ON-SITE: ProductTank Hamburg - November 2025

What can software and hardware product teams learn from each other?
Hardware product management comes with its own set of unique challenges — longer lead times, supply chain risks, firmware–software interplay, complex prototyping cycles, regulatory constraints, and the constant need to balance short-term improvements with the long lifespan of physical devices.
These realities make it difficult to fully adopt software paradigms like empowered product teams and continuous discovery.
We’re excited to welcome two experts on stage who’ll share their insights and lessons learned from working on the hard stuff. We’re sure there’s something to take away for everyone — whether you work in hardware or software.

First Talk by Lisa Sandleben:
Bridging Bytes and Bolts - Integrating Software and Hardware Development Lifecycles
In a fast-paced market, it’s crucial to integrate hardware and software development lifecycles closely, paving the way for a more efficient process, improved collaboration and seamless integration. We can achieve this through collaborative tooling and with an adapted and iterative version of the V-Model to build viable, resilient, and innovative products that our customers love. In this talk we’ll explore 5 means to enhance efficiency, collaboration and integration from a coach’s perspective.

Second Talk by Kai Stevens:
The hard in hardware - how to apply continuous product discovery with hardware products
How continuous was the discovery process that Kai and his team at tado° applied? Wasn't it just an old fashioned waterfall given the nature of hardware product development? In this talk Kai will take you along his learnings from developing the next generation tado° smart thermostats from the ground up with his team. He will share tangible tips and tricks to find the right approach for product discovery in a hardware environment, or in any other environment where decisions are often irreversible and highly consequential.

About Lisa Sandleben
Lisa is working as a Consultant for Transformation Management and Organisational Coaching. She has gathered expertise in Product and Project Management, Organisational and Agile Coaching but also worked actively in developing backend applications. Bridging the gap between technical and business perspectives, she aims to support for projects from their strategic conception to launch and bring innovative ideas to life.
Having worked in various org setups and industries such as aviation, mobility, e-commerce, logistics, and SCM, she loves to delve into new environments and contexts, fueled by a passion for people, new technologies, and the desire to enable companies to build exceptional products. She is also deeply passionate about mentoring and coaching and supporting career development.
Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn

About Kai Stevens
Kai is a product manager and leader with 15+ years of experience in highly complex environments consisting of hardware, IoT, big data and high volume consumer apps. He was part of the team at tado° that launched an award winning next generation of smart thermostats in spring 2024.Intrigued by the pivotal moments throughout his career in product management, Kai is dedicated to helping product managers and their teams discover better ways to ensure that every line of code, graphic design, marketing campaign, and any other activity in a product's execution is justified by the appropriate level of evidence revealed through Product Discovery.
Connect with Kai on LinkedIn

Who’s invited?
ProductTanks are open to all curious product folks: if you're in product management, UX, engineering, or simply want to connect with your peers in Hamburg's vibrant product scene, this evening is for you. We’re all about genuine connections, so please come ready to network and share, not just for the snacks!

Logistics & registration

• Attendance: free (but registration required to help us plan)
• Venue, snacks & drinks kindly provided by Statista - a big thank you for your support!
• Doors open at 18:30, program starts at 19:00

We’re excited to explore the exciting intersection of software and hardware product management with you. See you on November 17!