All posts by Stefani Sandow, Product Manager

Although TT has only recently been released to the public worldwide, for the last year, we have been honing and refining the software in our early-access program. One of the features of the new TT platform that has received a significant amount of attention is a key differentiator in the way users can scan the universe of tradeable products.

From the outset, TT offered a natural word search, which was already a game-changer from the “hunt and peck” method of sifting through an exchange, type, product or expiry. In TT, a user can type “corn” and get a list of results for corn futures, spreads, options, etc. on any supported exchange.

Now, TT has enhanced the search functionality even more, such that each selection from a list of results can add context to narrow down a search.

For example…
User types in “cme” and gets a list of exchanges and related products:

The user selects “CME.” Next, the user searches for a product. Because CME was already selected as a delimiter, only products listed at CME will be in the results list:

However, if the user clicks the “tab” key after typing ES, the product becomes another delimiter:

All subsequent searches will occur only within this product. Since the product is more narrow than “CME,” the user could even remove the CME context and get the same results:

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Gael Monfils (FRA), right, gets a shot past Roger Federer (SUI) on day 11 of the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament. Photo: Reuters/Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports.

“If something’s not working, change it up.”

When a frustrated coach said this to an even more frustrated player during a regular season Division III collegiate tennis match, she had no idea she was giving this student-athlete a guiding principle for a future career in the user experience (UX) design of software. At the time, I certainly didn’t recognize this as a pearl of wisdom, but it has helped immensely in the way I approach almost everything including software design.

After watching Roger Federer conquer Gael Monfils in the men’s quarterfinals of the U.S. Open last week, I realized this is a takeaway not only for amateur tennis players turned product managers, but for players on the pro tour, for traders and for life.

In Thursday’s match, both Federer and Monfils headed onto the court well practiced and with a strategy. They had studied each other’s strengths and weaknesses. They had improved themselves. Federer has focused on his net game this year, and Monfils on his concentration and intensity.

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