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Mind the Product

Product Management

Sunday Rewind: Whose job is it anyway? The rise of Product Ops and why it deserves to be an independent function

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🌎 <a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/world-product-day/" style="color:#FFFFFF;text-decoration:underline;">Happy World Product Day!</a> Be sure to celebrate product, yourself, and your peers today! 🎉

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I've been in the digital industry for over 10 years and have worked across small and large charities, as well as my own freelance projects. I am now Director of Digital at the sector leading creative agency William Joseph. 

Having been at Cancer Research UK for the last four years, I have been able to work on high volume, high profile campaigns such as Race for Life, Dryathlon and the much-quoted #nomakeupselfie. 

In that time I helped drive forward the charity’s digital product and marketing capabilities to be some of the most respected and successful in the sector. 

I'm always excited to work with other organisations, share expertise and swap cat gifs. Give me a shout!

Director of Digital

James Gadsby Peet

<p style="text-align: left;">In this <a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/mtpcon/london/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">#mtpcon London</a> talk, artist and designer <a href="http://www.brendandawes.com/">Brendan Dawes</a> discusses the spaces between analog and digital, and how we should use universal themes to connect with people and get the best out of our products and ideas.</p>
<h4>Key points</h4>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-style: italic;">Combining things that already exist is a great way to create something that&#8217;s truly new</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: italic;">People aren’t interested in technology &#8211; they care about the stories that technology can tell us and the way they make us feel</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: italic;">If we&#8217;re to bring in humanness and empathy to our work &#8211; we must leave space for the unexpected ideas to grow</span></li>
</ul>
<p>Brendan kicks off by explaining that, like many people in the room, his mum still doesn’t really know what he does. As a communicator, he tells us, this bothered him. In the end, he drew her a diagram showing how design, technology and art all overlap. Her response was that she thought he invented google maps!</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-18340" src="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Artist-Brendan-Dawes-speaking-at-Mind-the-Product-2019-1024x684.jpg" alt="Artist Brendan Dawes speaking at Mind the Product 2019" width="1024" height="684" srcset="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Artist-Brendan-Dawes-speaking-at-Mind-the-Product-2019-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https://www.mindtheproduct.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Artist-Brendan-Dawes-speaking-at-Mind-the-Product-2019-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.mindtheproduct.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Artist-Brendan-Dawes-speaking-at-Mind-the-Product-2019-768x513.jpg 768w, https://www.mindtheproduct.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Artist-Brendan-Dawes-speaking-at-Mind-the-Product-2019.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></p>
<h2>Combine everyday things to create something new</h2>
<p>His role clarified, Brendan begins to explain that there’s a long-standing idea that all art is made up of <a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/r/readymade" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">readymades</a>. For him, this started by cutting and splicing vinyl beats for DJs and hip hop artists to use. He still believes that forms the basis of what he does now.</p>
<p>In fact, much of the work Brendan does today involves helping teams to understand how best to make bigger ideas from smaller components.</p>
<blockquote><p><span style="font-style: italic;">As the artist picks their way along, rejecting and accepting as they go, certain patterns of enquiry emerge &#8211; <strong>Bridget Riley</strong></span></p></blockquote>
<h2>Analog in, digital out</h2>
<p>Pushing this idea even further, Brendan explains that by fusing traditional channels with our new ways of working and tools, we can create something truly new.</p>
<p>He articulates this point with an example &#8211; what he really loves about vinyl, the moment just after you drop the needle but before the record plays. To Brendan, this is an actual illustration of a comma. It’s a fusing of real-world feeling and technological tools.</p>
<p>He goes on to talk about some of his work &#8211; <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.brendandawes.com/projects/plasticplayer">Plastic Player</a></span>, his device for fusing the best of analogue and digital music.</p>
<p>This concept, he tells us, allows you to explore your Spotify library, using slides to line up albums. It combines a physical product with a digital service, and allows people to fall in love with the form factor again &#8211; something which is lost in most digital tools.</p>
<p>&#8220;When we hold things in our hand, we feel closer to them. It is human nature.&#8221;</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/197528597?color=FC521F&amp;title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://vimeo.com/197528597">Plastic Player: A Playful Analog Interface for Digital Music</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/bjdawes">Brendan Dawes</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
<h2>Practice Makes Perfect</h2>
<p>As we all know, great and creative ideas like this don&#8217;t just happen. Often it&#8217;s a case of taking messy things and working hard to make them perfect. This takes time, focus and energy but the more he practices, the closer Brendan feels he gets to where he wants it to be.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-18341" src="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Brendan-Dawes-speaking-at-Mind-the-Product-2019-1024x684.jpg" alt="Brendan Dawes speaking at Mind the Product 2019" width="1024" height="684" srcset="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Brendan-Dawes-speaking-at-Mind-the-Product-2019-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https://www.mindtheproduct.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Brendan-Dawes-speaking-at-Mind-the-Product-2019-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.mindtheproduct.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Brendan-Dawes-speaking-at-Mind-the-Product-2019-768x513.jpg 768w, https://www.mindtheproduct.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Brendan-Dawes-speaking-at-Mind-the-Product-2019.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></p>
<p>He then shares his top tip &#8211; if you ever get stuck on an idea, go sit on a park bench. He explains that he&#8217;s spent a lot of time thinking about his process on park benches &#8211; a simple activity that can be very powerful.</p>
<h2>Boil. Simmer. Reduce.</h2>
<p>Finally, Brendan highlights the importance of focusing on the underlying truth of what you&#8217;re trying to communicate &#8211; you must boil, simmer and reduce it down.</p>

core/freeform

Product Management Conference

Product teams in flux – Pendomonium+#mtpcon roadshow: Berlin

AI in practice at Berlin’s leading companies – Pendomonium+#mtpcon roadshow: Berlin

AI in practice at Amsterdam’s leading companies – Pendomonium+#mtpcon roadshow: Amsterdam

Product teams in flux – Pendomonium+#mtpcon roadshow: London

AI in practice at London’s leading companies – Pendomonium+#mtpcon roadshow: London

What’s next for product management in 2024? Nichole Mace (SVP Product and User Experience, Pendo)

Perspectives from an unconventional CPO – Yuelin Li (CPO, Onfido)

The future of product management – Trisha Price (CPO, Pendo)

The future of product management in 2024 and beyond (Brian Walsh, SVP Product, Pendo)

The spaces in between by Brendan Dawes

James Gadsby Peet