Are You Curious About Product Management?
To celebrate World Product Day 2025 (21 May), we’re highlighting the people behind the role in the University of Exeter’s Digital Transformation Division. Our team of Product Managers bring together a diverse group of professionals who each took a unique path into Product Management, but they all share a common passion for solving problems and creating better experiences for colleagues and students.
Product Management is a strategic role at the intersection of users, technology, and organisational goals. Product Managers (PMs) are responsible for understanding user needs, defining problems, shaping solutions, and working collaboratively with a wide range of teams to bring them to life.
Today you’ll hear from two members of our team as they reflect on their career journeys. Whether you’re a student exploring career options or a University colleague curious about how our digital services are shaped, we hope these offer insight and inspiration.
Next week we’ll be sharing the career journeys of two other members of our Product team!
Find out what else we have planned for WPD this month and how you can get involved.
Our Career Journeys
Allan – Product Manager
“I began my career in technical support, developing a deep understanding of users by helping them solve real problems daily. That hands on experience gave me insight into how people interact with technology, and led me into product roles. Although I’ve had different titles including Product Owner, Product Manager and Product Specialist, there has been a consistent thread running through all of them in terms of understanding user insights to design better solutions that make a real difference to their experience.
I took a brief detour along the way as a Technical Author, but the core has always been helping users and solving problems. Working in technical support offered ongoing exposure to the real challenges users face. It was almost like a continuous discovery phase where you deeply understand pain points, expectations and how people interact with products.
That experience led me toward Product. The transition seemed like a natural evolution, building on direct user insight to inform better design and development decisions. This meant I could take what I’d learned direct from users and turn that insight into improvements. I could help to fix pain points, solve problems, and make a real difference in the user experience.
I’ve worked on a range of products, including physical hardware, software and mobile apps. While the outputs may differ, the underlying principles of Product Management remain the same: deeply understand the user, collaborate with teams, and continuously work to make things better.”
Carla – Senior Product Manager
“I first encountered Product Management completely by accident when working as an operational caseworker at HM Land Registry. I was asked to represent my team on an IT project developing a new online application system. At the time, I had no idea that what I was doing – listening to colleagues, understanding their needs and shaping system changes – was actually the essence of Product Management.
That experience sparked something in me. When a full time Product Owner role was advertised, I took the leap and joined the IT team full-time. Over the next 10 years, I led Digital Transformation projects. Building my skills, gaining professional qualifications and eventually becoming a Senior Product Manager overseeing a portfolio of products and a team of Product Managers.
One of my most significant career highlights came when I joined the UK Health Security Agency’s Digital Product team. I had the privilege to lead on some key Government services as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response. I product managed the COVID-19 online test ordering service, enabling care homes, schools and prisons across the UK to receive test kits. This was a truly rewarding and important role.
I love that being a Product Manager means I can make a tangible difference. Whether it’s streamlining a frustrating process for colleagues or delivering critical public services, I thrive when my work has real impact.”
– Written by Carla Pinhey, Senior Product Manager and Allan Stewart, Product Manager.
Find out more about what we have coming up this month to celebrate World Product Day 2025.
Take a look at our 2030 Digital Strategy.
Read our previous blog post to learn about the University’s Digital Skills Initiative.