one system’s problems or confusing ways of working “infecting” the other.
Anti-Corruption Layer Example
The assumption we had with creating the Anti-Corruption Layer: Exponential Adoption
Logically, it made sense. We had over 40+ at the time back in December 2024, and we built a brand new Operating Suite. Instead of each team trying to connect to third-party databases securely, we wanted to connect them all through one Anti-Corruption Layer team with dedicated Subject Matter Expertise. Whenever there were changes to the business rules or new data fields, we would format them properly for the front-end teams.
Onboarding over the Geospatial Intel Team:
Picture this: Three days into my new role, I was asked to lead our first monthly sync demo while still learning everyone’s names and figuring out where all the design components were. This wasn’t just any meeting but a chance to hear direct feedback from users and stakeholders. I’ve always maintained a can-do attitude but never thought I’d have so little time to prepare.
Demo Day
The monthly sync lasted roughly 90 minutes. The first half hour was a dream come true with the users going round-robin on updates with what they were working on and the problems they faced. In my moleskin, I wrote down everything that was said. Knowing that none of these units were truly on