In our 10th anniversary year, Space4Climate caught up with our first coordinator, Debbie Kite, now a Senior Product Consultant with digital transformation experts FSP.
By Debbie Kite
I was delighted to receive, earlier this year, an invitation to the 10-year celebration of Space4Climate. 10 years! I was the first coordinator of the group when we were known as the Climate Data from Space Stakeholders Group (CDSSG) and it is great to see it still thriving and fostering partnerships in this exciting area.
Sadly I couldn’t make the celebration day itself, but I was delighted to catch up with many of the network at the EO Summit in London in June. After several years away from the sector it was interesting to see what had changed in the interim – and what hadn’t.
The challenges for climate services are still very present – though relevant to so many businesses, governments and even individuals: the data are complex, with many factors contributing to the decisions that users are trying to make. But there was another theme of the keynote talk at the summit, that is at the heart of what I do now – Earth Observation and climate services needs a ‘project-to-product’ transformation.
Over the past 10 years I’ve journeyed from the world of European Space Agency bids and UK Space Agency-funded demonstrators to digital product development, first with the Institute for Environmental Analytics, via a stint with Ordnance Survey working on their award-winning OS Maps app, to now working with a wide range of clients as a Product Consultant with the digital transformation experts FSP. I’ve seen the difference it makes when an organisation can take a product-centric approach and find true product-market fit.
Challenge is to make products usable
Every organisation is now built on digital products, even if it’s ‘just’ a website. What was clear at the EO Summit was that there is still a significant challenge in making the ever-increasing data sources and dashboards accessible and usable to the wide market of decision-makers. There is much the sector can learn from the consumer apps market, for instance the game-changing contribution of UX designers in ensuring your users can get at the value within your product – and even enjoy the experience!
I’m still passionate about space and the potential this sector has to benefit our economy, our environment and our society. I’d love to hear from you if you think you would benefit from my help on your journey.
- You can catch up with Debbie at the National Earth Observation Conference in York, September 10th-12th, 2024, where Space4Climate will also have stand.
I’ve seen the difference it makes when an organisation can take a product-centric approach and find true product-market fit