5 Critical Data Science Skills for Product Managers - Industry Connect | 30 June, 2018

Rangasayee Chandrasekaran, Senior Product Manager at Qubole gave a talk on 5 critical Data Science skills every Product Leader should master for career growth. He gave a clear picture on how Product Managers should approach and use Data Science to deliver better products. The key takeaways from the session were –

1. Demonstrate Value
Data Science is hard, failure rates are high and the reason is not technology. Anticipate that hurdles and problems will arise with existing processes, management, lack of skills and have measures in place to scale and solve them. Your objective as a Product Manager should be to demonstrate value so that business decisions can be made.

2. Identify Business Problem
Don’t search for the problem with Data. Identify the problems by talking to customers and getting their feedback on your Products.
3. Customer Focus
Always remember that you are directly responsible for customer needs, and make decisions keeping this in mind. Make sure that you are demonstrating value through this process.

4. Be a Product Owner
Take care of the Product like it’s your own and be invested. This will help you manage and motivate involved stakeholders. Spread the word if you have happy customers and grow your users.

5. Learn and Re-learn
The field of Data Science is changing rapidly and have a student’s mindset to stay ahead of the curve. Keep reading and upskill yourself through online courses, books and other resources.