Fluxx Features: Simi Awokoya, Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft
Our latest book, Now what do we do? is all about how business leaders can, and should, take the first step to respond to this disruption. In the midst of all the change and uncertainty, we’ve been helping our clients find their feet. The book shares the process that we know works, interviews with our clients, and stories from organisations that dare grab the opportunity to build back better.
The problem: How do you help technology-focused teams to get inside the heads of real customers and their needs and motivations?
What we did: An intense two-day Rapid Start workshop, teaching design thinking ideas to cross-functional teams
The Outcome: Actionable new skills within the Microsoft team that Simi and others can use every day
“Before I worked at Microsoft, I was a software developer at Goldman Sachs. My dream was to be in a tech company where I could innovate and build cool solutions — and now I am.
Being a cloud solution architect means I help software companies architect and visualise their ideas. I show them how to build their solution on Azure, our cloud platform. I get a bird’s eye view of how other software firms work; like being an external CTO in a way. It’s really fun and rewarding.
I was in the FT’s top 100 BAME leaders in technology in 2018. I also received the Tech Women 100 prize, for women innovating in the industry. In 2019 I was in Forbes’ 30 under 30, in the tech sector.
The most satisfying part of my job is being part of building the next generation of a solution. A challenging part is helping partners understand who their customer is. I have to ask the right questions to be sure they’re building the best solution for their user.
Last year (2019*) Fluxx ran an AI rapid start with us, to help our partners get into design thinking and build the best minimum viable products.We had ideas everywhere on Post-its, and I could feel the excitement in the room.
What I learnt from Fluxx about design thinking has trickled down to my day-to-day work. I use it in meetings to ask, “Who is the user? Why would they want that?” The skill of asking the right questions has been so valuable. It’s a recipe I apply to my own life too.
“Who is the user? Why would they want that?” The skill of asking the right questions has been so valuable
I’m most proud of Witty Careers, the non-profit organisation I set up in 2016. We equip black and minority ethnic women to start careers in tech. I no longer wanted to always be the only woman or black person in the room. We’ve been sponsored by Microsoft, Pivotal, Uber, EY and many others. A lot of companies want to attract diverse talent but don’t know how to — though a lot are doing much better. The problem starts when young girls are told to play with Barbies rather than educational toys like Lego or Minecraft, which develop the problem-solving skills that are key for tech.
It’s good to challenge our assumptions, and that includes asking for opportunities even when you think you can’t do it. Don’t assume that you need to be at a certain level in your career or have lots of contacts on LinkedIn. It’s not true, and challenging my thinking about this has opened a lot of doors for me.”
Jassi is a consultant at Fluxx, a company that uses experiments to understand customers, helping clients to build better products. We work with The Economist, Mars, Bupa, Condé Nast, National Grid, BEIS, Severn Trent Water and others.
Here are some useful links. Got thoughts worth sharing? Let’s have a virtual coffee — jassi@fluxx.uk.com.
