In October 2020 of what seemed like a never ending year, I officially became an Associate Product Manager at the Department for Education.
I have been lucky enough to learn and experience so much within my first 90 days that a single post will not do my experiences justice. Nonetheless here are 10 observations/lessons I’ve come across during the first few months of my journey:
(1) Take time to understand the organisation
I took time out to learn about DfE and where I fit in, understanding the history and getting a feel for the culture. To be effective at your job it is vital to understand your new work place and the motivation behind what it is you are doing. This will lead to having a good grasp around the purpose which will positively impact the role and product. I come from a company where each team and product was somewhat treated like a self governing entity , to now being a part of one large government department. I don’t know everything but I’m still discovering new aspects, new people and teams I knew never existed!
(2) Stakeholders are key
Stakeholders in government are crucial to nearly every aspect of your work. Understanding which stakeholders have vested interested and which don’t really helps you to communicate your product updates accordingly. As well as this, you may need to navigate certain blockers during your project that only certain stakeholders can remove. This is ok. Very early on myself and a few colleagues mapped our stakeholders and going forward this was a useful reference point for project milestones and forward looks.
(3) Community is your safe space
One of the things I like the most about my job? The community. Our talented head of product and senior colleagues have put in effort to build a community where we can share thoughts, learn and support one another. I’ve gotten to know other PM’s, what they’re working on and hearing about their ways of working is always refreshing. The weekly community meet ups offer a safe space which always leave me inspired and re focused going back to my own team.
(4) The problem space
Understanding the problem space is imperative as a Product Manager. No matter if you’re the lead or associate, grasping the problem space contributes to effective leadership and clear goal setting. Take the time to study the problem space can later help you getting into the head space of forward planning the roadmap, vision, scope etc. Understanding and owning the problem space ensures you know what and who you are building a service or product for. This is one of the underlying motive in creating life changing products for the public.
(5) You are not the team
Having a skills stack as a Product Manager makes you valuable and effective at what you do but we shouldn’t confuse this with trying to interject with what the team are drafted in to do. You are a facilitator to make others life easier, and to maximise the use of their skills. Something I did very early on was put aside 1–1 time with all of my team members to understand their roles, their expectations and build an idea of how I can work effectively with them.
(6) Collective ownership
Coming from a background where my role was mostly independent of others, I quickly found that Product Management is a highly collaborative effort. You are leading the team and one of your main goals should be to establish collective ownership. You are expected to be a people person, work effectively with others and at times coordinate across multiple teams. Your product and team are part of a wider interconnected network, so working together to achieve one common goal should be at the top of the priority list.
(7) Product Management is an aether
From day one there has been strong emphasis on up skilling and taking this journey to learn and develop into a strong Product Manager. I’ve received a lot of support and advice from my line manager to learn and build on what I already know and find my own opportunities where I can. Wether this is online workshops, away days or even articles to read. Tip: As PMs we can have busy weeks but try to reserve an hour a week in your diary as your L&D time. Read, explore, reflect. Slow down and take time out to build on yourself.
(8) You are building for users, not yourself
One of the goals at DfE is to increase accessibility and deliver digital transformation via user centric services. Having the user in mind is what helps build quality and usable products for the public. I’m currently on an alpha project where I’ve had the opportunity to organically build relationships with our end users and understanding their views first hand. Keeping the users at the forefront and demonstrating empathy has allowed me to visualise the potential quality and assess the needs of the end product.
(9) Shift in priorities
Project priorities will change and that is something Product Managers should learn to adjust with accordingly. After all, that is the true meaning of agile, right? There have been times when certain tasks have taken precedent over others and time has been spent more on one particular aspect of the lifecycle. This is fine, rather than trying to juggle what’s a priority and what isn’t, taking out the time to understand the ‘why’ allows to shift that focus and act accordingly. If as a Product Manager we are making the decision to shift priority, it is imperative to bring the team along and clearly communicate the ‘why’ and ‘how’.
(10) Fail fast and pivot
Im glad I’ve been able to experience this one so early on. When things don’t go to plan it makes sense to have a plan B in mind. If something isn’t working out, talk about it, discuss with your team, learn from what happened and move on. As I’ve realised (but not practised as of yet) a good PM should learn to re strategise and practise flexibility with strong focus. A failure isn’t a failure if you’re able to harness the opportunity to pivot and move forward.
