Open to PM, APM & Business Analyst roles

Varun Kumar.

Product Manager| Business Analyst| AI & Data-Driven Product Thinking

Turning customer problems into product decisions, backed by 18 years on the front line.

View Case Studies Contact Me View Resume

About

Front-line insight, product-minded execution

I'm a product and business analysis professional with 18 years in customer operations, including 11+ years at American Express, where I'm currently a Lead Account Analyst in Global New Accounts.

I own chat and call flows, operational data, root cause analysis and process-change training, which means I spend my days turning on-the-ground customer issues into clear requirements and better processes.

I'm trained in AI Product Management and have completed 16 case studies: end-to-end product case studies across quick-commerce, mobility, e-commerce UX, food delivery and B2B SaaS, plus UX evaluations, product rescues and clickable prototypes.

Years Experience

11+

Years at American Express

Case Studies

AI-Native

PM Toolkit

Skills

What I bring to a product team

A blend of product craft, business analysis rigour and hands-on data and AI skills.

Product Management

Product discovery
User research and interviews
Personas and segmentation
UX teardowns
UX and design collaboration
PRDs and user stories
RICE / ICE prioritisation
Roadmapping
Product launch
Growth and monetisation
Go-to-market (GTM)

Business Analysis

Requirements gathering
Process mapping
Gap analysis
Root cause analysis (5 Whys)
BRDs
Stakeholder management
Change management
Communication

Analytics & Metrics

North Star and KPI design
Guardrail metrics
Funnel and cohort analysis
A/B test design
Opportunity sizing

Data

SQL
Python
Advanced Excel
Power BI
AI-assisted analysis
Machine learning (learning)

Tech & AI

Tech 101 and system design basics
LLMs
RAG
AI foundations
Agentic AI
Prompt engineering
Vibe coding for PMs

Tools

Figma Jira Confluence Notion Miro Claude Code ChatGPT Codex Wispr Flow Power BI Excel

Case Studies

16 product problems, end to end

Product strategy, UX evaluations, product rescues and clickable prototypes. Each one goes from research and root cause to solutions, priorities and success metrics, with the full documents attached.

CASE 01

Zepto: Increasing Average Order Value

Growing basket size without hurting conversion

Quick-commerce growth

!Problem

90% of baskets sit in the Rs 200-499 band and 70% of users stop adding items once free delivery is reached.

→Approach

Primary survey plus secondary research, 4 behavioural segments, and a 5 Whys root cause: the product is built for fast retrieval, not basket building. Designed AI Shopkeeper, 60-Second Flash Shelf and a brand-funded Mystery Box.

✓Outcome

RICE ranked Mystery Box first as a margin-safe quick win. Now/Next/Later roadmap with AOV uplift as North Star (target +15-20%) and a session-to-order guardrail metric.

Key frameworks User ResearchSegmentation5 WhysRICERoadmapKPIs

View full case study →

CASE 02

Uber: Find My Ride

Solving the last-100-metre pickup problem

Mobility

!Problem

75% of riders wander to find their ride, all rely on phone calls, and 80%+ want guided pickup spots.

→Approach

Personas for tech park commuters, mall visitors, airport travellers and first-time riders. Strategy shift from passive map pins to active pickup coordination.

✓Outcome

AI-powered Smart Pickup Spots with compass navigation and proximity haptics; a Pickup Intelligence Graph as a data moat; Bengaluru pilot GTM. Metrics: pickup success rate, calls per pickup, cancellation rate.

Key frameworks PersonasRICEAI/Data MoatGTMSuccess Metrics

View full case study →

CASE 03

Nykaa: User Experience Teardown

Finding where the shopping journey loses trust

E-commerce UX

!Problem

Where does the shopping journey lose user trust?

→Approach

Audited search, discovery, cart and checkout; ran structured interviews with two contrasting shoppers; backed with market research.

✓Outcome

Discovery and product trust convert well; onboarding pop-ups, silent add-to-cart and ill-fitting coupons leak trust. A 4.7 star app rating vs 1.6-2.6 star long-form review sentiment shows delivery and support are bigger risks than UI.

Key frameworks UX TeardownUser InterviewsJourney Mapping

View full case study →

CASE 04

SkillOS: Workforce Capability Platform

A 0-to-1 B2B SaaS product concept

B2B SaaS

!Problem

Leaders track course completion, not real capability growth.

→Approach

Targeted mid-market companies (500-5,000 employees) with a workflow of assessment, capability graph, AI recommendations and insights.

✓Outcome

3-year roadmap (Measure, Develop, Predict), per-employee SaaS model, data and benchmarking moats, and a land-and-expand GTM.

Key frameworks Product VisionRoadmapBusiness ModelMoatsGTM

View full case study →

CASE 05

Noon UAE: First-Time Buyer Journey

Heuristic evaluation from sign-up to a blocked checkout

E-commerce UX

!Problem

A new user signs up, browses, adds a product and tries to check out, and is blocked by an unserviceable address with no way forward.

→Approach

Expert walkthrough of the live Noon UAE website (Oct 2026), each issue mapped to Nielsen's heuristics and UX laws: a three-step email OTP detour (Jakob), 8+ competing elements on the product page (Miller), ~24px close buttons (Fitts).

✓Outcome

7 findings and 6 redesign directions: simplify onboarding, chunk the product page, protect checkout, make errors recoverable, fix click targets, earn the star rating.

Key frameworks Heuristic EvaluationJakob's LawMiller's LawFitts's LawEdge Cases

View full case study →

CASE 06

Klook: Booking a Multi-Option Trip

UX evaluation and redesign of a speedboat booking flow

Travel UX

!Problem

Dates, transport tiers, group size and dynamic pricing on one page create decision paralysis.

→Approach

Walked the full flow from listing to checkout and scored each issue in a usability matrix: cluttered package options, tiny guest counters, a pickup map users must decode, and dead-end error pop-ups.

✓Outcome

A step-wise configuration wizard, larger tap targets, address validation for free pickup, and contextual error guidance to reduce cart abandonment.

Key frameworks Hick's LawFitts's LawError RecoveryMobile UX

View full case study →

CASE 07

OYO: Two Journeys, Guest and Owner

One smooth OYO for the guest who books and the owner who lists

Travel marketplace

!Problem

The owner listing flow accepts junk data, hides the minimum 6 rooms rule and ends with a "Welcome Aboard" screen after which the listing disappears.

→Approach

Manual walkthrough of the live app with personal data redacted; 11 owner issues mapped to heuristics and Jakob, Hick, Fitts and Peak-End; guest booking issues added in v3.

✓Outcome

P1: save reliably and validate every input (address, KYC, OTP). Clickable prototype for both journeys, with listing completion and drop-off by step as the metrics.

Key frameworks HeuristicsPeak-End RuleKYCPrototypeMetrics

View full case study →Prototype

CASE 08

Zomato: Customer and Restaurant Partner UX

From menu to payment, and from kitchen to payout

Food delivery UX

!Problem

Can customers see the full cost before paying, and can restaurant partners get online and understand their payouts?

→Approach

Evaluated login to tracking for customers and registration to payouts for partners. Verified every bill line against real cart screenshots: platform fee ₹14.99, GST and a ₹613.56 total.

✓Outcome

A clickable prototype with an itemised, honest bill and inline document checks (FSSAI, GSTIN, PAN, IFSC) for partners, plus a correction log so every claim is traceable.

Key frameworks Nielsen HeuristicsHick / Fitts / JakobVerified BillPrototype

View full case study →Prototype

CASE 09

Zomato: Funnel and Retention Analysis

Food delivery metrics

!Problem

Where do Tier-1 users drop off between discovery and delivery, and why do they not come back?

→Approach

Mapped a 7-stage discovery-to-delivery funnel with drop-off hypotheses, built cohort and retention analysis and set a North Star metric with metric ladders.

✓Outcome

Prioritised 9 solutions with ICE, designed A/B tests for the top two fixes and created a 90-day roadmap.

Key frameworks Funnel AnalysisCohortsNorth StarICEA/B Tests

Summary from resume · deck on request

CASE 10

Slack: Improving Channel Creation

One flow across desktop, web and iOS

B2B collaboration

!Problem

Naming rules, visibility choices and adding people differ across desktop, web and iOS, and mistakes are hard to undo.

→Approach

Walked the channel-creation flow on each surface with real screenshots, mapped issues to heuristics including accessibility.

✓Outcome

A consistent cross-platform flow with clearer visibility choices and recoverable mistakes, shown in a clickable prototype.

Key frameworks B2BCross-platformAccessibilityPrototype

View full case study →Prototype

CASE 11

Snapdeal: Win on Reliability, Not Lowest Price

"Jaisa dikha, waisa mila": a verified-value promise

Value e-commerce

!Problem

Value shoppers worry that what arrives will not match what they saw, and price alone no longer wins them back.

→Approach

Diagnosed trust breaks across choose, pay, receive and resolve, and designed a verified-value promise with an interactive deck.

✓Outcome

A reliability-first strategy with a phased plan and metrics, plus clickable prototypes of the promise.

Key frameworks Product RescueStrategyTrustPrototype

View full case study →Prototype

CASE 12

Hike: Fix Campus Coordination

Don't build another messenger

Messaging

!Problem

A new messenger cannot beat WhatsApp's network effect, but campus clubs still struggle to coordinate events and members.

→Approach

Reframed the opportunity from messaging to coordination and designed a clubs and events layer that works alongside WhatsApp.

✓Outcome

A 90-day campus pilot with success metrics and a clickable prototype.

Key frameworks Product RescuePivotPilot PlanPrototype

View full case study →Prototype

CASE 13

BYJU'S: Prove Learning First

Small and honest restart after insolvency

EdTech

!Problem

Parents lost trust after aggressive selling and insolvency; a relaunch has to earn it back.

→Approach

Narrowed scope to one grade and subject and designed a diagnostic-led Class 7 maths offer with transparent pricing.

✓Outcome

A restart validated over one quarter that proves learning before selling.

Key frameworks Product RescueTrustPricingValidation

View full case study →

CASE 14

Koo: A Place Where Questions Get Answered

Not a Twitter for India

Social, Indian languages

!Problem

A general social network in Indian languages could not hold attention.

→Approach

Picked one language and one high-value job: a Kannada crop Q&A community for farmers, with partners.

✓Outcome

A niche community plan with a validation quarter and metrics for answered questions and return visits.

Key frameworks Product RescueVernacularCommunity

View full case study →

CASE 15

LimeRoad: Improve and Integrate, Don't Relaunch

Fashion e-commerce with V-Mart

Fashion e-commerce

!Problem

Returns and fit problems eat fashion margins; a relaunch would repeat them.

→Approach

Fix fashion purchases first, then connect to V-Mart stock.

✓Outcome

A phased plan that scales only if fit and return metrics hold.

Key frameworks Product RescueIntegrationUnit Economics

View full case study →

CASE 16

Ravi's First SIP and Meena's Tatkal Ticket

Two persona-led design sprints

Fintech and rail booking

!Problem

First-time investors fear jargon and loss; Tatkal bookers have seconds to act and no room for a failed payment.

→Approach

Built a persona for each user, mapped their moments of doubt and designed both flows end to end.

✓Outcome

Clickable prototypes: a first ₹500 SIP and a Tatkal booking that survives a failed payment.

Key frameworks PersonasOnboardingTime PressurePrototype

View full case study →Prototype

Documents & Links

Every document in one place

32 PDFs including the resume, plus clickable prototypes and live sites. Everything opens in a new tab.

Zomato: Funnel and Retention Analysis

Deck available on request

Slack: Improving Channel Creation

PDF7-page brief (final) 7 pp PDFDetailed report (final) 37 pp PrototypeChannel creation prototype

Snapdeal: Win on Reliability, Not Lowest Price

PDF7-page brief 7 pp PDFDetailed report 40 pp PDFProduct rescue plan 5 pp PDFSupporting analysis 12 pp PrototypeInteractive deck PrototypePrototype

Hike: Fix Campus Coordination

PDFProduct rescue plan 5 pp PDFSupporting analysis 11 pp PrototypeCampus prototype

BYJU'S: Prove Learning First

PDFProduct rescue plan 5 pp PDFSupporting analysis 12 pp

Koo: A Place Where Questions Get Answered

PDFProduct rescue plan 5 pp PDFSupporting analysis 11 pp

LimeRoad: Improve and Integrate, Don't Relaunch

PDFProduct rescue plan 5 pp PDFSupporting analysis 11 pp

Ravi's First SIP and Meena's Tatkal Ticket

PrototypeBoth prototypes PrototypeRavi's first SIP PrototypeMeena's Tatkal ticket Liveravi-meena.netlify.app

Experience

18 years close to the customer

American Express

2015 - Present

Gurugram

Lead Account Analyst, Global New Accounts

Manages operational data
Owns end-to-end chat and call flows
Runs root cause analysis with partner teams
Trains teams on process changes
Turns on-the-ground issues into clear requirements

Earlier at American Express

Global New Accounts (calling, chat and back office)
Customer Service (US and Canada chat)

FIS

Vodafone UK account

Customer Service

iEnergizer

4 years

Chat Specialist, Upselling and Customer Service

Education & Learning

Always building the toolkit

Degree

Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA)

Magadh University, Bihar · 2008 - 2011

Program

AI Product Management

End-to-end product craft with an AI-first lens.

UX & design collaboration PM communication Analytics & metrics Launch Growth & monetisation Tech 101 & system design LLMs RAG AI foundations Vibe coding Agentic AI

Program

Data Analytics

Hands-on analysis from query to dashboard.

SQL Python Advanced Excel Power BI AI-assisted analysis Machine learning (in progress)

Also learned

Beyond product

Skills that help me think about growth and storytelling.

Sales Social media marketing Video editing

Contact

Let's build something customers love

I'm looking for Product Manager, Associate PM and Business Analyst roles. I'd love to hear from you.

varun.kumar44@yahoo.com linkedin.com/in/varun-pm01 +91-9582937173 WhatsApp

Download Resume