Tom Coad

A deep insight into user needs and cultural understanding from studying Cultural Anthropology have helped Tom in his technology development career.

I started by studying Law and History. Dad had suggested Anthropology as well, as he had had an inspirational lecturer who, as it turned out, was still teaching when I was there. I had the same experience of being switched onto the subject, so I continued to focus on that for my Bachelor of Arts. I liked the way Cultural Anthropology explored why people are the way they are and how aspects of human life tie together.

I have always had a strong focus on the needs of the customer and worked in customer support roles. Anthropology studies gave me a deeper understanding and insight into the worlds of my customers and their needs. I started out in retail at Bunnings part time and then full time for a year after completing my degree. This led to a customer support position at CoreLogic, a multinational property information, analytics, and service provider. At CoreLogic, it was a case of being in the right place at the right time. A merger with Australia meant many service processes and online content needed to be reviewed and refined. I moved to a Business Analyst role, leading the development team for a merger with a significantly larger consumer property website. I knew that this was a perfect area of work for me, with the right level of complexity, analysis, and depth of communication skill required.

I am now a product owner, which is a lead role in a ‘scrum’ development process. This person ensures that the team delivers the desired outcome, based on the user needs. I spend quite a bit of my time leading user testing. While I’m not fully embedded in other people’s lives, as an anthropologist may be, it is still a form of close participant observation. There are also cultural issues in the multinational development teams I work with. It was helpful to have the tools to understand people and apply techniques for effective communication when leading a team.

You don’t always need a degree in technology to work in tech. As technology has enabled interaction and building relationships with people from diverse backgrounds, I’ve found that the ways people process and use information is very different. What matters is having the capacity to learn and being prepared. Anthropology has enhanced my applied analytical skills and the ability to pull out the key messages and understand what is going on in the background.

Update: Tom is currently General Manager at CoreLogic Australia in Brisbane.