2025-10-17

How to spot an opportunity and identify if it is worth pursuing within your organisation?

We all face problems during our work week. Sometimes, we find these problems are repetitive and slow down our productivity. Some of us choose to accept theses problems as part of the job, while others see them as opportunities to improve processes and add value to the organisation. With any problem you face, you need to firstly define it and understand what is aggravating about it. Is it causing delays? Is it frustrating to deal with? Is it leading to mistakes? Once you have defined the problem, you can start to think about whether solving this problem would be worth pursuing as an opportunity as you may find that there could be straightforward solution that can be easily implemented.

The key to identifying whether a problem is worth pursuing as an opportunity lies in evaluating its impact and feasibility. Here are some strategies to help you spot these opportunities:

1. Assess the Impact: Consider how solving the problem would benefit the organisation. Would it lead to cost savings, increased efficiency, improved customer satisfaction, or enhanced employee morale? Quantifying the potential impact can help you determine if it's worth pursuing.
2. Evaluate the Feasibility: Analyze the resources required to address the problem. Do you have the necessary skills, time, and support from colleagues or management? If the solution requires significant investment or expertise that is not readily available, it may not be feasible to pursue.
3. Seek Feedback: Discuss the problem with colleagues and stakeholders to gather their perspectives. They may provide insights into the problem's significance and potential solutions that you hadn't considered.
4. Prototype Solutions: If possible, test a small-scale solution to see if it effectively addresses the problem. This can help you gauge the practicality of the solution and its potential impact before fully committing to it.
5. Align with Organisational Goals: Ensure that the opportunity aligns with the broader goals and objectives of the organisation. If the solution supports strategic initiatives, it is more likely to gain support from management.

In today's fast-paced technologically driven world, organisations are constantly looking at initiatives to continuously improve their processes and products. By proactively identifying and pursuing opportunities to solve problems, you can contribute to the success of your organisation while also advancing your own career. Remember, not every problem will be worth pursuing, but with careful evaluation, you can identify those that have the potential to make a significant impact.

A technique that I like to use when identifying opportunities is the Three Lenses of Innovation. This framework encourages you to view problems and opportunities through three different perspectives: the desirability lens (human needs), the feasibility lens (technical capabilities), and the viability lens (business sustainability). By evaluating a problem through these lenses, you can gain a holistic understanding of its potential and make informed decisions about whether to pursue it as an opportunity.

Ultimately, spotting opportunities within your organisation requires a combination of critical thinking, collaboration, and strategic alignment. By following these strategies and leveraging frameworks like the Three Lenses of Innovation, you can effectively identify and pursue opportunities that drive positive change and contribute to the success of your organisation.

2025-09-18

How Impactful has the Product Management Career Accelerator Course been on my Career?

Early on after starting my career as a software engineer, I quickly realised that I was far more interested in what was involved around building products and how to make them successful, rather than the technical aspects of software development. Although I am grateful to have been an engineer and understand what is required for successful software development, I knew that I wanted to transition into product management.

In 2023, I was sat in a lab at work, frustrated at not being able to find opportunities that would allow me to transition into a product role. That is when I came across an advertisement for a Product Management Career Accelerator Course. The course was being run by King's College London, which is the university I graduated from, so I was instantly curious.

The course was 6 months long, would require around 10-15 hours each week and was designed to provide practical experience in product management. It would be taught by industry professionals, whom would provide guidance and feedback on our work.

My first thoughts were positive, I could fit this into my weekends, it was a structured program I could follow and I'd get a certification from a reputable university. Then came the price... £5,400. Gulp. This made me think twice, because essentially I would have to take a loan over several years and I wasn't even guaranteed a job at the end of it. Nonetheless, I decided to take the risk as nothing else had worked up to that point.

The biggest risk is not taking any risk... - Mark Zuckerberg

The course was split into four modules. The first was an introduction into product management and techniques used in developing product vision, conducting product discovery and defining product strategy with a roadmap. We covered the basics of creating a solution based on user personas. The course was online and involved an hour long lecture and an hour long seminar each week. Then, every two weeks we had to submit an assignment that was building towards a final project.

The theme throughout the course was to be designing a feature for a new streaming service platform. So, the final project for the first module was to create a Business Case for our proposed new feature, which would justify why we thought the proposed solution would satisfy customer needs and meet our product goals. This was a great exercise in understanding how to align product features with business objectives and prioritizing customer needs.

You can view my final business case assignment here.

Throughout each module, we had the opportunity to listen to guest speakers that worked in product management from both the private and public sectors. This was a great way to understand the challenges product managers face and the attributes that help them succeed in their roles.

The second module was based on product design and user experience. It delved deeper into topics such as user research, wireframing, prototyping, journey mapping and usability testing. Additionally, we looked at different development methodologies and the roles different product positions play in an organisation. The final project was to create a Product Demo and Design Report that included a high-fidelity prototype of our proposed feature, justifying our design decisions based on user feedback from testing and prioritising backlog items based on user needs. This exercise was invaluable in understanding the importance of user-centric design and how to iterate based on feedback.

You can view my final product demo and design report here and here.

The third module focused on launching a product to market. It focused on product marketing, product positioning, pricing plans, stakeholder communication and metrics for measuring product success. At the end of this module, we had to create a Go-to-Market Strategy for our feature. This was a great exercise in understanding how to effectively launch a product and measure its success.

You can view my final go-to-market strategy here.

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The final module was a little different in that we were put into groups. But not only that, this module involved working with Sky, telecoms giant, to improve upon their accessibility features on their new Sky Glass product. This was a great opportunity to work on a real-world problem and apply the skills we had learned throughout the course. We had to collaboratively create a solution and prototype that would add value to Sky's customer base and align with their company values and goals. We had to present our solution to a panel of Sky's product team and received feeedback on our work. I found this module great fun and very valuable.

And that was 6 months finished. Did I find the course interesting and engageing? For sure. Did I learn new skills that I could take forward in my career? Absolutely. But the most value I found was the change in perspective it provided me towards developing products and the reassurance to know this is definitely the path I want to pursue in my career.

So, was it worth the £5,400? Well, the course also provided career support including resume reviews, interview preparation and advice on job searching. This was great to help me clean up my personal brand and prepare me to apply for roles. With that support, I applied to many roles and secured some interviews... but didn't receive any offers. Several months passed and I still hadn't found a role. I got to the stage of accepting that the course wouldn't result in a new job and I would just have to live with the cost of trying something bold. With my new found knowledge and skills, I decided to ask my current company to fund some Agile Scrum certifications which I passed! This showed my company that I was serious about agile product development and had the knowledge to back it up.

Then I saw an opportunity within my project. I developed a business case to improve our software release procedure by introducing automation into the system architecture. I developed a prototype and presented this to senior managment, justifying the cost and time benefits the solution would bring. They agreed and I was given the opportunity to lead the project as a Product Owner/Scrum Master. This was my first real product role and I was able to apply many of the skills I had learned on the course. Because of the successful delivery of this project and the value it brought to the business, I was promoted! This began my transition into a full-time Product role. After another year, I was able to get promoted again as a Product Owner of a larger project in my company. All in all, my salary increased more than the cost of the course in a couple years. Could I have achieved this without doing the course? Possibly, but I do believe the course provided me with the drive and confidence to go after what I wanted from my career. Looking back now I can say it was worth doing and it has definitely helped me in my career. But I don't think everyone needs to go down this route as I think professional experience will be far more valuable if it is available to you. It wasn't until I took it upon myself to action what I had learnt and prove my value within my organisation that I was able to push into a product role. Regardless, follow your gut and take the leap if you are hungry for change. Nothing comes easy, but with a little patience and a lot of persistence we can all get to where we want to be.

2025-11-07

Reaching High Velocity Through Strategic Planning

As you progress through a project, the problems begin to stack up and, before you know it, you are tackling the immediate storms that you are presented with. This can lead to organisations losing sight of the bigger picture and becoming increasingly reactive. This short sighted mindset will make you think you are regaining control, but you will actually experience further delays and internal frustration as things continually take longer than expected.

Zoom out. Think about what you are trying to deliver and what your end goal is. Use this to inform your strategic planning. By adapting your mindset to better strategise how your project is planned, teams can execute at optimal velocity.

Once you have defined your goals and established some milestones, you can start to work backwards from your intended deliver date. This will help you identify any potential roadblocks and ensure that you are allocating resources effectively to meet your deadlines. Another benefit will be that you can identify dependencies between tasks and ensure that they are completed in the correct order. Moreover, this approach will help you adapt to any risks that arise as you progress through the project. This is where teams can really start to thrive and deliver value at pace.

With a clear strategic plan, teams are enabled to focus on delivering tasks that align with the business objectives. This clarity helps to reduce distractions and ensures that everyone is working towards the same goals. As a result, teams can work more efficiently and effectively, leading to increased productivity and faster delivery times. Stakeholders become more engaged as the resultant outcome shows higher revenue projections or cost savings, which in turn builds confidence in the team's ability to deliver.

In conclusion, strategic planning is essential for achieving high velocity in project delivery. By taking a step back to define goals, establish milestones, and work backwards from the intended deliver date, teams can identify potential roadblocks, allocate resources effectively, and adapt to risks. This approach enables teams to focus on delivering value at pace, leading to increased productivity and stakeholder engagement. Embrace strategic planning to unlock your team's full potential and achieve success in your projects.