Anthony Ogbanufe

Anthony joined us as an apprentice a few years ago and is now a Product Designer. As an avid gamer himself, working in something that helps that gamers out there is combining two favourite things – design and video games.

What do you do and what does your team do?

Hey, I’m Anthony Ogbanufe and I’m a Product Designer Professional in ‘the learn and buy broadband squad’. As a product designer, my task is to create easy, efficient, relevant and all-round brilliant experiences for the user. I focus on creating brilliant digital experiences that are simple and easy for the users to fulfil their needs. I like to describe it as being the middle man between the user and the business. It’s a constant loop of researching, defining, designing, building, testing, measuring, and learning.

My squad mainly looks after the sales experience and creating an excellent acquisition journey. This consists of many core pages such as the deals page, gaming page and full fibre page. The deals page allows customers to find the best deals in their area.

What’s your day to day like?

A day in a life of a product designer usually starts with a stand up with the squad. This is the moment in the day when the whole squad gets together to discuss their projects. This is an opportunity to share ideas, have discussions, and communicate about any potential blockers. 

My role combines both UX and UI, which encompasses everything from creating user personas to designing user flows and prototypes. One day, I could be using Mural (collaborative whiteboard platform) working with my team to visualise ideas. Another day I could be spending my time in Figma (prototyping tool) pushing pixels, wire-framing and iterating. 

How did you get into Product Design?

I originally began my career at BT as an apprentice in 2017. I joined straight out of sports college, after deciding not to go to university and seek further education. As an apprentice, I spent my time in the design studio. In the design studio, I learnt from four core disciplines: User experience, User research, User interface, and Copywriting. Upon completion of my apprenticeship and passing with flying colours, I was later asked to join the team permanently. Shortly after, it was announced BT would go through a digital transformation and I would become a product designer. On a personal note, I think the apprenticeship scheme at BT is fantastic as it allowed me to fulfil my potential. With that being said I’m constantly learning and perfecting my craft. I aspire to achieve the next level in my career.

How crucial was your apprenticeship to be where you are today?

After college, I decided not to go to university (this scared the daylights out of my mum) and instead explore apprenticeships for their pathway straight into work. Apprenticeships boosted my confidence and gave me the skillset to have a fulfilling career. I think it's an excellent way to get a fresh set of ideas into the business. It opened my eyes to the world of user experience that I didn't know existed beforehand. It gave me a chance to fulfil my passion for technology. It’s not often you can find a career you truly enjoy doing.

What kind of projects have you been involved or are involved at the moment?

In the past, I was involved in the launch of NOW TV on BT. This was a great experience for me as I got to see how partnerships work. At that time, I was responsible for analysing data, conducting research and interviews to understand user pains and, frustrations. From this, one of the key findings was customers wanted flexible packages so they could swap between packages whenever they wanted. At the moment, my squad and I are working on a new broadband experience trialling a faster full fibre speed boost within the earlier stages of the customer's purchase journey. 

What impact does your work have in our customers?

We were tasked with re-designing the gaming page, helping support the rollout of full fibre. Gaming remains a key use for Fibre to the Premises (FTTP), delivering ultra-secure and ultra-reliable connections of up to 900Mbs that could be crucial to a gamer’s experience. Overall, we have sold over 24,600 next-generation games consoles so far; selling out stock almost immediately. This is a significant amount that continues to grow daily. 

How is BT innovating in the Product space?

There are so many brilliant innovations happening at the moment across all sectors. Full Fibre is rolling out across the UK, with thousands of homes connected every day. This means families will experience faster speeds, improved reliability, and increased capacity to support a tremendous influx of connected devices in their homes. 5G is another big one giving users an almost instant connection, making everyday tasks feel super-fast on smartphones.

Loads to come from BT this 2022.

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