‘What are you building here?’ was an interview question that dumbfounded me 5 years ago. That day, I mumbled an incoherent answer. In hindsight, I have a better response: a squiggly career*. With every new product job I have changed industries, working across non-profit, legal, government and now gaming. I have chosen to focus on … Continue reading What about a squiggly product career?
Author: Chantal
Guest post: Deepfakes – What are they?
by Chris Watching and reacting to the Buscemi-Lawrence video At first glance it looks like Steve Buscemi has expanded his wardrobe, donning a sparkling, red dress at an awards Q&A event. Once he speaks, or rather she speaks you realise that the voice coming from his mouth is not his own. It’s the voice of … Continue reading Guest post: Deepfakes – What are they?
Reframing the local authority as a local facilitator of change
At a recent service design event in London, I was in a discussion about service design and local authorities, where I heard about the great work that Waltham Forest Council is doing in that area. And I've been thinking about it ever since, specifically about what was so different about the approach the service design … Continue reading Reframing the local authority as a local facilitator of change
Why do PMs keep asking existential questions ?
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about feeling like a product fraud, which got me thinking about what this PM archetype is that we imagine the role of a typical Product Manager to be. And then, considering how many blogposts I have read about that particular question, I wondered why we spend so much of … Continue reading Why do PMs keep asking existential questions ?
Feeling like a product fraud
Throughout my career as a Product Manager, I’ve had several existential crises, thinking that the job I was doing did not reflect what I imagined a Product Manager should be doing. Several years into being a PM, I came to realise that no-one really does this ‘typical PM role’ I imagined, because it doesn’t exist … Continue reading Feeling like a product fraud
From blog to platform: Reni Eddo-Lodge’s ‘Why I’m…’
Yesterday I went to a discussion with Reni Eddo-Lodge about her book ‘Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race’. I read the book not so long ago and have since been a big fan of hers. She shared with the audience what the year, since her book was released, had been like. … Continue reading From blog to platform: Reni Eddo-Lodge’s ‘Why I’m…’
MTPcon 17 — theme 4: designing for the future
Two of the talks at MTPcon were concerned with designing for our future. On the one hand Amber Case was advocating for calm technology, while Josh Clark was talking about considerations for designing machine learning and big data products. Amber Case, who is a scholar at MIT, started talking about a few worries of hers: … Continue reading MTPcon 17 — theme 4: designing for the future
MTPcon 17 — theme 3: rejecting or embracing the past
Some of the speakers touched on how we deal with the ideas and ways of the past. Jake Knapp’s design sprint methodology is framed as a rupture from the past, from the ‘default’. Don’t just do design the way you’ve always done it, break from it. Using the ‘design sprint’, a one-week exercise for a … Continue reading MTPcon 17 — theme 3: rejecting or embracing the past
MTPcon 17 — theme 2: creating space and opportunity for teams to perform
A number of the speakers touched on ideas and methods to create space and opportunity for cross-functional product teams to perform. Sarah Nelson talked about the importance of space and the working environment. As culture shapes space, shape also creates a culture. And shape limits or enables the kind of interaction that will enable a … Continue reading MTPcon 17 — theme 2: creating space and opportunity for teams to perform
MTPcon 17 — theme 1: the contribution of leadership
Martin Eriksson opened the day with a story from his time as a PM at a London startup and a release that was particularly pivotal for the product, and for the company. At that time, he questioned his contribution to the release — he hadn’t prioritised any of the stories, discussed any of the designs … Continue reading MTPcon 17 — theme 1: the contribution of leadership
