Product Management: An Introduction

Instructor: Matt Versdahl , Rav Ahuja

Beginner Level • 1 week at 10 hours a week • Flexible Schedule

What You'll Learn

  • Summarize the roles, responsibilities, skills, competencies, and knowledge requirements for a product manager’s success.
  • Examine the end-to-end product management lifecycle and the role the product manager plays that drives product success.
  • Investigate “value creation” and the contributions of the product manager that potentially add value to a product.
  • Compare and contrast possible career paths in product management and the certifications that will help you progress in the field.

Skills You'll Gain

Product Management
Product Development
New Product Development
Portfolio Management
Product Roadmaps
Value Propositions
Product Lifecycle Management
Market Research
Stakeholder Management
Product Strategy
Project Management

Shareable Certificate

Earn a shareable certificate to add to your LinkedIn profile

Outcomes

  • Learn new concepts from industry experts
  • Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
  • Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
  • Earn a shareable career certificate from IBM

There are 5 modules in this course

In this module, you will learn about the role of the product manager and the key skills that are important for success. You will learn about a product manager's responsibilities and persona. You will also list the skills, knowledge, and business acumen required to be an effective product manager.

In this module, you will be introduced to product and product management. You will learn about what a product is and what a typical day in the life of a product manager looks like. You will also learn which personality traits are most critical for a product manager, what the role of a product manager looks like in an organization, and what kind of challenges the product managers face. Next, you will focus on the life cycle of a product. You will learn about the four phases of the product lifecycle, the seven-step product management lifecycle, and the key deliverables of the product management life cycle. You will also learn about the most critical tasks product managers accomplish, the key functional area expertise that they must have, and the key roles and stakeholders they must collaborate with.

In this module, you will learn about the fundamental concepts of product management. It focuses on value creation. You will learn about value creation and entrepreneurship and the connection between a product manager and an entrepreneur. You will also learn about critical thinking and the product manager. It also introduces you to the product management and marketing body of knowledge or ProdBOK. It has a practice quiz on product management opportunities. It also focuses on the link between portfolio management and project management. You will learn about the portfolio approach, its benefits and challenges, and the challenges to develop a product strategy effectively. You will also learn where the roles of a product manager and project manager intersect. It also covers project management’s predictive and adaptive lifecycles and a product manager’s role.

In this module, you will explore the product management opportunities and certifications. It summarizes the current employment opportunities in today’s work environment and covers the Product Management and Marketing Body of Knowledge (ProdBOK) and the Association of International Product Marketing and Management (AIPMM). You will also learn about the best way to prepare for a product manager role and the background experience required to become a product manager. It also covers certifications and resume building. You will learn about the certificates available in the product management career.

Welcome to Module 5. This module introduces your final project. You will analyze a product management scenario, after that, you are expected to give a retrospective of the team's successes and areas of improvement related to the product development team. Additionally, you will attempt a 25-question graded quiz to assess your comprehension of the key concepts taught in the course. We end the module with our congratulations and recommend the next steps to continue your product management journey.