Using Retros to Create Continuous Improvement – Matt Walton on The Product Experience

Matt Walton was one of the founders of FutureLearn, where he scaled the product team and organisation from nothing to the significant player in online education that it is today. Along the way, he learned a lot about continuous improvement of both the product and the processes for building it – including the use of four different types of retrospectives. He joins us on the podcast to level up our retro game.

In this episode, sponsored by Mind The Product Membership, listen to learn about:

• Using Retrospectives effectively
• Supporting a team
• Feedback loops

Quote of the Episode

If you can do retros with a regularity then it means it’s not something that people will dread. The other thing that’s really good about sticking to a rhythm is it makes people feel more willing to change, because it means that you can try something for a fortnight and then – if it doesn’t work – you can change it back again. 

Related Links

• Follow Matt on Twitter, LinkedIn and his website
• Matt bloggged about Using retrospectives to create a culture of continuous improvement
• Matt's Mind The Product talk, Be in a Band, not an Orchestra: how to Grow an Agile Product Team
• Funretrospective's The Retrospective Prime Directive
• Management tools at 15Five and Trello

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Our Hosts

The Product Experience is hosted by Lily Smith and Randy Silver.

Lily enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Head of Innovation at Go Compare and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol (which now has 800+ members!) and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.

Randy is a product consultant and coach who has been working as an interactive producer and product manager across the US and UK for nearly 20 years. A recovering music journalist and editor, he launched Amazon’s music stores in the US and UK, and has worked across sectors including museums and arts groups, online education, media and entertainment, retail and financial services. He’s held Head of Product roles at HSBC and Sainsbury’s, where he also directed their 100+-person product community. Randy's book, What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19 is out now, with all profits going to COVID-19 relief efforts.