Being trusted to protect first responders means more than building reliable warning and lighting systems. It means constantly evolving to meet the real-world challenges first responders face every day. At Whelen, customer feedback isn’t just helpful, it’s essential. It drives innovation, informs product updates, and helps us anticipate the needs of the industry we’re proud to serve.
To get a behind-the-scenes look at how that feedback is transformed into action, we sat down with Product Manager Kevin McDougall, who offered his perspective on how Whelen stays responsive, adaptable, and always focused on the people who rely on us most.
Can you describe your role as a Product Manager? As product managers, we drive the product vision to ensure its success in the field. The work is cross functional between multiple departments inside and outside the company. We must understand the customers’ needs and the impact of the changes we make to all facets of the industry.
How long have you been with Whelen, and how has the product development process evolved during your time here? I’ve been with Whelen for 8 years. As the engineering team continues to grow, we continue to build out new ways to work efficiently and effectively. A big part of this was creating project milestones to review during key decision-making phases. This allows the teams to get together and review the project design before moving into the next phase.
On Customer Feedback
How do we gather feedback from customers, especially first responders? On-site visits are the best way to get user feedback, talking directly to users to hear their stories is highly impactful. However, it can be quite challenging for the product management team to visit thousands of customers across the globe. So, we do rely heavily on our sales team to bring feedback to us as they are our boots on the ground every day.
How does a piece of feedback become a product upgrade or design change? We record feedback on our project management program which can be used to build user stories. If the product team feels the story is strong enough to drive a change or a new product, then we present it to the engineering team with defined requirements. We then work closely with the engineering team to bring the idea from concept to release.
Do you have a favorite example of a feature or product update that was directly inspired by user feedback? We’ve seen many State DOTs allow the use of green to help increase safety and visibility to slow down drivers. Municipality users asked Whelen to develop a DUO™ 400 Series to help support this initiative. This is what drove the development of the new 400 Series Plus which is now being used by many DOTs across the country.
How do you prioritize which feedback to act on first? This can be very challenging; every voice is valuable. However, if the feedback has an impact on reliability and safety, then that’s going to be the number one priority.
How important is it for Whelen to have direct lines of communication with the people using our products in the field? Extremely important. At the end of the day, we need to fully understand how the products are being used in the real world to make the right design decisions. Everything can look good on paper, but we need to ensure that the product actually helps first responders stay safe. We’re also very lucky to have many first responders working at Whelen; we leverage their experience a lot through the design process to get real-world feedback.
On Market Trends & Industry Awareness
What tools or methods do you use to stay on top of emerging trends in our industry? Data is the best tool. We can track trends based on product sales, call reports, service tickets, social media, etc.
How do you balance staying true to our standards while also pushing innovation based on what the market is asking for? Durability and safety are always prioritized over anything else. However, being able to integrate innovation into durability and safety features allows us to balance both.
Can you give an example of a time when a shift in the market (or even a competitor’s move) prompted a change in our product strategy? After COVID, there’s been a shift where vehicle lead times to install equipment have risen significantly. This has shifted our strategies to ensure our product is designed to be installer-friendly while still pushing innovation and first responder safety. Product features like SteadyLock® and the WeCanX® Push Bumper Kit are great examples of this. These features help installers reduce lead times and get vehicles into service faster.
On Collaboration & Product Development
How closely do you work with engineering and design teams when refining a product based on feedback? Very closely, product management is part of the engineering project teams which allows us to work with them daily on product development.
Are there any surprising insights that came out of user testing or field trials? The one thing that still surprises me to this day is how unique each user is. For example, two different police agencies located in the same county can have very different needs based on what their priorities are with lighting and sirens.
How do you ensure our products not only meet current customer needs but anticipate future ones? Understanding the market trends and where we’ll be in the next 5 years helps us build “future-proofing” into our products. This means we may implement or plan for some features that won’t be released 1-5 years from now, but we know that they will eventually be required based on the trends we are seeing.
On Whelen’s Approach & Philosophy
What sets us apart in how we listen and respond to customer needs? There are two things that really set us apart:
- Our voice-of-customer initiatives to get user feedback on prototypes of new products before they are released. This allows us to get direct feedback from users before a product release to ensure the design and features meet their needs.
- The number of team members and business partners we have across the globe allows us to have a network of connections that is truly unmatched. The sample size of data we receive from these members allows us to get the most accurate data to make decisions.
Why is adaptability so critical in our industry, and how do you personally define success in that area? As mentioned previously, each user has unique priorities that we have to adapt to. Our engineering team does a fantastic job making products that meet the needs of our unique customers. I believe we are personally successful if we meet 99.9% of customer needs when launching a new product/feature. It’s challenging to make everyone happy, but we really try to get there.
Looking Ahead
What customer needs or market trends do you think will shape the next generation of Whelen products? Automation is continuing to grow with first responder safety in mind. We’re continuing to look at how we can alert drivers without having the responder take their eyes off the road/scene. I think the combination of V2V (Vehicle to Vehicle) and V2X (Vehicle to Everything) connectivity will open the door for endless possibilities that will shape Whelen products for the next 5-10 years.
Turning Insight into Action
Whether it’s a new feature inspired by a firefighter in the field or a product improvement based on fleet manager feedback, every change we make is rooted in a deep respect for the people who rely on our technology every day. That respect is shared by the people behind the products - like Kevin, and the many others across our team - who are committed to making decisions that prioritize safety, reliability, and real-world performance.
Staying connected to our customers and tuned in to the evolving market allows us to create products that are not only high-performing but truly designed and built to serve. Because when first responders count on us, there’s no room for guesswork. We listen, we adapt, and we deliver.
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