Category: Agile

  • Prioritisation

    Prioritisation

    How do we get Senior Leaders onboard? For the last 8 months I’ve been busy running Product Management training for various Public Sector clients; and one topic cohorts are always keen to focus on and discuss is prioritisation. Quite often there are multiple areas of prioritisation people are keen to understand further; firstly, how can…

  • The importance of having a Product Mindset.

    This week is @DWPDigtials Product Mindset week; with some fantastic sessions and Digital Showcases on the work DWP have been doing to deliver Products that add value for users; with sessions covering things like storytelling, Design thinking, Product Management, Prioritisation and how we should be using data to help decision making, etc.   The resounding…

  • Being Product Led

    Helping organisations move from ‘doing Product Management’ to ‘being Product led’. As you might expect from someone who’s career has been within the Product space, and who has worn various ‘Head of Product’ types hats over the years; I spend a lot of thinking and talking about Product Management. For the last few month’s I’ve…

  • Encouraging join up across Departments.

    Yesterday at GovCampNorth, there were multiple pitches all based on one common theme; how we can encourage and support collaboration and sharing across Government Departments. The reason given behind increasing this collaboration was varied; from improving opportunities for re-use and the sharing of best practices; to the opportunity to tackle and solve societal problems that…

  • How do we make legacy transformation cool again?

    How do we make legacy transformation cool again?

    Guest blog first published in #TechUk’s Public Sector week here on the 24th of June 2022. Legacy Transformation is one of those phrases; you hear it and just… sigh. It conjures up images of creaking tech stacks and migration plans that are more complex and lasting longer than your last relationship.   Within the Public Sector,…

  • Maximising the Lean Agility approach in the Public Sector

    Maximising the Lean Agility approach in the Public Sector

    First published on the 26th June 2022 as part of #TechUk’s Public Sector week here ; co-authored by Matt Thomas. We are living in a time of change, characterised by uncertainty. Adapting quickly has never been more important than today, and for organisations, this often means embracing and fully leveraging the potential of digital tools.…

  • Becoming Product Led

    Becoming Product Led

    Recently I was asked how I would go about moving an organisation to being Product Led; when agile and user centric design are equally new to the company, or when agile has not delivered in the way that was expected. Before diving into the how, I think it’s worth first considering the what and they…

  • Assessing Innovation

    Assessing Innovation

    (co-written with Matt Knight) Some background, for context Just over a month ago I got approached to ask if I could provide some advice on assessments to support phase two of the GovTech Catalyst (GTC) scheme. For those who aren’t aware of the GovTech Catalyst Scheme, there’s a blog here that explains how the scheme…

  • Service Owner vs. Programme Manager vs. Product Lead

    Service Owner vs. Programme Manager vs. Product Lead

    What’s the difference? Does the name matter? Over a year ago, following an interesting chat with David Roberts at NHSBSA, I got to thinking about the role of the Service Owner; and why the role wasn’t working in the way we intended back in the dawn of the Service Manual. This in turn (as most…

  • How to be a Product Advocate

    Why you need a Product Person in your team. Since joining Kainos a few weeks ago, I’ve had a number of conversations internally and with clients about the relationship between Delivery and Product; and why I as a Product Person moved over to Delivery. My answer to that question was that, having spent over 10…