Product Management Case Study
Mixed Reality Support Platform for Industrial X-Ray Systems
Company: ABM Equipment
Role: Product & Program Owner
Duration: ~2 months
Overview
At ABM Equipment, I was asked to lead the implementation and rollout planning of a hands-free mixed reality headset designed to support customers operating industrial food-processing X-ray machines.
The product vision was to extend ABM’s service offering beyond hardware—delivering real-time, on-demand operational support through a wearable device bundled with each X-ray machine sale.
Although I left ABM before the product reached full market release, I owned the product and program execution end-to-end during its critical early phase, coordinating stakeholders, defining requirements, and building the operational framework required for launch.
Product Vision & Customer Value
The headset was designed to be sold alongside ABM’s food processing X-ray machines and provide customers with:
Hands-free access to how-to articles and service documentation
Instructional videos for operation and maintenance
24/7 direct access to a live technician for real-time support
Reduced downtime, faster troubleshooting, and improved customer confidence
The goal was to reduce service friction, lower support costs over time, and differentiate ABM’s hardware offering with a high-value digital service layer.
My Role & Responsibilities
Due to my role as a project manager I proved myself up to the challenge of taking this project on. I became the product owner and program lead, responsible for translating customer needs into a coordinated hardware + software solution.
Key responsibilities included:
Owning the product charter and rollout strategy
Building and managing the project plan in Smartsheet
Running weekly cross-functional meetings
Acting as the primary liaison between:
X-ray technicians (end users & subject matter experts)
Software developer / programmer
Hardware reviewers
Internal stakeholders
Tracking scope, risks, dependencies, and readiness milestones
Product Discovery & Requirements Definition
To ensure the product delivered real value, I worked directly with X-ray technicians and service teams to understand:
Common failure points and service calls
What information technicians need in the moment
Which procedures benefit most from visual guidance
Where hands-free access was critical for safety and efficiency
I translated these findings into clear functional requirements for the developer, including:
Content structure for articles and videos
User flow for headset navigation
Escalation paths for live technician calls
Expectations for reliability in industrial environments
This ensured the product wasn’t just technically impressive, but operationally useful.
Cross-Functional Coordination
A major component of the role was aligning multiple disciplines around a shared outcome.
I coordinated:
Hardware and software review sessions (evaluation, feedback, iteration)
Feedback loops between technicians and the developer
Internal alignment on launch expectations and customer-facing positioning
Documentation standards for support content
Using Smartsheet, I created:
A project charter
Task ownership and timelines
Meeting cadences
Status tracking and risk visibility
This structure allowed leadership to clearly see progress, blockers, and next steps.
Outcomes & Learnings
While I was unable to see the product through to full market release, the experience was a formative product management milestone.
Key takeaways:
How to manage hardware + software products simultaneously
Translating frontline technician needs into digital experiences
Coordinating discovery, delivery, and stakeholder alignment under uncertainty
Building execution systems that scale beyond a single individual
Even though ABM ultimately did not bring the product to market, the work laid a foundation for what a services-enabled hardware offering could look like—and solidified my interest in product management roles that sit at the intersection of technology, operations, and customer experience.
Why This Matters
This project reflects how I approach product management:
Start with real customer pain points
Build structure where none exists
Communicate clearly across technical and non-technical teams
Own outcomes—even when the finish line shifts
Not every product makes it to launch. But strong product leadership ensures that learning, alignment, and value creation happen regardless.
