A day in the life of Kiran M (Senior Product Owner)
This ‘day in the life of’ series gives you an insight into what a typical day looks like for our women in Tech at ASOS (hint: there isn’t one) and how they started their careers. Hopefully, you take something inspirational away from it.
This one’s about Kiran M who’s a Senior Product Owner.
My alarm clock goes off…
At 7:30am but I roll out of bed at 7:45am — the joys of working from home!
I’m responsible for…
Looking through the customer lens and keeping on top of our competitors to ensure that we are the number one retail destination within the online digital space. I am a Product Owner working within Search/Browse to understand the business goals, needs and requirements. I develop a hypothesis for A/B testing to ensure what we wish to deliver ultimately gives us the end results we desire. My role involves working very closely with tech teams and business stakeholders, I see myself as a bridge between the two.
I got the job…
By applying online via LinkedIn. Luckily for me I was then invited to a couple of interviews which included a case study presentation on solving the customer problem ‘Where is my order?’. I landed the role and haven’t looked back. I think having a solid background in Business Analysis and a degree in Information Systems helped — it wasn’t just due to my charm!
My typical day looks like…
Getting ready, 20 mins of meditation and making the commute to my living room at 9am to switch on my laptop. I usually check my emails and read up on BBC news first thing whilst making the usual peanut butter OR Marmite on toast with a nice cup of tea. I then have a stand-up at 9:30am followed by meetings on Teams. Typical meetings include: stand-ups, coffee chats, 3 Amigos/Refining, product discovery, steering, requirement workshops and problem solving with my Solution Architect. I make a point of going for an hour long walk at lunchtime and after work. On Monday and Wednesday I do Cardio and Pilates with my wonderful fellow Product Owner (via Teams).
My evenings have me…
Going for an hour long walk after work, evening meditation, sometimes reading or working on a jigsaw puzzle, cooking followed by Netflix…lots and lots of Netflix!
My most memorable moment at ASOS
On my second day at ASOS, I randomly walked into a Marketing meeting with 10 people (thinking it was a Business Analysis meeting) sat myself down, looked around and everybody was staring at me. ‘This isn’t the BA meeting is it?’ ….. **Slow shaking of heads** was one way of getting initiated into ASOS I suppose!
The best part of my job…
Delivering features to our online website/apps and seeing how customers interact with them. Even more special when we receive positive feedback.
One new thing I have learnt in the last year…
How to work from home. It was tough initially and I’ve missed the office and colleagues; but the key is to develop a routine and have daily coffee chats and keep up the social interactions online…..and keep moving!
My one piece of advice for aspiring women in tech…
Just go for it! I studied IT for GCSEs, A-Levels and for my degree; I have worked in the Tech space for 15 years. I have always felt welcome and encouraged. It’s interesting working with a variety of people in different tech roles and understanding the different technologies and looking at all the cool things we can deliver.
Kiran is a Senior Product Owner at ASOS.com. In her spare time she loves doing meditation, Yoga, Pilates, reading, painting and really long walks. Since the easing of lockdown, she’s been enjoying going back to the cinema, restaurants, museums, day trips away to the seaside and forest walks.
