I’ve been to many ProductTank meet-ups over the years, and this one was evidence of the strength of the product community across the city of Manchester.

A sold-out and well-populated event sponsored by Equal Experts, this ProductTank was hosted at the fabulous Radisson Edwardian, with the usual array of informative and inspiring stories from the speakers. The networking parts of the event gave us an opportunity to make new connections, as well as reconnect with colleagues and friends from the industry and Manchester meet-up scene.

‘The problem with low hanging fruit’ (and other meaningful talks)

Equal Experts’ very own Community of Practice, Product Lead, Dave Cox, kicked off the evening with a thought-provoking, yet classically humorous talk on ‘the problem with low hanging fruit’. It was a great eye-opener (and a classic Dave Cox analogy) for the problems that come with going for what may initially look like an easy win. Never again will I take the lowest and easiest to reach fruits (should such an option ever be available in an elusive Manchester summer) based on the knowledge of what could have happened to them.

When you compare this to product roadmaps and delivery, you see the similarity to going for the easy quick-wins without fully considering the implications in the long-term. These were all very motivating ideas that had me considering the potentially harder-viewed deliveries for a more fruitful payback. (Yes, pun intended!)

The talks by Max Cowley-Beadman about ‘ensuring product management isn’t a black box’, and Colin Preston on ‘using CX data to drive business growth’ were stimulating as well. They highlighted how important it is to use product management principles to affect change within a company, and emphasised the role of a Product Manager in guiding other departments through the process, ensuring that the delivery of technology changes are as seamless as possible.

Behind the curtain of tech delivery: An event for anyone of any level

With my background in analysis, delivery and all things alignment and communication in tech, this was a great event to attend. It was exciting to be part of a conversation where the more visible impacts of tech delivery were discussed, with customer experience being central to the conversation. ProductTank is a fantastic meet-up for people who aren’t from an engineering background and are looking to move into a career in tech, or just want to learn more about what goes on behind the curtain of tech delivery.

Such insightful community events are at the heart of Equal Expert’s values. We have a passion for learning and supporting these meet-ups and local tech communities through knowledge sharing and insights.

“We’ve been part of the Manchester tech scene since 2016, and it’s really important to us to be a supportive member of that thriving community. We are a people and relationships focused organisation, so we love this stuff. Our people are lifelong learners who want to share and receive knowledge and stories from the wider community, so we’re keen to be involved.” – Kev Roberts, UK North Lead, Equal Experts