Marnix from Coolblue shares the story of why he threw out 18 months of data science work and shifted to a human-centered, product approach. He discusses the impact on his team, stakeholders, and his personal career. The podcast also explores the challenges of building a data product culture and improving data literacy.

Vishal Singh, Head of Data Products at Starburst and co-author of Data Products for Dummies, discusses the importance of defining data products and shares his definition. He explains tactics for gathering feedback, the challenges of user feedback during iteration, and the danger of sunk cost bias. Vishal also describes the role of a Data Product Manager and highlights the value of self-service usability and good design for data products.

Jonathan Cairns-Terry, Head of Insight Products at the Care Quality Commission, shares insights on their shift to a product-led approach. Topics discussed include the benefits of UX research, investing in a designer, and recent successes. They also talk about the transition from math to product and the importance of understanding user needs and outcomes.

Anthony Deighton, General Manager of Data Products at Tamr, discusses the importance of focusing on customer needs when designing data products. He explores the challenges of building a product for creating better internal data products and the evolution of data product management. Anthony also shares his definition of a data product and whether Tamr qualifies as one. He emphasizes the importance of outcomes and benefits over features and discusses challenges with metrics like Propensity to Churn.

Vera Liao, Principal Researcher at Microsoft, discusses the importance of human-centered approach in rendering model explainability within a UI. She shares insights on why example-based explanations tend to out-perform feature-based ones and why traditional XAI methods may not be the solution for every explainability problem. Vera advocates for qualitative research in tandem with model work to improve outcomes and highlights the challenges of responsible AI.

In this podcast, the speaker introduces the PiCAA Framework for generating ML/AI use cases from a UX perspective. They emphasize the importance of brainstorming ideas, considering human factors, and involving cross-functional teams. The Pico and PiCAA frameworks are discussed, along with examples of AI use cases. The risks of automation and the importance of a human-centered approach are also highlighted.

Today I’m wrapping up my observations from the CDOIQ Symposium and sharing what’s new in the world of data. I was only able to attend a handful of sessions, but they were primarily ones tied to the topic of data products, which, of course, brings us to “What’s a data product?” During this episode, I cover some of what I’ve been hearing about the definition of this word, and I also share my revised v2 definition. I also walk through some of the questions that CDOs and fellow attendees were asking at the sessions I went to and a few reactions to those questions. Finally, I announce an exciting development on the launch of the Data Product Leadership Community.   Highlights/ Skip to:   Brian introduces the topic for this episode, including his wrap-up of the CDOIQ Symposium (00:29) The general impressions Brian heard at the Symposium, including a focus on people & culture and an emphasis on data products (01:51) The three main areas the definition of a data product covers according to Brian’s observations (04:43) Brian describes how companies are looking for successful data product development models to follow and explores where new Data Product Managers are coming from (07:17) A methodology that Brian feels leads to a successful data product team (10:14) How Brian feels digital-native folks see the world of data products differently (11:29) The topic of Data Mesh and Human-Centered Design and how it came up in two presentations at the CDOIQ Symposium (13:24) The rarity of design and UX being talked about at data conferences, and why Brian feels that is the case (15:24) Brian’s current definition of a data product and how it’s evolved from his V1 definition (18:43) Brian lists the main questions that were being asked at CDOIQ sessions he attended around data products (22:19) Where to find answers to many of the questions being asked about data products and an update on the Data Product Leader Community that he will launch in August 2023 (24:28) Quotes from Today’s Episode “I think generally what’s happening is the technology continues to evolve, I think it generally continues to get easier, and all of the people and cultural parts and the change management and all of that, that problem just persists no matter what. And so, I guess the question is, what are we going to do about it?” — Brian T. O’Neill (03:11) “The feeling I got from the questions [at the CDOIQ Symposium], … and particularly the ones that were talking about the role of data product management and the value of these things was, it’s like they’re looking for a recipe to follow.” — Brian T. O’Neill (07:17) “My guess is people are just kind of reading up about it, self-training a bit, and trying to learn how to do product on their own. I think that’s how you learn how to do stuff is largely through trial and error. You can read books, you can do all that stuff, but beginning to do it is part of it.” — Brian T. O’Neill (08:57) “I think the most important thing is that data is a raw ingredient here; it’s a foundation piece for the solution that we’re going to make that’s so good, someone might pay to use it or trade something of value to use it. And as long as that’s intact, I think you’re kind of checking the box as to whether it’s a data product.” — Brian T. O’Neill (12:13)   “I also would say on the data mesh topic, the feeling I got from people who had been to this conference before was that was quite a hyped thing the last couple years. Now, it was not talked about as much, but I think now they’re actually seeing some examples of this working.” — Brian T. O’Neill (16:25)   “My current v2 definition right now is, ‘A data product is a managed, end-to-end software solution that organizes, refines, or transforms data to solve a problem that’s so important customers would pay for it or exchange something of value to use it.’” — Brian T. O’Neill (19:47)   “We know [the product is] of value because someone was willing to pay for it or exchange their time or switch from their old way of doing things to the new way because it has that inherent benefit baked in. That’s really the most important part here that I think any data product manager should fully be aligned with.” — Brian T. O’Neill (21:35)   Links Episode 67 Episode 110 The Definition of Data Product The Data Product Leadership Community Ask me a question (below the recent episodes)

Today I’m answering a question that was submitted to the show by listener Will Angel, who asks how he can prioritize and scale effective discovery throughout the data product development process. Throughout this episode, I explain why discovery work is a process that should be taking place throughout the lifecycle of a project, rather than a defined period at the start of the project. I also emphasize the value of understanding the benefit users will see from the product as the main goal, and how to streamline the effectiveness of the discovery process.  Highlights/ Skip to: Brian introduces today’s topic, Discovery with Data Products, with a listener question (00:28) Why Brian sees discovery work as something that is ongoing throughout the lifecycle of a project (01:53) Brian tackles the first question of how to avoid getting killed by the process overhead of discovery and prioritization (03:38) Brian discusses his take on the question, “What are the ultimate business and user benefits that the beneficiaries hope to get from the product?”(06:02) The value Brian sees in stating anti-goals and anti-personas (07:47) How creative work is valuable despite the discomfort of not being execution-oriented (09:35) Why customer and stakeholder research activities need to be ongoing efforts (11:20) The two modes of design that Brian uses and their distinct purposes (15:09) Brian explains why a clear strategy is critical to proper prioritization (19:36) Why doing a few things really well usually beats out delivering a bunch of features and products that don’t get used (23:24) Brian on why saying “no” can be a gift when used correctly (27:18) How you can join the Data Product Leadership Community for more dialog like this and how to submit your own questions to the show (32:25) Quotes from Today’s Episode “Discovery work, to me is something that largely happens up front at the beginning of a project, but it doesn’t end at the beginning of the project or product initiative, or whatever it is that you’re working on. Instead, I think discovery is a continual thing that’s going on all the time.” — Brian T. O’Neill (01:57) “As tooling gets easier and easier and we need to stand up less infrastructure and basic pipelining in order to get from nothing to something, I think more of the work simply does become the discovery part of the work. And that is always going to feel somewhat inefficient because by definition it is.” — Brian T. O’Neill (04:48) “Measuring [project management metrics] does not tell us whether or not the product is going to be valuable. It just tells us how fast are we writing the code and doing execution against something that may or may not actually have any value to the business at all.” — Brian T. O’Neill (07:33) “How would you measure an improvement in the beneficiaries' lives? Because if you can improve their life in some way—and this often means me at work— the business value is likely to follow there.” — Brian T. O’Neill (18:42) “Without a clear strategy, you’re not going to be able to do prioritization work efficiently because you don’t know what success looks like.” — Brian T. O’Neill (19:49) “Doing a few things really well probably beats delivering a lot of stuff that doesn’t get used. There’s little point in a portfolio of data products that is really wide, but it’s very shallow in terms of value.” — Brian T. O’Neill (23:27) “Anytime you’re going to be changing behavior or major workflows, the non-technical costs and work increase. And we have to figure out, ‘How are we going to market this and evangelize it and make people see the value of it?’ These types of behavior changes are really hard to implement and they need to be figured out during the design of the solution — not afterwards.” — Brian T. O’Neill (26:25) Links designingforanalytics.com/podcast: https://designingforanalytics.com/podcast designingforanalytics.com/community: https://designingforanalytics.com/community

Today I’m chatting with Peter Everill, who is the Head of Data Products for Analytics and ML Designs at the UK grocery brand, Sainsbury’s. Peter is also a founding member of the Data Product Leadership Community. Peter shares insights on why his team spends so much time conducting discovery work with users, and how that leads to higher adoption and in turn, business value. Peter also gives us his in-depth definition of a data product, including the three components of a data product and the four types of data products he’s encountered. He also shares the 8-step product management methodology that his team uses to develop data products that truly deliver value to end users. Pete also shares the #1 resource he would invest in right now to make things better for his team and their work. Highlights/ Skip to:   I introduce Peter, who I met through the Data Product Leadership Community (00:37) What the data team structure at Sainsbury’s looks like and how Peter wound up working there (01:54) Peter shares the 8-step product management methodology that has been developed by his team and where in that process he spends most of his time (04:54) How involved the users are in Peter’s process when it comes to developing data products (06:13) How Peter was able to ensure that enough time is taken on discovery throughout the design process (10:03) Who on Peter’s team is doing the core user research for product development (14:52) Peter shares the three things that he feels make data product teams successful (17:09) How Peter defines a data product, including the three components of a data product and the four types of data products (18:34) Peter and I discuss the importance of spending time in discovery (24:25) Peter explains why he measures reach and impact as metrics of success when looking at implementation (26:18) How Peter solves for the gap when handing off a product to the end users to implement and adopt (29:20) How Peter hires for data product management roles and what he looks for in a candidate (33:31) Peter talks about what roles or skills he’d be looking for if he was to add a new person to his team (37:26) Quotes from Today’s Episode “I’m a big believer that the majority of analytics in its simplest form is improving business processes and decisions. A big part of our discovery work is that we align to business areas, business divisions, or business processes, and we spend time in that discovery space actually mapping the business process. What is the goal of this process? Ultimately, how does it support the P&L?” — Peter Everill (12:29) “There’s three things that are successful for any organization that will make this work and make it stick. The first is defining what you mean by a data product. The second is the role of a data product manager in the organization and really being clear what it is that they do and what they don’t do. … And the third thing is their methodology, from discovery through to delivery. The more work you put upfront defining those and getting everyone trained and clear on that, I think the quicker you’ll get to an organization that’s really clear about what it’s delivering, how it delivers, and who does what.” – Peter Everill (17:31)   “The important way that data and analytics can help an organization firstly is, understanding how that organization is performing. And essentially, performance is how well processes and decisions within the organization are being executed, and the impact that has on the P&L.” – Peter Everill (20:24)   “The great majority of organizations don’t allocate that percentage [20-25%] of time to discovery; they are jumping straight into solution. And also, this is where organizations typically then actually just migrate what already exists from, maybe, legacy service into a shiny new cloud platform, which might be good from a defensive data strategy point of view, but doesn’t offer new net value—apart from speed, security and et cetera of the cloud. Ultimately, this is why analytics organizations aren’t generally delivering value to organizations.” – Peter Everill (25:37)   “The only time that value is delivered, is from a user taking action. So, the two metrics that we really focus on with all four data products [are] reach [and impact].” – Peter Everill (27:44)   “In terms of benefits realization, that is owned by the business unit. Because ultimately, you’re asking them to take the action. And if they do, it’s their part of the P&L that’s improving because they own the business, they own the performance. So, you really need to get them engaged on the release, and for them to have the superusers, the champions of the product, and be driving voice of the release just as much as the product team.” – Peter Everill (30:30)   On hiring DPMs: “Are [candidates] showing the aptitude, do they understand what the role is, rather than the experience? I think data and analytics and machine learning product management is a relatively new role. You can’t go on LinkedIn necessarily, and be exhausted with a number of candidates that have got years and years of data and analytics product management.” – Peter Everill (36:40) Links LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petereverill/

Today I’m continuing my conversation with Nadiem von Heydebrand, CEO of Mindfuel. In the conclusion of this special 2-part episode, Nadiem and I discuss the role of a Data Product Manager in depth. Nadiem reveals which fields data product managers are currently coming from, and how a new data product manager with a non-technical background can set themselves up for success in this new role. He also walks through his portfolio approach to data product management, and how to prioritize use cases when taking on a data product management role. Toward the end, Nadiem also shares personal examples of how he’s employed these strategies, why he feels it’s so important for engineers to be able to see and understand the impact of their work, and best practices around developing a data product team.  Highlights / Skip to: Brian introduces Nadiem and gives context for why the conversation with Nadiem led to a two-part episode (00:35) Nadiem summarizes his thoughts on data product management and adds context on which fields he sees data product managers currently coming from (01:46) Nadiem’s take on whether job listings for data product manager roles still have too many technical requirements (04:27) Why some non-technical people fail when they transition to a data product manager role and the ways Nadiem feels they can bolster their chances of success (07:09) Brian and Nadiem talk about their views on functional data product team models and the process for developing a data product as a team (10:11) When Nadiem feels it makes sense to hire a data product manager and adopt a portfolio view of your data products (16:22) Nadiem’s view on how to prioritize projects as a new data product manager (19:48) Nadiem shares a story of when he took on an interim role as a head of data and how he employed the portfolio strategies he recommends (24:54) How Nadiem evaluates perceived usability of a data product when picking use cases (27:28) Nadiem explains why understanding go-to-market strategy is so critical as a data product manager (30:00) Brian and Nadiem discuss the importance of today’s engineering teams understanding the value and impact of their work (32:09) How Nadiem and his team came up with the idea to develop a SaaS product for data product managers (34:40) Quotes from Today’s Episode “So, data product management [...] is a combination of different capabilities [...]  [including] product management, design, data science, and machine learning. We covered this in viability, desirability, feasibility, and datability. So, these are four dimensions [that] you combine [...] together to become a data product manager.” — Nadiem von Heydebrand (02:34)   “There is no education for data product management today, there’s no university degree. ... So, there’s nobody out there—from my perspective—who really has all the four dimensions from day one. It’s more like an evolution: you’re coming from one of the [parallel business] domains or from one of the [parallel business] fields and then you extend your skill set over time.” — Nadiem von Heydebrand (03:04) “If a product manager has very good communication skills and is able to break down the needs in a proper way or in a good understandable way to its tech lead, or its engineering lead or data science lead, then I think it works out super well. If this bridge is missing, then it becomes a little bit tricky because then the distance between the product manager and the development team is too far.” – Nadiem von Heydebrand (09:10)   “I think every data leader out there has an Excel spreadsheet or a list of prioritized use cases or the most relevant use cases for the business strategy… You can think about this list as a portfolio. You know, some of these use cases are super valuable; some of these use cases maybe will not work out, and you have to identify those which are bringing real return on investment when you put effort in there.” – Nadiem von Heydebrand (19:01)   “I’m not a magician for data product management. I just focused on a very strategic view on my portfolio and tried to identify those cases and those data products where I can believe I can easily develop them, I have a high degree of adoption with my lines of business, and I can truly measure the added revenue and the impact.” – Nadiem von Heydebrand (26:31)   “As a true data product manager, from my point of view, you are someone who is empathetic for the lines of businesses, to understand what their underlying needs and what the problems are. At the same time, you are a business person. You try to optimize the portfolio for your own needs, because you have business goals coming from your leadership team, from your head of data, or even from the person above, the CTO, CIO, even CEO. So, you want to make sure that your value contribution is always transparent, and visible, measurable, tangible.” – Nadiem von Heydebrand (29:20)   “If we look into classical product management, I mean, the product manager has to understand how to market and how to go to the market. And it’s this exactly the same situation with data product managers within your organization. You are as successful as your product performs in the market. This is how you measure yourself as a data product manager. This is how you define success for yourself.” – Nadiem von Heydebrand (30:58) Links Mindfuel: https://mindfuel.ai/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadiemvh/ Delight Software - the SAAS tool for data product managers to manage their portfolio of data products: https://delight.mindfuel.ai