As a training manager, you may be required to become the product owner, expert and advocate for your company’s learning management system. Additionally, your training team may find themselves in a position where a system upgrade is necessary and requires the cooperation of other departments within your organization, as well as external vendors. In this session, we’ll discuss best practices when handling a large-scale technology project and learn to navigate the transition from training manager to product owner. 

1. From Training Manager to Product Owner
Mandi Soderlund
Project Manager, Great Clips, Inc.

2. Great Clips, Inc.
• 4,400+ salons in US &
Canada
• 40,000 stylists,
managers, franchisees
• Blended Learning focus

4. Project Overview
1
2
3Refresh look & function
Release new program
Access Improvement

5. LMS Provider
POS Software
Servers & Support
POS Hardware
BI, IT, GCU
1
3
5
2
4

6. Product Ownership
01
02
03
04
Key
stakeholder
Vision
System Expert
Lead User
Skills &
Decisions

7. Product Ownership Tips
https://www.barryovereem.com/characteristics-of-a-great-product-owner/
1 3 5 7 9
Embrace The
Product Vision
Communication Share Your
Experiences
Be Available Act As An
Entrepreneur
Be Clear About
What You Want
– Say No
Be Empowered Know The
Business
Know Your LMS
2 4 6 8

8. https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/the-4-phases-of-the-project-management-life-cycle
Closure Execution
Initiation Planning
1
Project
Management
Life Cycle
4
2
3

9. Example
Potential
Problem
Analysis
LIKELY
To Occur
HIGH
Impact
LOW
Impact
UNLIKELY
To Occur
Issues that are
LIKELY to occur,
but have
little/no impact
on the project
Issues that are
LIKELY to occur,
and have a big
impact on the
project
Issues that are
UNLIKELY to
occur, and have
little/no impact
on the project
Issues that are
UNLIKELY to
occur, but have a
big impact on
the project
“Go” or “No Go”
Decision

10. Challenges
Language Transitions Stakeholders Technology

11. Lessons Learned
1. Be the Learner
2. Admit & Ask
3. Communication is Key
4. Focus on Strategic Alignment: Don’t lose focus of your goal

12. Activity

13. OPEN
DISCUSSION

14. Results

15. GCU Users Year Over Year
2014
8,884
2015
12,013
Stylists
Assistant Managers
Salon Managers
All Other Users
= 1,000 users
2017
24,860
GCULean: Oct
Academy: Nov-Dec
GCULean: Oct
Academy: Nov-Dec
2016
16,500
Access Project
begins
Access Project
begins
2018 37,362
2019
39,791
April

16. GCU Access Year Over Year
2016 2017 2018
220,456
331,417
810,488

17. 2.7x Growth over
2017
Course Completions
2018:
399,030
2017:
149,4672016:
121,8682015:
112,452

20. Summary

21. Thank you!
Contact Information:
Mandi.Soderlund@GreatClips.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandi-soderlund/