(US & Canada) | Product Owners Should be Embedded with Users to Understand Pain Points — Travelers CDAO

Mano Mannoochahr, Senior Vice President and Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Travelers, speaks with Jack Berkowitz, Chief Data Officer at Securiti, in a video interview about generating value for customers using data analytics and the need for product owners to have field experience before developing solutions.

Mannoochahr starts by discussing data and AI projects during his time at John Deere that directly impacted customers. It began with connecting machinery like tractors, combine harvesters, and construction machines to the Internet. The connected sensors in the machines generated granular data opening up new possibilities for the company.

Elaborating further, Mannoochahr says that the data not only helped improve the design of the machines and understand how customers were using them but also helped customers become more productive and improve business outcomes.

When asked if he takes his team out on field trips, Mannoochahr shares how everyone joining the John Deere organization has to spend at least 30 days in a dealer or a customer field site under the “Through Their Eyes” program to understand how work gets done at a farm or a construction site, etc.

This experience of field visits early in his career led Mannoochahr to spend about a week with the field organizations in operation centers at Travelers right after joining the organization. The experience of working alongside frontline employees accelerated his learning.

In conclusion, Mannoochahr stresses that product owners from both technology and business backgrounds should get embedded with users to understand customer/user pain points before even trying to develop solutions.

CDO Magazine appreciates Mano Mannoochahr for sharing his insights with our global community.