Product Management Foundations Training Workshop - London

As the Coronavirus situation unfolds, we are continuing to follow the advice of local government, health authorities, and the World Health Organisation to ensure that our events are run with the best interests of all those involved in mind.

The recent UK government announcement confirmed that the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better and so, with the health and wellbeing of our attendees and trainers in mind, we have cancelled all March workshops. 

Information regarding future workshops can be found here. 

Understanding your role as a product manager

Training Workshop Overview

The role of a product manager is a complicated one, that changes and shifts, depending on the product, team, organisation, and PM themselves. A myriad of skills, at all points of the product development lifecycle, all seem equally important and urgent. As new product managers enter the role, it’s difficult to understand what to focus on first, and how to begin the path towards mastering the skills and craft of product management. How can PMs be assured that they are focusing on the right skills?

Foundations is a survey course that attempts to clarify and define the aspects of the role that a new product manager should tackle first. Focused specifically on core team practice and methods that drive the delivery of value to customers, this course offers overviews and definitions of the theories and mindsets that drive the core elements of the product role. Once certain theories are explored, the course deep-dives into specific skills and processes that allow PMs to effectively run a team dedicated to continuous learning and delivery.

What we’ll cover on the day

Product Management Foundations is a full-day workshop that is comprised of seven modules. Each module includes a lecture component on theory and practice, interspersed with hands-on activities. This ensures that you are afforded an opportunity to apply and work with concepts in a setting that will answer questions and facilitate critical thinking. You can see some of what we cover below.

Syllabus:

• Product Mindsets
  - Defining product
  - The problem landscape
  - Breaking down learning mindsets at different points through the product development lifecycle

• Design thinking
  - What design thinking is and why it’s important
  - The role of product in design thinking
  - Common frameworks and how they link together

• Goals alignment
  - Creating effective goals and aligning the team and organization around them
  - OKRs vs. KPIs vs. Metrics
  - The difference between business goals and product outcomes

• Hypothesis & Validation
  - Designing tests around your assumptions
  - The evaluation process
  - Lean experiments

• User interview guides
  - Different types of interview
  - Creating interview guides that do not bias or lead the subject
  - Using interview guides to ideate, and to validate assumptions

• User stories & Backlogs
  - Epics and stories: the differences between them and how to use them
  - Conveying priority to your team
  - Translating user needs into product features

• Team culture & Communication
  - “Culture as product”
  - What high-performing teams look like and how to create one
  - The role of a product manager in a healthy team

Things to reflect on before the workshop

Before your training workshop we ask that you take some time to consider the following questions. The more time you take to consider your current situation, and the issues and challenges you face, the more you’ll gain from your training:

• What was your role described to you when you first got started?

• What have you learned about product management since taking the job?

• How well do you feel you understand your customers?

• Do you think you have a healthy team culture?

Key Takeaways

At the end of the workshop, you will be confident in your understanding of the role of a product manager, including a firm grasp of the concept of design thinking and how it is important. You’ll have a clear understanding of where the customer sits in the product practice, how to define and prioritise your customer personas, and how not to bias your customer research. You’ll go back to the office feeling confident in your ability to facilitate a goals conversation, and how to structure hypothesis for lean tests.