A. I help shape the development roadmap for our PMR system Pharmacy Manager. That means spending lots of time with our customers, pharmacy teams and contacts in the industry to truly understand the pain points, and exactly what they need our system to do.
My main responsibility is to be a bridge between our customers and our development team. On the face of it, it sounds simple, but it involves collaboration with 30 or 40 different people on some projects.
We always kick it off with a stand-up meeting with the development team to check-in on the progress of work. After that, my day is usually spent working with individual team members. That could be to prep a new piece of functionality before it’s built, or getting feedback from our trainers about what customers need more support with. It’s about balancing solving problems for customers today, whilst keeping an eye on the long-term picture of pharmacy and how Pharmacy Manager stays ahead of that.
I did before I joined Cegedim Rx too. I was an estate agent for a long time. Initially I joined Cegedim Rx as a trainer, before becoming a business analyst, next a product owner and now a product manager. So, I went from showing people how to use our systems to being part of a team which helps create them.
A. As a product manager, the basis of everything I do is customer discovery. The Pharmacy Show is customer discovery on steroids! I have hundreds of interactions with customers. I get to see how they’re using our software, what they’re picking up intuitively, what might need more work, and hear their suggestions. Even checking out our competitors and what else in going on in the market sparks lots of creative thought.
The meaning of my name, Simeon, is actually 'the one who listens'. It may sound a bit cheesy, but I do think I was always meant to be in a role like this.
You need to read between the lines too. A customer might say they want one thing, but if you dig deeper you can understand where the real challenge or opportunity lies.
A. It’s 100% when you’ve solved a problem for somebody. When you've made their working day better. Or you’ve transformed their business. And those success stories keep getting stronger.
Pharmacy Manager alone has evolved so much in the nine years I’ve been working with Cegedim Rx. There's always more to do – that’s the nature of innovation – but we've made significant steps forward in the quality and functionality. And that’s something I’m really proud of.
A. It’s got to be when we released accuracy checking functionality into Pharmacy Manager. The tool helps the pharmacy team verify that medication is picked and assembled accurately. We had a customer who felt very anxious about making a mistake that could potentially harm a patient. Having this software has made them feel much more confident and more comfortable in their job. It really meant a lot to us that they felt so empowered by Pharmacy Manager.
A. I love to cook. Not to blow my own trumpet but I do make an unreal Thai green curry. My family go mad for it.