Building impactful, sustainable digital products in government

Transcript

1. The role of the Product Manager
2. Hi! I’m Jonathan Pichot Technologist in government Passionate urbanist Product Lead at Capital Planning Full-stack Developer and Product Manager @_pichot on Twitter
4. Thanks and acknowledgements Ariel Kennan and the NYC Opportunity team How We’re Building Great Digital Products Inside Government Bret Mogilefsky and Michael Antiporta of 18F For taking the time to discuss how they work as PMs Prashant Shukla and his Medium post Government Needs More Product Managers Josh Anon and Carlos González de Villaumbrosia For the The Product Book
5. - Laura Javier Designer, Instagram
6. Impactful Addresses the needs of all citizens, does it well, and does not create more problems with its introduction. Sustainable Products that last and continue to improve beyond the initiative of one leader, a specific mandate, or even one team.
7. Whong’s Law
8. No one asked you to show up.
9. What is a Product Manager? Figuring out what to make (impact), and ensuring that it gets made and continues to improve (sustainability). “The voice of the user.” They usher product through the Product Development Lifecycle
10. Product Development Lifecycle 1. Finding and planning the right opportunity 2. Designing the solution 3. Building the solution 4. Sharing the solution 5. Evaluating the solution
11. Product Development Lifecycle 1. Finding and planning the right opportunity 2. Designing the solution 3. Building the solution 4. Sharing the solution 5. Evaluating the solution
12. Product Development Lifecycle 1. Finding and planning the right opportunity 2. Designing the solution 3. Building the solution 4. Sharing the solution 5. Evaluating the solution Hint: repeating the process is the most important part.
13. Why government needs product managers Process 1. Ownership 2. Prioritization 3. Project Management People 4. Advocacy for users 5. Fill gaps 6. Consensus building Collaboration 7. Strong communication 8. Evangelize 9. Success sharing
14. - Nikkel Blaase Product Designer, XING
15. If everyone owns it, no one owns it Responsibility in government is often diffuse. Shared ownership leads to decision paralysis and compromised products. PM Power ⚡ Ownership is a powerful incentive to maximize chance of success. PM is responsible for products success or failure. Everyone has an opinion Coordination takes time
16. If everyone owns it, no one owns it Technical, user, and political priorities all compete for attention, with no clear decision making rubric to sort through them. PM Power ⚡ Projects are made of hundreds of tradeoffs. PM best positioned to understand all competing prioritizes and drive towards user impact. Everyone has an opinion Coordination takes time
17. If everyone owns it, no one owns it Developers, designers, or directors often share parts of this role, distracting from their core competencies. Working with contractors further increases the complexity of collaboration. PM Power ⚡ Central person in charge of roadmap. One point of contact for the state of the project. Everyone has an opinion Coordination takes time
18. Good PMs are multipliers. They figure out the strengths and weaknesses of their team and find ways to bring out the best in people. - Hemal Shah Product, Instagram
19. Government employees are users too Many tools touch government employees as much as public users. Internal facing user experience just as important as external. PM Power ⚡ Advocating for the user, both the government employee using a system and the public user accessing the system. Makes sure internal use doesn’t usurp external experience. Empathetic tech applies to everyone. Mandate is the strongest currency Make people more effective
20. Government employees are users too Unanticipated issues in web projects is a fact of life. These become a distraction and are easily missed. PM Power ⚡ Working in government is often an exercise is doing a lot with a little. Having a generalist willing to do what needs to get done is fundamental. Make people more effective Mandate is the strongest currency
21. Government employees are users too Consensus is not a static thing. A director or team might find consensus at kickoff, but this mandate can be lost as a project evolves, engages other agencies and stakeholders. PM Power ⚡ Explicitly tasked with bringing everyone on-board with what will be built now, next, and never. Make people more effective Mandate is the strongest currency
22. - Chris Whong Director, NYC Planning Labs
23. Keep everyone on the same page In big organizations, communication between agencies and divisions is difficult. Government penchant for hiding what’s going on does not help. PM Power ⚡ A PM is tasked with coordination. Communicating a team’s successes, building collaborations with future stakeholders. Talk about what you’re doing Give praise, absorb criticism
24. Keep everyone on the same page Innovation cannot happen in a silo. PM Power ⚡ Do good work and tell people about it. Working this way is still very new in NYC government. We need to talk and talk often about it. Talk about what you’re doing Give praise, absorb criticism
25. Keep everyone on the same page PM Power ⚡ Celebrate the team’s wins, accept responsibility for the team’s failures. Organize retrospective to learn from mistakes. Many of the hardest workers on a team are not the loudest. Celebrate them. Talk about what you’re doing Give praise, absorb criticism
26. - Cecilia Muñoz Former Director, White House Domestic Policy Council
28. Go build good things.
29. Panel Chris Whong Director NYC Planning Labs Rachel Smith Content Strategist NYC Digital Timothy Martin Chief Analytics Officer NYC Dept of Buildings Darnell Sessoms Product Manager NYC Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity Jur Dut