Product Management Foundations: From Strategy to Launch

Explore what product managers do, how product teams work, and how products create value for customers and organizations. You will be able to explain a product manager’s responsibilities and identify the needs a product should address.

• Set Up a Miro Workspace and Product Practice Board

  Create a labeled Miro board for recording product ideas and customer needs.

• Recognize Products and the Value They Create

  Distinguish the value a product creates for customers from the value it creates for an organization.

• Explain a Product Manager’s Responsibilities

  Describe how a product manager helps a team make decisions that deliver customer and organizational value.

• Describe How Product Teams Work Together

  Map how product managers collaborate with design, engineering, and business teammates.

• Identify Customer Needs Before Choosing Solutions

  Write a clear customer need statement that describes a user, a need, and its context.

• Project: Build a Customer-Value Snapshot

  Create a Miro snapshot connecting a customer need to a product idea and its customer and organizational value.

• Capstone: Present a Product Value Case

  Present a concise product case that explains the customer need, the product manager’s role, team contributions, and expected value.

Follow a product from opportunity identification and discovery through delivery, launch, and iteration. You will be able to describe the stages of the lifecycle and how teams make decisions as a product evolves.

• Set Up Your Product Workspace in Jira and Miro

  Create a Jira project and a Miro board for organizing product lifecycle work.

• Map the Stages of the Product Development Lifecycle

  Arrange the lifecycle stages in order from opportunity identification through iteration on a Miro board.

• Explore an Opportunity Through Product Discovery

  Write three customer research questions for a selected product opportunity in a shared document.

• Choose an Opportunity and Define a Minimum Viable Product

  Select one opportunity and describe its minimum viable product using a simple impact-and-effort comparison.

• Project: Build a Jira Backlog and Delivery Plan

  Create a prioritized Jira backlog and a short delivery plan for the minimum viable product.

• Prepare a Product Launch and Plan What to Measure

  Create a launch checklist and choose one success metric to track after release.

• Capstone: Take a Product from Opportunity to Iteration

  Present a connected set of product artifacts showing how a product moves from opportunity through discovery, delivery, launch, and iteration.

Learn to connect customer problems and business objectives to a clear product direction and measurable outcomes. You will be able to frame a product opportunity and define goals that help a team make aligned decisions.

• Identify a Customer Problem and a Business Objective

  Describe one customer problem and one related business objective using a simple product scenario.

• Frame a Product Opportunity

  Write an opportunity statement that connects a target customer, their problem, and its business relevance.

• Choose a Clear Product Direction

  Draft a product direction that explains which customer problem to address and why.

• Turn Product Direction into Measurable Outcome Goals

  Define one customer outcome goal and one measurable indicator in a shared document or spreadsheet.

• Project: Build a One-Page Product Strategy Brief

  Create a one-page strategy brief linking a customer problem, business objective, product direction, and measurable outcome goal.

Build a foundation in understanding users, evaluating opportunities, and choosing what to address first. You will be able to organize customer insights into priorities and communicate a practical product direction.

• Set Up a Product Discovery Workspace

  Create a shared workspace in Google Drive, Google Sheets, and Miro for storing customer research and product decisions.

• Turn User Needs into Problem Hypotheses

  Write one testable problem hypothesis that identifies a target user, their need, and the challenge they face.

• Plan Customer Interviews

  Draft a customer interview guide with five open-ended questions that explore the problem without suggesting answers.

• Organize Interview Evidence into Opportunities

  Group interview notes in Miro to identify recurring user needs and evidence-backed opportunity statements.

• Project: Create an Evidence-Based Opportunity Brief

  Build a concise opportunity brief in Google Docs that connects customer evidence to a clearly stated product opportunity.

• Prioritize Opportunities with an Impact-Effort Matrix

  Rank at least five opportunities in Miro by comparing their expected user impact with the effort required.

• Communicate Direction with a Now-Next-Later Roadmap

  Create a Now-Next-Later roadmap in Miro that links prioritized opportunities to customer outcomes.

• Capstone: Present a Customer-Led Product Direction

  Present an integrated product direction that connects customer evidence, prioritized opportunities, and a practical roadmap.

Practice using clear product requirements and established design frameworks to communicate problems, user needs, and intended outcomes. You will be able to create foundational documentation that supports collaboration between product, design, and engineering.

• Set Up Your Product Documentation Workspace

  Create a workspace in Google Docs, FigJam, and Figma for organizing product requirements and design work.

• Map a Product Challenge with the Double Diamond

  Map a sample product challenge through the four stages of the Double Diamond in FigJam.

• Write Clear User Need Statements

  Draft three user need statements that describe who needs help, what they need, and why.

• Turn User Needs into User Stories

  Write three user stories that connect a user type, a need, and a reason.

• Define Acceptance Criteria for a User Story

  Write testable acceptance criteria for one user story using clear, observable outcomes.

• Project: Create a Focused Product Requirements Document

  Create a one-page product requirements document in Google Docs containing a problem statement, user need, user story, and acceptance criteria.

• Capstone: Prepare a Product and Design Handoff

  Assemble a handoff package with a Double Diamond map, product requirements document, and low-fidelity Figma wireframe for one product feature.

Bring the lifecycle, strategy, discovery, and documentation concepts together in an end-to-end product proposal. You will be able to present a coherent product opportunity and explain how a cross-functional team can move it toward delivery and improvement.

• Set Up a Product Proposal Workspace

  Create a shared Google Docs workspace for the proposal and a Trello board for tracking team work.

• Frame a Product Opportunity

  Write a one-paragraph opportunity statement that connects a user need to a strategic goal.

• Support the Opportunity with Discovery Evidence

  Summarize three pieces of user evidence and define one measurable outcome for the proposed product.

• Map Cross-Functional Delivery

  Create a simple Trello delivery plan with team roles, work milestones, and a feedback point.

• Project: Build an End-to-End Product Proposal

  Assemble a product proposal in Google Docs that includes the opportunity, evidence, outcome, and delivery plan.

• Capstone: Present and Improve the Proposal

  Present the proposal in a short slide deck and identify one change based on stakeholder feedback.