This course is for public servants at any level who want to work more effectively and make a greater impact — whether you’re early in your career or in a leadership role. It’s designed for non-technologists involved in designing or delivering work that affects people, from policy to service delivery.

graduation-cap-iconCOURSE

Topic: InnovationTopic: Life in governmentTopic: Policymaking

The Product Mindset: Principles for Better Outcomes Across Government

calendar-iconSelf-pacedclock-icon1h 38maward-iconCertificate of completion

Developed with Ann Lewis. Ann has 20 years of experience working in technology and has held senior leadership roles in the US Federal Government, including leading a 700-person team at the General Services Administration. She has spent years of her career helping government teams adopt a product mindset.

Across government, public servants are looking for ways to serve people more effectively. A product mindset can help by focusing your efforts on the problems and solutions that deliver outcomes people truly value.

This short course introduces the product mindset. Coined in digital product teams but useful far beyond tech, it’s a general set of principles that offers a fresh lens for approaching government work. If you’re involved in designing or delivering work that affects people — whether in policy, service delivery, strategy or elsewhere — this course is for you.

By the end, you’ll be ready to start championing this mindset and modeling behaviours that flow from it. Even small shifts, like asking one new question at the start of a project, can influence colleagues and spark change.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Understand what a product mindset is and its value across government.
Discuss key principles of a product mindset and identify how they are being applied across government to inform your own work.
Choose the best course of action to champion and/or model a product mindset.

How you'll learn

Our courses will help you get ahead in government. We take a highly practical approach to learning: we combine bitesize theory lessons with tools and resources you can use right away. You'll also learn from your peers in the Apolitical community, through discussion forums and live events.