Rose Murphy
Product Manager, Deep-Insight
I’m delighted to start my new role as Product Manager. It’s an exciting challenge for me and for Deep-Insight. But where do I start? What do I do first?
Having spent ten years working my way up to Operations Director in Deep-Insight, I know our products and services like the back of my hand. I’d like to think I have a good grasp of the enhancements required to improve the reports and results we provide to our customers. But how can I be sure?
Here’s the single biggest thing I learned in the last few weeks since starting this role.
What I knew within operations, I really knew. What I know now, I only think I know.
I need to gather a lot of information and knowledge in the next few months. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by this.
Here’s the plan; I am going to deal with the ‘known unknowns’ one day at a time.
There are a lot of unknowns at the start of this process, but I have decided that there are only two that really matter.
1. What do our customers really want need?
2. What is the correct product roadmap for the next couple of years based on this?
I thought I knew the answer to number 1 above. I did with the word ‘want’. I have been listening for years to client feedback on our products.
But do I really know what happens within our client’s organisations once we deliver the results? Do I know what they really need?
We spend a lot of time with the management teams responsible, as a result of our findings, for creating action plans and driving change throughout their organisation.
But what about the team on the ground responsible for working with the reports on a daily basis?
– Do we really know everything that happens with our reports and results once our clients receive them?
– Have we ever truly observed how the account management teams use our reports and findings to help them manage their accounts?
– Have we ever assessed if our clients are making full use of every piece of information in every document we send to them?
To answer the question at the beginning of this blog, that is what I am doing first.
I will visit every client that will have me and meet as many people as possible within their organisation. I am going to ask many questions but I am also going to stop asking questions and simply watch.
I believe that it is this process of watching how our products are being used that will bring me much closer to understanding what our customers really need us to do. I will consider this information to be the single most important factor when deciding on our product roadmap at the start of next year.
That’s better. Now I have a plan. I’ll keep you updated.