Software Product Management

Software product management?

Howdy, I am new to the web development world (as in, literally my first day), but I have been struck with an interest. Specifically, my interest is in software product management (kinda obviously). My interest developed when I received an email about a Coursera specialization in this field:

(https://www.coursera.org/specializations/product-management?utm_medium=email&utm_source=marketing&utm_campaign=MkV2cFayEeefauFGDehXGg&action=enroll)

I have a few questions that I was really hoping to get help with from a community of people with knowledge of this type of career path. I come from a background in science (BS in biology, MS in physiology) and I have no prior experience with web development or anything of that nature. I completed a course on Coursera called "Programming for everybody (getting started with Python)," a very simple, introductory course to Python, and I had a really hard time with that. I also only made it 66% of the way through the Python course on Code Academy. My point is, I don't necessarily get programming, but I am a fairly intelligent person capable of learning new things if I try hard enough.

Questions: What kind of knowledge or experience is necessary to try to get into the software product management field? Should I understand coding before I take on this course or should I just go for it? Will this course give me sufficient knowledge to start applying for actual software product management jobs?

I hope I gave enough information. I'm definitely open to suggestions and conversations regarding the topic. I'll take any help/information I can get. Thanks in advance!

The best "Crash Course" in Product Management?

Hi everyone, I appreciate that this might be a bit insulting to insinuate someone can learn a career in a matter of weeks/months, but an opportunity has come up that doesn't really fit with my planned "Education Roadmap" and I'd really like to do my best to seize it. TL;DR what courses, reading, or similar, would you recommend to someone who wanted to pick up on Product Management in a limited time period?

Long story short, a Product Manager is leaving our company, and some of our other staff who've been with the company almost since launch, have encouraged me to throw my hat into the ring if the job becomes available (product intelligence, and another PM amongst them).

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I've already expressed a desire to my manager to make use of HR professional development education to transition into product, but right now my experience is pretty much limited to daily product and customer interaction, briefing some of our PM's and devs, and occasionally some stakeholder management. If we were still a startup I'd probably just go for it, but since we've been bought out I feel I need to be able to justify my application a bit more, so I was wondering if anyone could help point me to some absolute must have bits of knowledge?

Is auditing the Software Product Management Specialization Coursera course still recommended?
Could anyone cut down this recommended reading list from the CSPO course to a top 3 or so, or should I just try and cram all of it?
Could someone perhaps point me towards some interview prep or clue me in on how this works for this sort of position? My google-fu must be weak as I've come across more lean UX testing info than anything.

Any advice to get my foot in the door would be appreciated.

Thanks

This and this might help you out a bit.

Tech always comes and goes, and a lot of what matters is your experience in knowing how to code, how to find solutions to problems, knowing which code to copy and paste, et cetera. The theoretical stuff? You can find that online with a lil' bit of digging.

You'll be fine.

Is the new product management certification on Coursera from University of Alberta worth doing?

I am an Android Developer at a very early stage startup and I want to move into product management. It has been only 3 month since I completed my bachelor's and joined this startup. I don't have mind putting $324 for this certification. I just want to know whether it will be worth. Will it help me secure a job in product management in future either at my current startup or some other company?

How is Having a certification in software product management viewed?

I cannot afford business school and was wondering if getting a certification in Software Product Management from the University of Alberta on Coursera is going to help me break into product management, see https://www.coursera.org/specializations/product-management. Any advice/insight would be greatly appreciated.

These two would be nice additions to your resume as certifications.

Product Management Foundations

• Lynda
• $30-$50 per month
• Seven day free trial which you could probably complete within that time frame

Software Product Management

• Coursera
• $50 per class for 6 months
• You can apply for financial aid if you qualify
• You can do some of them, I believe, at the same time to complete faster than 6

My friend said good things about this course: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/product-management

This one?

https://www.coursera.org/specializations/product-management

This courses . The name is product management but the syllabus covers almost all product owner activities in agile. Second option is to find a PO mentor. Good luck.

I liked this coursera specialization https://www.coursera.org/specializations/product-management. You can audit the courses for free.

Sure. I did this one https://www.coursera.org/specializations/product-management

It is quite basic and easy but you get to run through the process. I've seen recently that there is another one from University of Virginia also.

There is a Software Product Management specialization that is a 6-course track and super helpful, especially if you are new to product or have been working in product and looking for a refresher on common frameworks: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/product-management

What exactly is your current situation + career goals? Are you already post-MBA? What's your work experience gap compared to the PM skillset (here's a helpful guide)? etc.

I doubt there are any bootcamps for MBA grads specifically, though there are plenty of PM bootcamps.

I'd personally recommend that, rather than a PM bootcamp, you take a simple online course on the subject like Coursera's PM specialization from the University of Alberta. It's enough of an introduction to help you speak to the activities a product manager performs.

That course combined with an MBA is more than enough functional knowledge. You'll notice the syllabus for that course is basically the same as the syllabi for any PM bootcamp (which you can generally gather from the bootcamp's websites).

Then, teach yourself to code and actually build some basic stuff. That'll prove you can gain the technical chops. Perhaps take an after-hours coding bootcamp. Plus, that background will actually be really helpful.

If you can explain your previous work experience in terms of PM skills and show that you've got the ability to learn technical concepts and apply them to building useful stuff, then you'll be as close as you can get to PM-ready without experience as an engineer or designer. The only thing a PM bootcamp would add would be a network of other job-seekers, but...I'm not sure where that helps you.

I have recently enrolled for a Software Product management specialization course at Coursera. I have included a link below. I am finding it very informative and easy to understand. It also has a 6-week peer-reviewed project at the end. Do go through it and share your thoughts.

https://www.coursera.org/specializations/product-management

With regard to certifications, I have seen some job posts mention:

- AIPMM certifications https://aipmm.com/cpm

- MBAs

And I dont know if a PMP or a CSM could help you stand out, but the knowledge gained from getting them was great for me.

For courses, aside from what u/Compunerd3 has mentioned:

- Software Product Management Specialization from Coursera: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/product-management

- LinkedIn Learning (previously Lynda.com ) has many 1 hour courses that can talk about the specific skill you are after (strategic planning, go to market planning, design thinking, business analytics ... etc).

Welcome to the sub, and congratulations on launching your product!

I'm a little confused as to whether you are asking about Product Management or Product Management. They are different roles and require different skills. Project Management is about taking creating an environment to deliver something unique(ish), and then ensuring you get it delivered within boundaries (traditionally time, cost and quality). Product Management is about developing a product that people want, growing/evolving it and eventually sunsetting it.

Within each discipline, there are scores of techniques and approaches that can be deployed and where to focus depends on the challenges you are currently facing - and how much time (and money) you want to spend researching and reading!

On the subject of money - it sounds like your organization has transitioned you into this role - it is not unreasonable to ask for support in terms of training.

Here are a few options for you to consider filling your weekend with:

Free Product Management training

• You can audit this course on Product Management for free on Coursera: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/product-management

Useful books for Product Managers

• Sprint: Jake Knapp
• Project to Product: Mik Kersten
• Measure what Matters: John Doerr
• The Lean Startup - Eric Ries
• Product Management in practice - Matt Le May
• Strategize: Roman Pichler

Useful Product Management Blogs

• https://productcoalition.com/
• https://www.romanpichler.com/blog

Useful Product Management Podcasts:

• https://www.productschool.com/product-podcast/
• https://roadmunk.com/product-to-product-podcast
• http://rocketship.fm/episodes/
• https://www.100productmanagers.com/interviews

I hope you find these resources useful. Best of luck with your reading/learning, and I hope your product continues to evolve and grow.