Are you eating your dog food?

When it comes to developing technology, especially in the realms of AI and other innovative fields, there's a term you'll hear often: "dogfooding." It might sound funny, but the concept is powerful. Dogfooding means using your own product in-house, living with it daily, and experiencing it as your customers would. It's all about putting yourself in the shoes of your users to understand your technology's strengths, weaknesses, and potential.

Why do I want to eat dog food?

In the context of technology and AI, dogfooding is an essential practice for ensuring quality and empathy in product development. Essentially, if you work on a product, you use it. For AI, this could mean using your own model/applications to improve workflows, automating processes internally, or making the entire team's life easier with the tools you've created. It's the ultimate test of your work—an honest trial by fire, where you find out if what you've built really delivers value. In AI, where your product can learn and adapt, dogfooding is crucial for understanding the real-world implications of your technology, training your models in relevant ways, and validating that your solutions address true needs.

Why It's Essential for Tech Managers

As a manager in tech—particularly in the fast-moving AI space—dogfooding isn't just a nice-to-have; it's a must. Leading by example is key. When you're using your team's product, you're showing that you believe in what you're building. You're willing to rely on it, deal with the hiccups, and push it to evolve. This hands-on approach not only sets the standard for your team but also sends a clear message about accountability and the commitment to quality.

Using your own product helps you spot friction points, bugs, or missing features—things you might miss by relying only on user feedback. It also gives you, as a manager, a clearer perspective on what your users experience, which can help guide your team towards more meaningful improvements. As a manager, you need to lead the way, especially when there's a stigma or embarrassment around using AI. Showing your team that this is the new way forward can help break down barriers. When you're on the front lines alongside your engineers and data scientists, everyone understands that your role isn't just managerial—you're also a user, an advocate, and a critic.

Growing Your Team and Their Skills

Dogfooding has another hidden benefit: it helps grow the team's skills. When everyone, from product managers to engineers, is dogfooding the product, they're all deeply immersed in it. This creates a culture where everyone understands the nitty-gritty of how things work, which in turn means the team is better equipped to iterate, troubleshoot, and innovate.

AI can be intimidating, especially for teams new to the space. Using what you've built, day in and day out, builds confidence. Your team starts to see firsthand how impactful their work can be, leading to a stronger sense of ownership and pride. It's easier to see the why behind the what—and that can be incredibly motivating. Plus, the feedback loop is faster: the more intimately your team knows the product, the quicker you can find gaps, improve, and grow.

Optics Matter

Imagine this: You're leading an innovative tech or AI team, and you aren't using your own products internally. What does that say about your belief in your work? It’s not just bad optics—it's a credibility killer. If you're not using your own solutions, why should anyone else?

This is especially true in the AI space, where skepticism can already be high. If you can't show that your solutions are valuable enough for your own team, it's hard to make a compelling case to customers or stakeholders. The most innovative teams should be their own biggest customers. Your willingness to adopt your own technology demonstrates to clients and partners that you have confidence in the value and practicality of your solutions.

Ultimately, dogfooding creates authenticity. It's a commitment to walking the talk, proving that you're willing to stand behind what you've built, and that you've put in the effort to refine and improve it—not just for users out there but for your own day-to-day operations as well.

✌️ Steven