How to influence the strategic direction of large, complex services

Deciding the strategic direction for products and services is hard. In large organisations with multiple product teams this is often done at a portfolio or board level with decisions (often for specific solutions) handed down to teams.

During the pandemic the number of users of the NHS App and website dramatically increased. As a result, the potential for these channels to deliver or support valuable NHS services also grew.

Stakeholders from across the NHS and government recognised this, and the teams running those services were bombarded with requests to add new functionality or integrate with new services.

Find out how the NHS App and website implemented a new front door, pipeline and evaluation team to embed product and design into this decision-making process.

James was the product manager who helped set this up and in this case study intends to share:

• The process established to support leaders, stakeholders and product teams. 
• The principles and frameworks used to evaluate new opportunities.
• The outputs created to support decision-making.
• The challenges faced and how they were addressed.

Participant Takeaways:
Participants can expect to learn how to:

• Establish or influence their organisation’s own front door, pipeline and opportunity evaluation processes.
• Embed a service design and product mindset in the governance structures that decide the roadmaps for products and services.
• Evaluate new opportunities for their product, service or organisation.
• Shift the conversation away from solutions to be delivered and towards problems to be solved (and the value and benefits of doing so).
• Support leaders, stakeholders and product teams to make better decisions about which opportunities to embrace and which to ignore.

Themes:
Health, leadership, governance, strategy.