Assembling the Avengers™: How PM, Development, QE, and UX Save the Day for Product Success

In the world of product development, success isn’t the result of one hero’s solo mission. It’s about assembling a team of specialists—each with unique superpowers—who unite to tackle challenges, defend against bugs, and deliver experiences that delight users. Think of it as forming your very own Avengers™ team, where Product Management (PM), Development, Quality Engineering (QE), and User Experience ........(UX) team up to save the day

Meet the Avengers of Product & Technology

Product Management (PM): Captain America™—the Strategist

PMs are fearless leaders, wielding their shield of strategy and vision to protect the mission. They keep the team focused, rally the troops, and ensure everyone is aligned toward a common goal.


But even Captain America™ can’t go it alone. Without PM’s clear direction, the team risks chaos—building features no one needs or missing the target altogether. Stay strong, strategists!

Development: Iron Man™—the Inventor

Developers are the Tony Starks of the team—brilliant builders who turn ideas into powerful, functional, and scalable tools. They thrive on innovation and love creating tech that wows.


Even Iron Man’s™ suits can backfire without proper alignment. The potential impact of overengineering or underpowering can leave the team scrambling. Let's stay grounded and connected to the mission, understanding the weight of our decisions!

Quality Engineering (QE): Black Widow™—the Guardian

QE swoops in like Black Widow—sharp, detail-oriented, and always on high alert for threats. They protect the product’s integrity, neutralize bugs, and ensure the team’s hard work doesn’t get compromised.



When QE is overlooked, vulnerabilities slip through, and trust crumbles. Treat QE like the guardians they are—essential to every mission’s success.

User Experience (UX): Thor—the Voice of the People

UX designers are the Thors of the team, wielding the hammer of design to create user-friendly, delightful experiences. They speak for the people, balancing beauty and function to ensure the product is as usable as it is powerful.


Ignore UX, and even the strongest product can feel clunky or confusing. UX designers bring the lightning—illuminating what users need most.

Avengers™ Assemble: Collaboration That Saves the Day

A team of heroes only works if they fight side-by-side, leveraging their unique abilities. Here’s how your  Product & Technology Avengers can combine forces and deliver winning products.

1. Assemble Early, Stay Together

The best Avengers teams don’t wait until the final battle to unite—they strategize from the start. PM, Development, QE, and UX should collaborate early to assess feasibility, build safeguards, and prioritize usability.



Think of it this way: Assemble early = fewer last-minute scrambles = heroic victories.

2. Shared Missions, Shared Victories

Heroes don’t fight for themselves—they fight for the mission. The entireP&T team should share a unified goal: delivering a valuable, high-quality products that solves real problems and delights users.


Here’s how each Avenger measures success:

  • PM (Captain America™): Adoption, growth, and alignment with strategy
  • Development (Iron Man™): Performance, scalability, and innovation
  • QE (Black Widow™): Bug detection, stability, and test coverage
  • UX (Thor™): Usability, accessibility, and user success


Measuring outcomes across the team keeps everyone focused on saving the day—not just finishing tasks.

3. Communication: Your Superpower

Every great team has a communication system (think Stark’s tech or Nick Fury’s briefings). Stand-ups, retrospectives, and grooming sessions keep everyone aligned and ready for action.


Encourage teams to raise challenges early—whether it’s tech debt, usability concerns, or testing gaps. When communication flows, problems don’t stand a chance.

Pro Tip: Celebrate small wins—whether it’s squashing a bug or launching a feature. Every victory builds momentum.

4. Trust Your Heroes

Just like the Avengers trust each other’s powers, Product & Technology teams must respect each role’s expertise.


  • PMs: Honor technical realities and user insights.
  • Developers: Embrace design feedback and test plans.
  • QE: Shine a light on risks and celebrate stability.
  • UX: Fight for user-centered design and accessibility.


When heroes trust each other, they create solutions that are not just functional but legendary.


The Takeaway: Stronger Together


Great products aren’t built by one hero—they’re built by a team of them. Success comes from assembling specialists—PM, Development, QE, and UX—who respect each other’s strengths, share goals, and communicate like pros.



So the next time you kick off a project, ask yourself: Are all my Avengers™ assembled and ready for action?


When they are, you’ll create products that are functional, powerful, and loved by users—and that’s the ultimate victory.


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Avengers™, Captain America™, Iron Man™ and Thor™ are copyright and trademark of Marvel™.

June 24, 2025
Every company needs a set of guiding principles that shape a company's culture, behavior, and decision-making. At Coupa, we call these our core values, which are driven in part by our seven Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and people in the Coupa Village. ABLE stands for Achieve Beyond Limitations and Expectations. This ERG’s mission is to foster an environment where everyone feels valued, supported, and empowered to thrive regardless of ability. We do this through advocacy, education, and collaboration to promote awareness, break down barriers, and celebrate the unique strengths and perspectives of people with disabilities and their allies. Recently, we held a presentation on ADHD + Success in the Workplace that was well attended and sparked great conversations and feedback. For me, it was truly an inspiring and touching moment. We covered an array of topics that included: Understanding ADHD in the workplace Simple tips for success Communication and collaboration best practices Asking for support ADHD Superpowers My fellow Coupanians and ABLE members, Nora B. Clark, Recruitment Marketing Specialist at Coupa, and Ashwini Manerikar, Lead Software Engineer, presented alongside me, sharing examples from their current and previous work experiences, helping to bring to life one of our key values — Cultivate Belonging — for our participants. Nora had this to share: “I’ve often been told I’m ‘too out-of-the-box’, quirky when it comes to many of the ideas I’ve shared in my career. While it can be frustrating to hear, my unique style has ultimately helped carve out my career success. Bringing your authentic self to work is still very much a privilege in today's society, so being able to share my experiences and journey with those who are still trying to figure out who they are and what they want in their personal and work life is really important to me. I continue to learn every day, and I’m so proud that ABLE continues to inspire through presentations like this, and I look forward to more in the future.” Ashwini had this to add to her experience. “I used to feel like my mind was constantly full of ideas, and I wasn't sure how to channel that energy. Having inattentive ADHD, I often found myself drifting between thoughts, struggling with a hard-to-explain inconsistency in motivation. It brought real challenges: self-doubt, difficulty focusing, and a constant sense of being everywhere. But over time, I began to recognize the strengths within the chaos — an intuitive way of thinking, the ability to spot patterns and connect the dots quickly, and a creative mindset to thrive outside the box. Learning to work with my brain instead of against it has been empowering. With awareness and understanding of my ADHD, I’ve been able to lean into those strengths and explore ways to manage the challenges in a way that works for me. What helped most was hearing from others with similar experiences, beyond the clinical lens. I’m grateful for initiatives like these from Coupa ABLE and hope they encourage others to embrace their unique wiring to feel supported.” As Coupa employees, we benefit from inclusive best practices, and Coupa ABLE helps connect and empower others to drive success in many ways. ERGs like ABLE provide resources, presentations, and events that continue to help our culture thrive and drive our innovation and global impact. We also help Coupa Villagers with ADHD to understand how ADHD can be a superpower due to the creativity, curiosity, and out-of-the-box thinking that comes along with ADHD. Through this event, we aimed to help Coupa Villagers and their supporting managers learn tips to be more successful, but we found an entire community with whom this message deeply resonated. After the event, I heard from Villagers across the organization who shared how happy they were to know they are not alone. We have a community of neurodivergent Villagers here at Coupa, and Coupa ABLE is here to support #AllOfUs! Check out some of the tips we shared during our presentation, as well as other helpful resources How to help with time management and organization Use project management tools that include visual and audible reminders Prioritize and organize a brain dump session How to create a supportive work environment Investigate noise-cancelling headphones Show compassion Research fidget tools Propose walking meetings if it's suitable How to help create effective communication strategies Practice active listening and communicating clearly Don’t judge when being asked for clarification Leverage strengths Resources: CHADD Succeeding in the Workplace Understood.org ADDitudemag.com NeurodiversityHub.org ADHDfoundation.org TextHelp.com Creativity in ADHD: Goal-Directed Motivation and Domain Specificity
April 25, 2025
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March 6, 2025
Coupa recently refreshed its core values to reflect the new chapter of Coupa, which includes its branding, vision, mission, and new leadership team. Two learning consultants with Coupa for nearly four years shed some light on what these refreshed values mean to them. Matt Daack, Sr. Manager of Learning & Development, is based out of Missouri and is a member of our veterans employee resource group, Encourage. Before Coupa, he spent 25 years in the Air Force as a pilot and organizational leader. Kristi Gay, Sr. Manager of Education & Training, is a member of Empower, Coupa’s women’s employee resource group and is based out of Wisconsin. Before Coupa she spent 20 years as an engineering manager and programmer at a scale manufacturing company.
By Nora Clark February 13, 2025
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By Audree Hall December 20, 2024
What an incredible week we had! Thanks to the passion and dedication of our amazing Coupa family, we celebrated Global Impact Week like never before! With 13 countries participating and 38 local-led events, we exceeded last year’s participation with over 500 employees stepping up to make a positive change. We truly could not have done this without each and every one of you—thank you! Here are some of the highlights that made this week so special:
November 14, 2024
Q & A from our Sales Team
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I am Maggie Mae Joy, Senior Director of Product Management, supporting our Source-to-Contract and Spend Analysis product teams. I’ve been at Coupa since August 2013, based in Port Saint Lucie, Florida. I started my career out of college as a consultant supporting the SAP implementation of a global automotive warranty system for one of the big three. Leveraging that consulting experience, I joined Coupa as a Solution Architect, supporting our customers and partners in implementing the Coupa platform before transitioning into a Product Management role. What I enjoy most about working at Coupa is the opportunity to use my time here as a professional and personal growth platform. Coming to Coupa with a background in systems implementation allowed me to hit the ground running in my first position as a Solution Architect. Those skills and a deep passion for improving the user experience helped me take my career in a different direction and join the product team. Through Coupa’s incredibly supportive culture, I found mentors & leadership training that enabled my development in product management. As I’ve transitioned between supporting different product areas over the past eight years, I’ve continued to be challenged to expand my knowledge, learn new skills, and connect with more of the Coupa community.
August 27, 2024
Hello everyone, My name is Alex Moon, AI Trainer, at AI Center of Excellence in Foster City. I’ve been at Coupa since September 2022. I started my career as a Korean Knowledge Graph Curator, curating Korean language data to train Siri model, then went onto Tesla’s Autopilot team, organizing and annotating 3D image data to train Autopilot Neural Net. As an AI Trainer, the team and I analyze and organize Coupa’s $6T anonymized data to provide spending and saving insight, supplier recommendation, supplier diversity and track emission to meet the ESG goal, and fraudulent charge detection (Spend Guard). We are also working on output testing for LLM implementation to build Coupa’s Chatbot, Coupa Navi and Contract Intelligence platform. What I love the most about Coupa is working with extremely smart PM, Data Scientists, and Engineers to develop Coupa’s AI and GenAI product. I also really enjoy Coupa’s flexibility in working schedule and location as a remote-first company, and Coupa’s diverse team makes me feel at home while having ownership and responsibility of training our AI models.
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