Technology has transformed how we access legal and healthcare services. But according to product management trailblazer Hitee Jha, truly impactful solutions balance innovation with end-user needs.
"Technology on its own doesn't necessarily improve lives, you need to deeply understand user needs and build human-centric products."
She speaks from over 15 years of experience spearheading product development and growth for major brands across legal, healthcare technology, and beyond. She has witnessed the industry evolve rapidly, from static directories to on-demand mobile apps and AI-powered chatbots.
It's been amazing to conceptualize and deliver products that simply didn't exist before, but you can't forget that there are real people and stories behind each search or inquiry.
Consider Miss Jha's pioneering work on the first mobile app for a legal marketing platform. By incorporating SMS and email features, it enabled real-time communication between attorneys and clients as well as potential clients. The human connection this facilitated strengthened business performance.
She has also championed the use of data analytics in legal tech. Her platforms provide insights on client revenue and conversion likelihood, allowing professionals to better understand and serve user needs.
The challenge is making data actionable and meaningful and you want to surface key insights without losing the human element.
In healthcare technology, Hitee has focused intently on improving access and quality of care through empathic design. Her background in human-computer interaction has proven invaluable.
"Healthcare is deeply personal. You have to build products that demonstrate compassion." Hitee explains. "My training in user experience research and design helped me truly listen to patients and providers." She refers to the learnings from her work with physical therapy patients and providers in the performance of prescribed home exercise therapy that was published in the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) journals.
This fusion of technological innovation and human-centered design permeates Hitee's approach to product management. She firmly believes that placing real user needs first ultimately drives business success.
Hitee points to her work developing proprietary web hosting and website builder platforms catering specifically to healthcare and legal professionals. Website management solutions were traditionally generic cookie-cutter or expensive high-end, there wasn't a cost effective specialized solution for these professionals. By focusing on nuanced customer requirements, she helped design an industry catered yet flexible platform solution and service to provision over 50,000 websites.
Even with new technologies like AI, Hitee stresses that the human element must remain central. For instance, she invented a patent pending semi-automated chatbot that seamlessly combines automated and human support for legal inquiries. Despite advanced functionality, human connection is preserved.
For Hitee, this balance enabled the chatbot to handle over 7 million successful interactions since its launch, providing quality experiences at scale. What advice does this experienced product leader have for the next generation?
"Keep the human at the center and stay laser focused on the real-world impact you want to achieve," Hitee urges. "The technology will follow."
With her unique blend of technical prowess, design thinking, and pioneering spirit, Hitee Jha represents the future of product management. She offers indispensable insights on evolving legal and healthcare digital technology with both cutting-edge innovation and human compassion.
