PRODUCT MANAGEMENT DIGITAL MASTERCLASS
the ultimate guide to becoming a product manager
How it works:45 minutes of detailed live presentation, followed by;
Over an hour of shared chat where you can ask anything.
Places are limited to 100 attendees at each session, and are first come, first served. Don’t miss your chance to learn from the best!
* This is not an online course—these are high-value live conference-style presentations (without the travel). And you get to chat to Jock afterwards.
HOW TO FIND BALANCE
Uncover the blend of social, commercial, and technical skills a successful product manager needs
HOW TO READ MINDS
Learn to distinguish between what your users think they want and what they really need
HOW TO INFLUENCE
Understand the soft skills you need to influence stakeholders and to lead your product delivery team
HOW TO EXPERIMENT
Discover how to give your products the best chance of success through continual learning
Session 1:
What does a product manager do (and not do)?
Tuesday 6th October 2020
4PM London, 11AM New York
A worrying number of product managers I’ve met will admit they started out in the same way: they turned up at work one day and were told by their manager, “You're the product manager now.” The problem? Neither they nor their manager really knew what a product manager was supposed to do! This session will fix that.
In this first session, we will be looking at what a product manager does. We will talk about what managing a product really means, and understand the role of a product manager. Questions we will be answering in this session are:
- what a product and product management are
- what the product manager role involves
- why we need product management
- what makes a good product manager
Session 2:
Understanding user needs
Tuesday 13th October 2020
4PM London, 11AM New York
One of the most fundamental aspects of product management is to understand user needs and satisfy them with the product. This talk describes the what, why and how of understanding user needs.
In this week’s session, we will be discussing users and user needs. We will talk about what user needs are, and how we learn about them. The main topics we will be learning about are:
- what user needs are and how we can learn about them
- when and how you can carry out user research, and some techniques for you to use
- finding product-market fit
- how to use experiments and validation for learning
- what a minimum viable product (MVP) is, and how to use it effectively
Session 3:
The secrets of meaningful product roadmaps
Tuesday 20th October 2020
3PM London, 10AM New York
Every product needs a roadmap, but most are useless and a waste of everyone's time. Why? Because too often people misunderstand what roadmaps are for, and include the wrong information. This talk shares the secrets of making your product roadmap one of the most effective tools in your product manager kit bag.
In this week’s session, we will learn about how to create engaging and meaningful roadmaps. We will talk about what information your product roadmaps should include, and how to make sure they’re easy to understand. The main topics we will be learning about are:
- how your product strategy and roadmap relate to each other
- how you can use your roadmap to learn about your users as you build
- what are the right details to include in your roadmap
- how to use your roadmap to communicate more meaningfully
Session 4:
Landing and starting your product manager job
Tuesday 27th October 2020
3PM London, 11AM New York
So you want to be a product manager? Learn what interviewers are looking for from someone who's personally assessed hundreds of candidates, and how to start your new job on the right foot.
In the final session of the course, we will be discussing how you can become a product manager. We’ll explore how to prepare to move into product management. We’ll also talk about the job interview, and starting a new product manager job. The main topics we will be learning about are:
- how to check product management is right for you
- identifying and plugging skill gaps
- how to increase your chances of success at interviews
- what to do in the first few months of a new product manager job
Book by Jock
The Practitioner's Guide to Product Management
If you’re new to product management and wondering what it’s all about, or if you’re a product manager shooting for professional success, this book will give you the inside track on starting, developing, and then selling a new product.
Learn more
Jock Busuttil is a freelance head of product, author and conference speaker. He has spent two decades working with technology companies to improve their product management practices, from startups to multinationals.
His clients include BBC, University of Cambridge, and the UK’s Ministry of Justice and Government Digital Service (GDS). In 2012 Jock founded Product People Limited, a product management services and training company.
Jock holds a master’s degree in Classics from the University of Cambridge. He is the author of The Practitioner’s Guide To Product Management, which was published in January 2015 by Grand Central Publishing in the US and Piatkus in the UK. He also writes the blog I Manage Products.
Learn moreGet help from Jock
If you need help with product management at your organisation, Jock offers consulting, training and coaching through Product People Limited.
Product managers
We provide product managers on a freelance basis. We can join your existing product team or help you create a new one.
More about product managersTraining
We have trained hundreds of product managers in companies and UK Government. We can train your team at your office or offsite.
More about trainingContent authoring
We write product management content and training courses. We can write product management content for you.
More about content authoringCoaching
We mentor product managers and coach product teams. We help with professional development and establishing good product practices.
More about coachingPublic speaking
We can speak about product management at conferences and events as a keynote, panel participant or host.
More about public speaking