Portfolio Summary: The Times Website Social Engagement Platform & The Times Gaming Websites
Position: Digital Product Manager
Duration: 3 years
Company: News UK
As a Product Manager at News UK, I had the privilege of overseeing key digital products, including The Times & Sunday Times tablet apps for iOS and Android, The Times Puzzles website, and the social engagement platform on The Times website. My role was pivotal in driving product improvements, enhancing user engagement, and ensuring the seamless operation of these critical digital assets. Here is an overview of my responsibilities and the results achieved during my tenure:
Key Responsibilities & Achievements:
- Expert Understanding: Maintained an in-depth understanding of the editorial and commercial usage of the systems, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
- Stakeholder Communication: Established and nurtured relationships with users and proactively communicated releases, incidents, and changes to stakeholders, fostering collaboration and transparency.
- Engineering Collaboration: Engaged with engineering workstreams to ensure the successful implementation of product enhancements and optimizations.
- Product Transition Support: Provided essential support during product/release transitions, ensuring a smooth and efficient process.
- Roadmap Alignment: Demonstrated a strong grasp of the product roadmap, aligning development efforts with long-term strategic objectives.
- Knowledge Transfer: Conducted knowledge transfer sessions with Production Operations and the service desk to ensure a shared understanding of product intricacies.
- Documentation Management: Maintained comprehensive documentation related to the product, facilitating effective communication and troubleshooting.
- Operational Requirements: Collaborated with Engineering and relevant platform teams to drive operational requirements and improvements.
- Problem Queue Management: Actively monitored the problem queue in RemedyForce and worked closely with Problem Management to resolve issues promptly.
Results Achieved:
- Social Engagement Platform Upgrade: Led the successful upgrade of The Times website’s social engagement platform, resulting in a remarkable doubling of dwell time. This improvement significantly enhanced user interaction and content consumption.
- App Relaunch: Spearheaded the re-launch of two apps for The Times, achieving impressive results with a 17% increase in Monthly Active Users (MAU) on iOS and a remarkable 70% increase on Android platforms. This achievement not only expanded the user base but also improved user satisfaction.
- Times Puzzles Website Enhancement: Oversaw the development of new features on the Times Puzzles website, resulting in a 20% increase in user engagement. These enhancements made the platform more engaging and enjoyable for puzzle enthusiasts.
During my three years as a Product Manager at News UK, I consistently demonstrated a commitment to delivering tangible results, enhancing product performance, and fostering effective collaboration across cross-functional teams. My dedication to understanding user needs, aligning with organizational goals, and driving innovation played a pivotal role in the success of these digital products.
Recommendations:
“I worked with Kara at Newscorp UK, firstly as his teammate in the Technology Division’s Digital Platforms Team for 1.5 years, and subsequently as his manager for one year. Kara became the subject matter expert of the digital products within his suite, Kara stayed on top of issues that arose, pushing resolution and performance enhancements recommendations to product and development teams. I was particularly impressed with the work he did to deliver the New Relic Digital Intelligence Platform to provide analytics data and influence product enhancements across The Times & Sunday Times digital applications. Kara is a talented, diligent, and ambitious individual – an absolute pleasure to work with, and surely an asset to any product team.” — Harvey Shaw, ServiceNow Product Owner (Line Manager)