Let’s Meet You (Your Name, What You Do, And Where You Currently Work). 

My name is Oluwaseun Agboola, I am a Product/Project Manager and I recently got hired to work with Utiva as a product manager.

How Long Have You Been in the Product Management Space and Why Product Management?

I have been in the Product Management space for about 4 years. I actually got into product management by accident. But eventually, I discovered that it was the missing piece of my career that I was looking for.

What Are The Challenges You Face as a Product Manager?

I would say “Conflict of interest” because User research usually clashes with Stakeholder interest. I believe products should be built outside in and not inside out. When a product is built based on the needs of the user, such a product sells with less stress.

Also, another major challenge is Product duplication with no distinct value proposition from other close competitors.

What Was Your Highest And Lowest Point Since You Started Your Journey as a Product Manager?

I would say my highest moment was when I got my first role as a Product Management Facilitator with Tech4Dev. I was glad I could help professionals transition into the Tech space with my experiences.

My lowest point was when a female software engineer resigned due to my strict accountability request. I really felt bad after that incident.

Can you share more light into what you meant by a strict accountability request? How has this experience shaped your career journey?

Actually, the existing culture at the organization was not keen on timeline.  An engineer can be on a task ticket till God knows when… 

I took my time to understudy her for 4 weeks,  she was on a ticket and will always give excuses at every stand-up meeting or even not show up. I discussed it with other engineers and I was told that was her routine.

I decided to ask her to show her work and she felt threatened.  She tendered her resignation as she felt she couldn't cope with my demands.

As for the Lesson learnt: 

I discovered that not all software engineers understand the role of a Product Manager.  Some see the Product Manager as a controller and not as an accountability partner. 

So,  I learnt to educate my development team on the role of a Product Manager and the method I am adopting to track the product progress. We agreed on timelines and task tickets prioritization. This has helped me become friends with my team and not seen as a potential torn in the flesh.

What Do You Aim To Achieve In The Next 12 Months In Relation To What You Currently Do in Tech? 

I am looking forward to float a global product soonest in Human Resource Management

What Are Your Short- And Long-Term Goals? 

I would say to sell my skills at the international market and become a Senior Product Strategist (consulting for Multinational companies by providing  product development strategies, process and organizational change management solutions to improve  business growth and process)

What role did Utiva play in your Journey in becoming a product Product Manager? 

Like I said before, I got into product management by accident. 

Utiva actually helped me navigate my way in my first role as a Product manager. I vividly remember our first class, where Yanju mentioned that been overwhelmed with so many activities and demand that comes with the product manager’s role. The first class helped me understand my roles and responsibilities as a product manager.

Which Individuals  Do You Draw Inspiration From as a Product Manager And Why? 

One person I really admire so much is Adebunmi Wellington, I have not met with her but I have heard her voice in one of the stand-up calls with her team on Credo while in the development stage. Her work is detailed and she speaks confidently about how and what the product intends to achieve, and everyone is aligned. I see a professional who is addicted to user research and has a taste for standard product management practices.

How Do You Unwind? 

I enjoy watching Movies and listening to Music

Anything Else You’d Like Us to Know About You? 

I am also an expert in growth engineering.

Oluwaseun started her career as a marketing communication professional in a financial institution.  She grew up to embrace digital skills and she landed on her current product path by accident. 

Due to her curiosity,  she went deeper into product management learning and she has managed end-to-end development of digital and non-digital products across Fashion,  Human Resources,  Banking, E-commerce, Real estate industry (Startups) to mention a few.

She has trained 100+ students (across Africa)  in product management courses ( introduction and advanced classes) with NGOs and also in a fast-growing product school in Lagos. 

She is very vast at implementing marketing and growth strategies, a passionate business analyst who provides product marketing tactics to drive visibility and increase market share.

She has a goal to further make a giant leap into the Silicon Valley Product Group such as #interswitch to polish her product skill set for global competition and to gain a contemporary experience of building and managing global talents, stakeholders and solving global issues with tech.

Connect with her on LinkedIn Here