In this Accredian Spotlight interview, we feature Malar B, who is an Assistant Manager. Her passion for learning led her to join the Global Certificate in Product Management, at Accredian.
Question 1: Which program & batch are you part of at Accredian & tell us more about your current work profile?
Malar: I am a part of the GCPM program from the batch of June 20, 2021. I’ve been at Latlon Technologies for nearly 4 years as an Assistant Manager for Inside Sales [Global].
Question 2: Walk us through your career journey & what got you interested in Product Management?
Malar: I worked as a Microbiology Lecturer for nearly 5 years, took a career break, explored with starting my own business for a short time, then moved to the travel industry (domestic market) as a Holiday Expert, providing customers with incredibly interesting travel experiences and then switched career to the IT service and product industry.
The launch of our company’s telehealth solution sparked an interest in me to study the entire journey of a product from it’s conception to the client.
Question 3: What all Product Management concepts, frameworks & tools have you mastered in your program at Accredian so far?
First and foremost I mastered concepts like identifying problem statements, problem solving for products and target persona.
I also learned design thinking, identify product vision and goals, hypothetical analysis, create product roadmap and strategy, design mockups and wireframes, do market research and understand the market profitable financial growth.
In regards to tools, I have practiced:
- Miro board
- Jira, Aha
- Trello
- Gartner, Forrester and Nielsen
- Marvel Appl
- Gantt charts
- MixPanel and AppsFlyer
Question 4: What are some of the initial challenges when you got started on your Product Management journey and how did you overcome it?
Malar: As I am from a Sales and Marketing background, initially Product Management terms were like Greek and Latin to me.
However, with faculty guidance, follow-up classes and most pertinently, coordinating with team members in the Mini Capstone projects, I was able to grasp the concepts and gain confidence in my decision to pursue a career change towards becoming a Product Manager.
Question 5: Who is your favorite faculty at Accredian and what did you learn from them the most?
Malar: I liked all the faculty members at Accredian but since I had to pick a favourite I chose Shailendra, Sai and Rakshit.
With Shailendra I had the most interactive sessions along with a combo of his lectures, YouTube examples and doubt clearing sessions. Sai helped build a tangible platform for the PM’s journey by delivering knowledgeable information through sessions that were long. Rakshit’s lectures were practically oriented and fine-tuned towards our PM learning process.
Manjusha Jaggi deserves special mention for her promptness and apt guidance.
Question 6: In your view, what is the goal of Product Management and how has it evolved in the last few years?
Malar: The best Product Managers maintain firm control over the project scope. They work in empathy with customers to understand their needs and help them achieve their highest potential.
Time, planning and foresight are all intertwined in the Product Management process.
The future of any Product Manager role will center on accelerating innovation and using new technology to advance their products.
Super-data, AI will streamline communication and optimise meetings, increasingly powerful road mapping tools will unify vision across teams, remote product teams will become the norm and there will be a more holistic integration with marketing and sales.
The Product Manager’s role will become progressively strategic.
Question 7: What are the current trends in Product Management that you are most excited about?
Malar: The pandemic has led us to deploy innovative, user friendly digital products that ease our day to day life challenges seamlessly. In 2022, digitalisation is a necessity and no more a luxury.
AI will transform Product Management in 2022 by allowing Product Managers to make a better application of user behaviour data.
2022 will be the year of data in product, Product Managers will become more and more data-driven in their decision-making and will offer more personalised product experiences based on user behaviour data.
The continuous rise of remote work and collaboration is becoming widely adopted by companies of all sizes worldwide.
Many of the product experts have found through a survey that corporate culture is becoming a factor to determine for more and more product decision makers.
Question 8: Which are some of the Product Management blogs, podcasts, communities, & channels that you follow?
Malar: I mostly listen to Podcasts. Some of my favorite podcasts are:
- Pragmatic Marketing Podcast
- Product Management Talk
- Product Hunt
- Customer Development for StartUps by Steve Blank
- Yours Productly Podcast
- This is Product Management Podcast
- Everyday Innovator Podcast
Question 9: Please tell how your journey has been with Accredian so far and what are the elements that you liked.
Malar: Accredian enlightened the Product Manager’s journey holistically, from ideation to determining the target persona, to strategically building the product and ensuring its success.
The practical workflow and tools were well illustrated by the faculty. With extra classes, Wednesday career assistance, one-on-one career guidance, paved the way to identify our expertise and find an apt PM role that could add impactful value to our careers.
Thanks for the incredible learning experience!
Question 10: What is your advice to anyone wanting to start a career in Product Management?
Malar: Product Management Career is a lively journey, from an ideation to product development, launch and sales is like delivering a baby.
Each and every moment is a learning experience that has to be perceived with lots of challenges, passion, dedication, patience, people handling and a never give up attitude that drives you towards success.
Hope you enjoyed reading this interview. If you want to read more such interesting student stories, check out Accredian Spotlight.
