Speech: Product Ownership for tech-heavy products: Survival guide for non-tech PO’s

Product Ownership comes with different challenges due to diverse nature of the work itself, as well as industries, organizations and products we serve. Things get additionally complex dealing with tech-heavy products – such APIs, AI-based solutions, or products based on emerging technologies. Especially if you, like myself, come from a non-tech or non-traditional background.

This talk is a deep dive into questions such as:

• Product knowledge versus domain or tech knowlegde
• Learning and curiosity as one of the main strengths of (product) professionals
• Ways of learning better, and ways to manage the ‘not-learned’
• Developing the digital mindset
• Knowing and playing your strengths
• Working with(in) tech teams

I will share personal experiences and learnings, as well as best practices and theory, in order to support you on your journey. 

Diversity of perspective leads to better products, and that means we need to embrace professionals coming from non-traditional background. This can be a win for organizations and products, but also individuals, as varied experiences and different skills make us better at our job due to ‘cross-pollination’. 

On the flip side, switching careers, contexts and learning on the job can be very challenging and overwhelming. But nobody said it’s easy, and most of the interesting or things worth doing are not. Hopefully this guide helps not only survive – but eventually thrive in your role.