VOD PROFESSIONAL: Hi Dave, who do you work with
at Virgin Media and what do you all, as a team, do there?
DAVE GRAYLAND: My role is to work end-to-end
across the entire operation, ensuring we deliver great content and
a great experience both within budget and to plan. This
involves working closely with various departments from Content
Acquisition, Legal, Security, Marketing, Advertising, Service
Management, Delivery, Development, Design and User
Experience. I try to embrace the skills and experience of
these teams as well as evolve existing processes and methods to the
specific needs of the project and challenges it poses. Being
flexible is key!
VODPRO: What are the most recent developments
with the player?
DG: Alongside the raft of great content we have
including LIVING, Disney, Cartoon Network, National Geographic and
Discovery shows, we've added catch up content from BBC iPlayer,
4oD, ITV Player and Demand 5 to our line up. We're also working on
personalised suggestions and recommendations, social sharing and
enhanced search functionality. The aim is to enable our
customers to discover and watch their favourite programmes
whenever, wherever, simply and quickly.
VODPRO: What skills do you need to do your
job?
DG: A strong technical background, commercial
expertise and I would say, most importantly, experience of working
on large, diverse, complex projects. Experience will give you the
ability to make the right decisions, involving the right people, at
the right time. You need to identify risks early and have a plan
able to address and resolve them quickly.
VODPRO: Who decides what development happens on
the player?
DG: The Multiscreen Product Director decides on
the development roadmap. The Project Management team and
myself plan the development, define a delivery strategy and
execute.
VODPRO: What meetings do you attend and with
whom?
DG: I'm in most meetings to do with Virgin
Media Player but to highlight a few; I attend product proposition
meetings with Content Acquisition, Commercial, Product and
Finance. I run delivery and planning meetings with Project
Management, Development, Design and User Experience and our
technology providers. And I consult in technology roadmap
& strategy meetings with our Architecture, Solution Design,
Innovation and Strategy teams.
VODPRO: Finally, any good stories?!
DG: I would simply advise you to never invite a
technical architect to a commercial meeting if your ambition if to
finish in under an hour. So much knowledge, so little time
and so much gets lost in translation.
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