The job title Product Manager still isn’t that established here in the UK compared to the US. Over the last couple of years though media and technology companies have acknowledged the need for someone to bridge the gap between the business and the development teams. These are the teams that build applications, write the code and ensure everything runs smoothly as millions of people use interact with our brands digitally.
I’ve been the Product Manager of whatcar.com (working for Haymarket Consumer Media) for the last 15 months, a job I can honestly say I love. I’ve noticed over the last 6 months that product development is being taken more seriously with targeted events being run by the likes of the AOP for example. I feel there is also wider industry recognition in regards to the role that Product Managers play within digital businesses.
Last year a fellow Product Manager told me about an event called ProductTank. This event was setup by Martin Eriksson back at the start of 2010 as a forum for people working in product management to meet up, share experiences, listen to presentations and network. The group is now over 400 strong and is organised through meetup.com. If you work in product development then I suggest you register and attend the next event, be quick though as places fill up fast.
I’ve been to a couple of events now with the last being held at the BBC media centre. It was a well organised event with some great speakers including the BBC News Product Manager speaking about the recent redesign and the head of Technology Strategy at The Guardian.
Here are some nice snippets from Anthony Sullivan, Product Manager at BBC News when he spoke about his learning’s from the BBC News 2010 Relaunch:
- You will always have too many requirements
- Audience needs are more important than business needs
- Most assumptions are wrong
- Don’t follow the competition you’ll always be playing catch up
- Do the right sort of testing and avoid big bang launches
- Create a compelling vision
Pictures – Martin Eriksson
