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Fundamentals ofProduct Management

Moving from foundational problem discovery to building the core pillars of product intuition (Data, Design, Tech, Strategy), culminating in evaluating complex trade-offs across the product lifecycle.

Beginner · Data, Tech, and Product track · 2 credits · 8 sessions · 2 office hours

Learning outcomes

  • Discipline & Career Mastery

    Understand product management as a discipline and career path, and build mental models for cross-functional execution in tech organizations.

  • Strategic Foresight

    Decode user needs and problem spaces to validate what is worth building and identify high-leverage market wedges.

  • Applied Intuition

    Develop sharp instincts across user research, metric architectures, UX design, backend systems, and product strategy.

  • Cross-Functional Persuasion

    Lead engineering, design, and business teams to world-class execution without formal authority.

Curriculum

  1. Topics
    Why PM is important, The role, Key skills, Responsibilities, Mental models for product success.
    In class
    • Case 1: Catastrophic Metric Crash
    • Case 2: Next-gen ATM
    Read
    • Good PMs, Great PMs · Shreyas Doshi

    Open the Session 01 room →

  2. Topics
    Customer pain points, User research methodologies, Market segmentation, Prioritization.
    In class
    • Case 3: Uber Events
    Read
    • Guide to Startups Part 4: The Only Thing That Matters · Marc Andreessen

  3. Topics
    Understanding metrics, Metric hierarchies, Funnel diagnostics, Root cause analysis.
    In class
    • Case 4: Candy Crush Crash
    • Spotify Metrics Deep-Dive
    Read
    • Building with Data · Julie Zhuo

  4. Topics
    Zooming, slicing, and smoothing data, Experimentation trade-offs, Storytelling using data.
    In class
    • Simulation 1: Super Mario Bros.
    • Spotify Year in Review
    Read
    None. The session is built around an in-class simulation.

  5. 05Design & UX IntuitionIn progress

  6. Office Hours IDeep-dive mentoring on metrics, root cause analysis, and early problem framing. Open Q&A and mentoring.

  7. 06Tech & Ecosystem MasteryIn progress

  8. 07Product StrategyIn progress

  9. Topics
    Synthesizing data, design, tech, and strategy, Evaluating end-to-end trade-offs, Career specialization pathways.
    In class
    • Capstone Case Debrief & Cohort Discussion
    Read
    • Relentlessly Resourceful · Paul Graham
    • Product Specializations · Reforge
  10. Office Hours IITechnical architecture, ecosystem trade-offs, and product strategy mentoring. Open Q&A and mentoring.

Assessment

  1. 35%

    Group Capstone Project & Presentation

    Due Session 08. Applied lifecycle pitch and roadmap.

  2. 30%

    In-Class Surprise Quizzes

    Quiz 1 and Quiz 2 · 15% each. Testing data, tech, and design intuition.

  3. 20%

    Individual Assignment

    Due Session 05. Problem space discovery and metric architecture write-up.

  4. 15%

    Class Participation & Case Discussions

    Every session. Active contributions during live case teardowns and workshops.

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