Main Responsibilities of a Senior Product Owner at Pacific Gas and Electric
Jake's main responsibilities as a Senior Product Owner at Pacific Gas & Electric involve handling "more complicated or deeper issues" related to the company's products, requiring expert knowledge and collaboration with vendors like Microsoft. This includes staying ahead of updates, testing changes, and communicating effectively with end-users, demonstrating "total ownership" and adopting a "beginner mindset" to ensure user experience.
Problem-Solving, Technical Skills, Vendor Management, Communication, Empathy
Advizer Information
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Job Title
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Grad Programs
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Jake Carlisle
Senior Product Owner
Pacific Gas & Electric
UCLA
N/A
Anthropology, Sociology
Energy & Utilities
Cyber Security and IT
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Becoming an expert in the product and its technical aspects is crucial. This involves understanding the system's functionalities, upcoming updates, and potential issues.
2. Building relationships with vendors is key for efficient problem-solving and timely responses to critical issues. This includes knowing who to contact for urgent support or information.
3. Empathy and understanding the end-user's perspective is vital for effective problem-solving and communication. Putting oneself in the user's position helps anticipate and address potential challenges effectively.
Transcript
What are your main responsibilities within your current role?
The main responsibilities for a product owner, sometimes called product specialists or subject matter experts, are key. At our company, the support structure is quite simple.
If an end user has a problem with their laptop, they call a number and are directed to tier one support, either over the phone or virtually. If tier one can't resolve the issue, it's escalated to tier two, which involves in-person technical support.
This could be for issues beyond a single laptop, like systemic problems. For instance, if an update causes an application to prevent users from logging in, the product owner handles these more complex or deep-seated issues specific to their product.
This requires being an expert in your product. You need to build relationships with vendors, like Microsoft, and know who to contact for urgent ticket responses. You also need to stay current with upcoming updates.
This includes testing new features, knowing how to resolve problems, and communicating updates to users. This also means understanding how changes, like a completely altered login experience, will affect users and working with others to create visual guides.
Essentially, it's not just technical knowledge of the product, but also anticipating what's next and how to manage updates. You need to understand how the end user will experience these changes.
This requires empathy, putting yourself in their position. Sometimes, even as an expert, you might encounter issues you can't immediately explain or solve. You shouldn't expect an end user to figure it out on their own.
Therefore, you must be willing to adopt a beginner's mindset and take complete ownership. That, in essence, covers the role.
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