From Ticket Taker to Product Partner

When AI can turn a clear spec into working code, the question shifts from "Can you implement this?" to "Can you help decide what to implement and how it should work for users?"

When it comes to engineers, that's the gap between a ticket taker and a product partner.

The ticket taker mindset

Ticket takers:

• Wait for fully-baked tickets with acceptance criteria.
• Focus primarily on technical correctness and performance.
• Treat UX, copy, and flows as "someone else's job."
• Ship exactly what was asked, even if it no longer makes sense.

This isn't laziness; it's often how teams are structured. But as AI takes over more implementation detail, this role becomes easier to automate or outsource. And if that’s your role, you might be out of a job.

The product partner mindset

Product partners:

• Start by clarifying the user and the job to be done.
• Think in flows, not just screens or endpoints.
• Care about usability, clarity, and outcomes—not only performance benchmarks.
• Proactively propose changes and trade-offs when they see a better way.

They don't replace product managers or designers; they make those collaborators far more effective.

Three shifts to make

• From features to flows – Instead of "build a settings page," think "help a user quickly change a preference with confidence." Map the journey: where do they start, what do they see, what decisions do they make, how do they know they're done?
• From pixels to patterns – Move away from one-off screens towards small systems: shared color tokens, type scales, and components. When you fix a button or error state, ask: "How do I make this the default for the rest of the product?"
• From solo builder to cross-functional collaborator – Invite design and product into earlier, messy conversations. Bring simple sketches or flow diagrams, not just questions. Share user feedback and technical constraints transparently.

Where AI fits in

AI is a powerful ally if you're willing to lead. Use it to:

• Summarize user interviews and support tickets into themes you can act on.
• Generate alternative flows, layouts, and copy that you then critique.
• Explore edge cases and state diagrams for complex features.

This shifts your time toward judgment and away from grinding. And judgment—especially about users, flows, and trade-offs—is exactly where human engineers remain hardest to replace.