Week Zero

ga.wdi[0];

Yes, the geek jokes are already rolling, no apologies there. I recently began the 12-week journey that is General Assembly’s WDI (Web Development Immersive, for the uninitiated). Changing cities, countries and continents to do so has had my mind scattered across various timezones for the past week and a half, so I won’t attempt to relay my experiences so far in any serious detail except to say that I’m enjoying every moment.

Being the inquisitive type as well as a Product Manager for almost three years, the presence of a black box sitting squarely between myself and the engineers I’ve worked with has been a unwavering source of frustration. No matter how great (and they are) the team’s communication skills, it’s been tough (read: at times, unbearable) having the responsibility of shipping a bug-free product, on time, whilst seemingly knowing the bare minimum on both how it’s built and how close we are to delivery.

It recently occurred to me that you wouldn’t see a conductor of an orchestra who couldn’t read the music — and yet many of the Product Managers I’ve met are hovering near the bottom end of the technical literacy spectrum. Isn’t this inefficient? Why should the burden fall on the technical team to translate their efforts into “laymen’s terms”? Shouldn’t PM’s help to bridge the gap?

Over the next twelve weeks and beyond, I aim to share the new perspectives learning Web Development brings to someone usually sitting on the other side of the sprints, and how best to put them to use to be a more effective Product Manager.

Hope you enjoy!