Tech for Better

Introduction

Tech for Better (TfB) is for social entrepreneurs, charities and early start-ups to learn about Product Management. We invite Product Owners (PO's) to work alongside developers on the apprenticeship training.

Tech for Better is broken into two programmes:

• Product Management Training

• Design, Test and Build

Product Management Training

You'll work with a cohort of Product Owners for the first 7 weeks of the apprenticeship training. Each week there will be one workshop where you'll complete exercises with Product Owners.

Design, Test and Build

After meeting and working with Product Owners, your cohort will select 3 ideas for the Design, Test and Build programme. This is the second of your two final projects. You'll work directly with a Product Owner to build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). An MVP is an early stage version of a product with limited functionality. These can be used by Product Owners to test their idea with users, or as a proof of concept which can be shown to funders and investors.

Schedule

Week 1 - Introduction

In the first week of the programme, we'll introduce the Tech for Better programme. This will give you an overview of what you'll do each week in preparation for building an MVP with a real client.

Week 2 - Product Pitches

Meet the cohort of Product Owners in quick, rotating conversations. By the end of the session all developers will have an initial understanding of who each PO's user group is, the problem that the user group is facing, and how a digital product will benefit those users.

Week 3 & 4 - Discovery Workshops

The Discovery Workshop is repeated, with half the Product Owners attending each week. This means you'll work with two different Product Owners to explore their ideas in more depth.

For each product, the PO and a group of developers define a Problem Statement. You'll create user personas and write questions to form the basis of user interviews which Product Owners will conduct in week 5.

Week 5 - User Research

Product Owners conduct user interviews independently with their user group.

We take this week to discuss project ideas as a cohort for the In-House Project.

Week 6 - Research Analysis

Team up with one or two Product Owners to analyse the user research they've conducted.

Week 7 - Product Management

This session is a practice in scoping a product idea and breaking it down into user stories. You'll analyse a few mock product ideas, break one of them down into user stories, and then plan a sprint.

Week 8 - Selection

Review all product ideas as a cohort (without Product Owners present) and submit your preference of products to continue working on.

Week 9 - Analysis Workshop

Following your selection, you'll work with a chosen Product Owner to map out the product idea.

Together you'll plan the main path through their application and then come up with a set of user stories which describe the functionality of the product.

Week 10 - Design Week

During the first half of TfB Design Week, you'll work alongside your Product Owner to scope and wireframe a prototype. Starting with a Definition Workshop, you'll come up with ideas and sketches of what the product might look like. After you've decided on a direction with your PO, you'll have some time to create a wireframe in Figma.

With this wireframe, you'll conduct testing with users who have been coordinated by your Product Owner. Feedback from users will be analysed by your team and PO.

You'll now be ready to analyse the idea and start to plan out your tech stack. In the final part of the week you'll plan for your build time and have some time to do Tech Spikes focused on the technologies you'll be using.

Week 11 & Week 12 - Build Sprints

Build your MVP across two build sprints, with support and guidance from your Product Owner. At the end of Build Week 2, you'll present your MVP at the Tech for Better Showcase.