At SmartNews, building products “for the common good” means creating experiences that are both meaningful and enjoyable for our users. In this feature, we sat down with three key members from our Technology Department to learn more about how we build products at SmartNews, from early ideas to launch.

The team behind SmartNews Points (スマニューポイント) walked us through how product managers, designers, and engineers collaborated to create one of our most engaging features, turning news reading into a fun, rewarding habit.

Meet our panel:
Yuichi Kato Lead Product Manager of the JP Product team and lead for SmartNews Points Project
Zoey Xie Product Designer on the JP Design team, focused on enhancing user experience
Anshu Verma Senior Software Engineer on the User Feature Delivery team, working on gamification initiatives

Kato-san was a long-time user and “big fan” of the app, he had once turned down an invitation from CEO Kaisei Hamamoto to pursue his own venture but later realized how rewarding it is to build something millions use daily.

For Zoey, SmartNews offered the creative environment she wanted. “At SmartNews, designers don’t just fix UIs,” she says. “We shape the product from concept to launch.”

Anshu joined after a strong recommendation from a friend. “He really pushed me,” he says. “He talked about the culture, the scale, and how much trust the SmartNews product has in the Japanese marketplace.”

There’s no rigid formula for building new features. “Ideas are delicate stuff,” says Kato-san. Creativity can come from anywhere, and the team believes innovation shouldn’t be boxed into a rigid framework.

Ideas can come top-down from leadership or bottom-up from anyone, even engineers. For SmartNews Points, market research conducted years earlier showed that rewarding users for reading could strongly boost engagement.

Once an idea forms, the Product Manager defines the “why” and “how,” while design and engineering collaborate to shape and test it. “Iteration is key,” says Zoey. “You keep refining until it’s better and better.” Anshu adds, “It’s about balancing what product wants to achieve, what design envisions, and what engineering can deliver in time.”

SmartNews Points (SN Points) is a virtual currency users earn by completing daily actions in the app. These points can be exchanged for d POINTS and most major loyalty programs and airline miles in Japan. Designed to make reading news more engaging, SN Points helps users access quality information while enjoying small, frequent rewards.

“In Japan, people are very familiar with points and gamification,” explains Kato-san. “We wanted something that motivates people to keep using the app while keeping it sustainable for the business.”

By introducing SN Points as an internal currency, the team was able to:
・Make points easy to exchange across major reward programs
・Extend expiration from two weeks to 180 days
・Offer small, frequent missions by using a 120 SN Points = 1 yen ratio

“Earning 240 points a day just feels better than earning two,” Kato-san laughs. “Even though the value is the same, the gamification effect is much stronger, and performance improved dramatically.”

“As a PM, my job is to define why we’re building something and how it grows the business,” says Kato-san. He worked closely with Zoey on specifications and design flows, iterating through how users collect and exchange points. “We really care about user experience. Our goal was to make it simple and motivating,” says Zoey.

Once the direction was set, Anshu ensured the plan was technically feasible and scalable. “We review early so everyone’s on the same page,” says Kato-san. “Engineers often spot UX risks we didn’t consider.” Anshu adds, “We’re careful with every rollout. It has to go smoothly, no incidents, no slowdowns. Even after release, we monitor to keep the experience stable.”

That trust and transparency extended across all roles. “PMs trusting designers is so important,” says Zoey. “When that happens, great things follow.” Anshu agrees: “We weren’t just handed specs; everyone owned the goal from start to finish.”

“SmartNews is meticulous about who we ship to and how, we need to make sure the user experience stays consistent across different platforms. Some of the proposed UX for SN Points required fundamental system changes which were not straightforward and had cascading effects down the product stream but we took the challenge head-on and it proved to be worth it.” says Anshu. “Every release also involves monitoring not only the system but also customer sentiment  because every small change can impact millions.” he adds.

Zoey credits SmartNews’s logical, data-driven decision-making: “You test, learn, and release if it performs better. Everything’s grounded in logic and data.”

Kato-san adds, “The culture is very open. You can talk about anything, and if something doesn’t work, we figure it out together. There’s rarely a hard deadline. If quality isn’t there, we don’t ship it. We don’t want to release a mediocre product.”

“For me, success means defining the strategy, aligning everyone, and proving impact with data,” says Kato-san. His team measured success through holdout groups comparing users with and without SmartNews Points, confirming a “very positive impact.”

Zoey defines success through engagement. “If people come back to the app more, that means success for me. We all work toward one shared product goal.”

For Anshu, success is stability and user satisfaction. “Users indicate that they feel value in what we build. This could come from either product metrics or reviews”

Reflecting on their journey, Kato-san says the project taught him to take bold risks. “If you’re afraid of mistakes, you can’t create new value.” Zoey emphasizes trust: “When PMs trust designers, iteration gets faster.” And Anshu notes, “Ownership and honest communication make everything better.”

“You should. Period,” says Zoey with a smile. “That’s why I’ve been here four years, there’s nowhere else that checks all the boxes. It’s rare to find a place where you can collaborate so directly, move fast, and still feel supported,” she adds.

Kato-san agrees, “There aren’t many companies like this. Smart people, open culture, great balance. And there’s still so much to build, so many ideas we’re ready to try.”

Anshu shares: “It’s been a rewarding experience. You see your work directly impact millions. That’s what makes it special.”

Interviewing Kato-san, Zoey, and Anshu felt a lot like watching the way they work together — relaxed, open, and very used to bouncing ideas off one another. Even though they come from different backgrounds, they share a down-to-earth style of collaboration that made the conversation flow easily.

Outside of work, they each have hobbies that keep them energized:

Zoey: She goes bouldering once a week (sometimes with the SmartNews bouldering club), and spends her downtime listening to music or watching movies. “I might look skinny and weak,” she jokes, “but I can do pull-ups.”

Anshu: He’s also into bouldering, plus FPS games, snowboarding, and a regular gym routine. After moving to Japan, he started training consistently and even cycled 90km in one day at a popular cycling route in Japan.

Kato-san: He enjoys playing with his son, walking in the park, and exploring all kinds of food in Tokyo. He recently got into golf, and has a personal quirk: even when he’s extremely busy, he never skips meals or baths and sometimes even takes three baths a day in winter!

Interview/Text: Lead Recruiter（Dona Pardo）
Photography: Inside SmartNews Editorial Department (Hanai)