How to Become a Product Manager: From Ideation to Launch

Course Curriculum

Chapter 1: Introduction and Welcome

Lecture 1: About Alex Mitchell

Lecture 2: What to Expect From This Course

Lecture 3: There is No Formula (For the Perfect Product Manager)

Lecture 4: The Different Types of Product Managers

Chapter 2: Product Manager Interviews – Things to Do

Lecture 1: Concept Introduction

Lecture 2: What Have You Built?

Lecture 3: How Do You Think About Building and Prioritizing?

Lecture 4: Communication 101

Lecture 5: Studying the Product

Lecture 6: What Type of Product Manager Are You? What Type of Product Company Are They?

Chapter 3: Product Manager Interviews – Things NOT To Do

Lecture 1: Concept Introduction

Lecture 2: Don't Memorize Definitions

Lecture 3: Don't Memorize Case Studies

Lecture 4: Don't Study Countless Logic + Math Problems

Lecture 5: Don't Pretend to Be a Technical Expert (If You Aren't!)

Lecture 6: Don't Ask the "Standard" Product Management Questions

Chapter 4: Standing Out From the Crowd

Lecture 1: Concept Introduction

Lecture 2: Video: The Right Way and Wrong Way to Prepare For Your Interview

Lecture 3: What Have You Done Outside of Your Career?

Lecture 4: Test Hypotheses During the Interview

Chapter 5: The One Thing I Look for in Every Product Management Candidate

Lecture 1: Concept Introduction

Lecture 2: Video: The One Thing I Look For in Every Product Candidate

Lecture 3: Side Hustle Examples

Lecture 4: What a Side Hustle Tells Me: Time Management

Lecture 5: What a Side Hustle Tells Me: Committed to Learning

Lecture 6: What a Side Hustle Tells Me: Passion

Lecture 7: What a Side Hustle Tells Me: Outside Experience

Lecture 8: What a Side Hustle Tells Me: Can Thrive In Different Environments

Lecture 9: What a Side Hustle Tells Me: Your Entrepreneurial

Chapter 6: What Does it Mean to Be a Product Manager?

Lecture 1: Deep Dive into the Product Lifecycle!

Lecture 2: Video: 7 Habits of a Highly Effective Product Manager

Chapter 7: Identifying and Understanding the Problem

Lecture 1: Concept introduction

Lecture 2: Video: Identifying and Understanding the Problem

Lecture 3: Evaluating The Company's Stage

Lecture 4: What Resources Do You Have?

Lecture 5: Biases and Existing Products

Lecture 6: Considering New Product Concepts and Problems to Solve

Lecture 7: What is 10x improvement?

Lecture 8: How Are People Solving The Problem Today?

Lecture 9: Bad/Good/Great Product Manager

Lecture 10: Video Case Study: Tower Website Builder

Lecture 11: Slides: Identifying and Understanding the Problem

Chapter 8: Ideating to Solve the Problem

Lecture 1: Concept introduction

Lecture 2: Video: Ideating to Solve the Problem

Lecture 3: Who to Involve in Ideation?

Lecture 4: How Long Should Ideation Session Be?

Lecture 5: Incremental Problem Solving is a Better Approach

Lecture 6: Should You Consider Competitors?

Lecture 7: Bad/Good/Great Product Manager

Lecture 8: Video: How Product and Growth Can Work Best Together in Ideation

Lecture 9: Slides: Ideating to Solve the Problem

Chapter 9: Developing and Selling Your Solution

Lecture 1: Concept introduction

Lecture 2: Video: Developing and Selling Your Solution

Lecture 3: The Right and Wrong Ways to Communicate Delivery Dates

Lecture 4: Speed to Value

Lecture 5: Stay Focused on Value With Your Pitch

Lecture 6: Selling the Solution to Your Customers

Lecture 7: Bad/Good/Great Product Manager

Lecture 8: Slides: Developing and Selling Your Solution

Chapter 10: Build the Right Team the First Time

Lecture 1: Concept Introduction

Lecture 2: Video: Building the Right Team the First Time

Lecture 3: Building Your Team and Establishing Values

Lecture 4: The Best Teams Have Multiple "Gears"

Lecture 5: Understanding Developer Motivations

Lecture 6: Bad/Good/Great Product Manager

Lecture 7: Slides: Build the Right Team the First Time

Chapter 11: Build vs. Buy

Lecture 1: Concept Introduction

Lecture 2: Video: Build vs. Buy

Lecture 3: 10 Factors to Consider

Lecture 4: When to Almost Always Buy

Lecture 5: When to Almost Always Build

Lecture 6: Signs of Buyer Fail

Lecture 7: Signs of Builder Fail

Lecture 8: Bad/Good/Great Product Manager

Lecture 9: Slides: Build vs. Buy

Chapter 12: Gathering Feedback in the Build Cycle

Lecture 1: Concept Introduction

Lecture 2: Video: Gathering Feedback

Lecture 3: Stories, Backlog, and Estimation

Lecture 4: The Release Starts With The Team

Lecture 5: Expanding Testing to Co-Workers

Lecture 6: Engage Nearby Businesses / Testing Services

Lecture 7: Test With Your Target Population

Lecture 8: Bad/Good/Great Product Manager

Lecture 9: Slides: Gathering Feedback in the Build Cycle

Chapter 13: Achieving Minimum Viable Product

Lecture 1: Concept Introduction

Lecture 2: Video: Achieving Minimum Viable Product

Lecture 3: MVP vs. MLP vs. MRP