What does a product manager do?

Meaningful products and tools solve problems for customers. Product managers are responsible for identifying a potential product’s audience, rallying a team to share their product vision, and successfully managing the product’s entire lifecycle. By combining technical skills with leadership expertise, product managers ensure new innovations are brought to life. 

As a product manager you will: 

• Communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders, from developers to executives. 

• Create Objectives and Key Results (OKRs).

• Craft and present product narratives using data visualization tools.

• Define your target audience using tools like persona and value proposition canvas.

• Identify Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and track them across the product life cycle.

• Plan and execute an agile product sprint.

• Present a compelling product roadmap. 

• Use product analytics tools to make data-driven product decisions.

Admission requirements for a product management boot camp

Our online product management boot camp requires:

• A high school diploma

• A submission form

• A conversation with admissions 

• A complete application

• A problem-solving assessment (no prior product management knowledge is required)

• A financial options, deposit, and enrollment agreement

You do not need a bachelor’s degree or a master's degree to apply to the online product management boot camp.

The product management boot camp curriculum

Our boot camp program curriculum dives deep into a variety of product management and leadership topics designed to help you effectively lead diverse product initiatives. Below is a complete list of the skills and strategies you will cover.

Module 1: Adopt a product mindset

Gain a baseline understanding of product management fundamentals. You will learn:

• Product manager responsibilities 

• Value mapping across the whole product experience

• Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)

• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Module 2: Solve customer problems

Learn how to identify customer problems worth solving. You will learn:

• Customer segmentation

• Proto-personas and personas

• Design thinking 

• Business Model Canvas

• Value Proposition Canvas

 Module 3: Influence without authority

Learn to lead cross-functionally and build excitement around your product vision. You will learn:

• Stakeholder management 

• Communication strategies

• Cross-functional facilitation techniques 

Module 4: Work the agile way

Understand the most common agile methodologies and how to apply them. You will learn:

• Agile manifesto

• Agile vs. waterfall

• Scrum and Kanban

• Agile fundamentals with Jira

Module 5: Prioritize like a pro

Learn to prioritize the right work for the right reasons. You will learn:

• Prioritization methods (ICE scoring, weighted scoring, Kano Model)

• Evaluating methods

Module 6: Roadmaps, backlogs, and sprints 

Roadmaps and backlogs are two of the most important ways to organize and communicate your work, while sprints are how you get the work done. Learn how you can use them to define where a product is going and how it’s going to get there. You will learn:

• Product vision statements

• Product roadmapping

• Themes, epics, and user stories

• User story mapping

• Strategic planning and communications

• Workflow management

• Sprint planning and execution 

Module 7: Rapid prototyping 

Reduce risk and maximize speed of innovation by developing and testing wireframes and prototypes. You will learn:

• Wireframing

• Rapid prototyping 

 Module 8: Assess and improve product health (part I)

Learn to define the metrics that matter to your business, and make data-driven decisions using industry tools and techniques. You will learn:

• OKRs and KPIs

• Qualitative vs. quantitative user data

Module 9: Assess and improve product health (part II)

Dive deeper into product analytics tools, strategies, and techniques.  You will learn:

• Funnel and cohort analysis

• Optimization strategies 

Module 10: Test and iterate to win

Identify opportunities to experiment, learn from data, and make better decisions. You will learn:

• Forming testable hypotheses

• Experimentation strategies and analysis (A/B testing)

 Module 11: Manage data with SQL 

Use this sought-after skill to retrieve data directly from a database. You will learn:

• Relational databases

• Data structures 

• SQL queries 

Module 12: Turn data into insights 

Create visualizations and craft compelling product narratives for stakeholders. You will learn:

• Tableau fundamentals

• Principles of data visualization design

• Storytelling techniques with data 

Module 13: Capturing the customer experience

Synthesize customer feedback from multiple channels to elevate your product. You will learn:

• Net Promoter Score (NPS) essentials

• Metrics such as Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

• Voice of the Customer (VOC) programs

What are the highest paying product management jobs?

Salaries within the product management field can depend on the company, job setting, or location as well as the industry, level of experience, and scale of the products that are being managed. According to the Burning Glass Labor Insight, the median pay for product managers is $102,454 per year in the US, with over 200k job postings in the last 12 months and a projected growth of 11.6% in the next ten years.¹ Depending on past experience, those who complete our program will be qualified for a range of roles, including:

• Associate Product Manager 

• Product Manager

• Product Owner 

• Business Analyst

• Product Operations Manager 

• Senior Product Manager 

• Product Lead

How to become a product manager online

Product managers need to be able to align team goals with stakeholder needs, and oversee the implementation of a product from beginning to end. Through our online boot camp, you will develop the management and communication skills needed to become an efficient product manager. The skills you will gain include:

¹ Burning Glass. (2022). Burning Glass Labor Insight. Retrieved August 8, 2022.