At a glance:

Duration: 1-Day

Who is this for: Working product managers with ~6 months to 1.5 years in the role

Key skills learned: Design thinking practice, customer discovery, user interviews, backlog creation and management, core team communication, confidence building

Frameworks covered: Personas, wireframes & prototypes, interview guides, lean testing, user stories, retrospectives

Training Workshop Overview
The role of a product manager is a complicated one, that changes and shifts, depending on the product, team, organisation, and PM themselves. A myriad of skills, at all points of the product development lifecycle, all seem equally important and urgent. As new product managers enter the role, it’s difficult to understand what to focus on first, and how to begin the path towards mastering the skills and craft of product management. How can PMs be assured that they are focusing on the right skills?

Foundations is a survey course that attempts to clarify and define the aspects of the role that a new product manager should tackle first. Focused specifically on core team practice and methods that drive the delivery of value to customers, this course offers overviews and definitions of the theories and mindsets that drive the core elements of the product role. Once certain theories are explored, the course deep-dives into specific skills and processes that allow PMs to effectively run a team dedicated to continuous learning and delivery.

You can find more information about the Foundations workshop on our website.

What we’ll cover on the day
Product Management Foundations is a full-day workshop that is comprised of nine modules. Each module includes a lecture component on theory and practice, interspersed with up to three hands-on activities. This ensures that you are afforded an opportunity to apply and work with concepts in a setting that will answer questions and facilitate critical thinking. The following modules will be covered:

Learning mindsets: How inquiry breaks down at different points through the product development lifecycle

Goals alignment: How to create effective goals and align the team and organization around them

Design thinking: What design thinking is and how product managers can break down what is needed for product understanding

Persona development: How to effectively create personas and use them in product processes

Lean testing: Unpacking types of lean tests and how to implement them for maximum learning

Interview guides: Writing interview guides that do not bias or lead the subject

Wireframes and prototypes: Using visuals at different fidelities to facilitate the right conversation

User stories: Creating an effective communication mechanism for efficient and transparent delivery

Core team communication: How to think about “culture as product” and foster a team that that is geared towards continuous improvement

Things to reflect on before the workshop
Before your training workshop we ask that you take some time to consider the following questions. The more time you take to consider your current situation, and the issues and challenges you face, the more you’ll gain from your training:

What was your role described to you when you first got started?

What have you learned about product management since taking the job?

How well do you feel you understand your customers?

Do you think you have a healthy team culture?

Key Takeaways
At the end of the workshop, you will be confident in your understanding of the role of a product manager, including a firm grasp of the concept of design thinking and how it is important. You’ll have a clear understanding of where the customer sits in the product practice, how to define and prioritise your customer personas, and how not to bias your customer research. You’ll go back to the office feeling confident in your ability to facilitate a goals conversation, and how to structure hypothesis for lean tests.

Mind the Product Trainers
Every Mind the Product trainer is a working product manager who has worked with multiple products and domains. Your trainer’s product management experience enriches the curriculum by delivering diverse perspectives on best practice in different scenarios. You will hear about the products they have worked on in the past, what went well, what didn’t go so well, and how they tried to make improvements. Our trainers’ main goal is not to provide participants with all of the answers, but help facilitate them in asking the right questions.

Chris Ivester, Agile Product Leader

Chris has spent the last six years working product roles within fast-paced startups. His experience ranges from seed round startups still exploring product-market fit to launching and leading a startup within a publicly traded company.

Chris strives to build teams that have a profound understanding of their customers and the problem domain in which they perform their daily work. Furthermore, Chris coaches his teams to fail fast and iterate quickly using lightweight data-driven experiments.

Chris co-organizes the local ProductTank chapter and is active in the local Austin product community.

Agenda
Registration will begin at 9.00

Class will start at 9.30 sharp and end at 5.00

We’ll also provide a light breakfast, buffet lunch and plenty of tea and coffee to fuel you through the day.

Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change the name or other details on my tickets?
Yes, but only the person who purchased the ticket can make these changes on Eventbrite. You are free to change your ticket details up to two days before the event, including name, title, etc. Please make sure these details are correct as they will be what we show on your badge! Just login to Eventbrite and make the changes, following these instructions. If you can’t reach the person who purchased the ticket in order to get them to change the information please contact us on tickets@mindtheproduct.com and we will help you make the updates.

Can I get a refund?
We offer a full refund up to one month before the event. Simply log in to Eventbrite and request the refund following these instructions. As with changes, only the person who purchased the tickets can request a refund.

Can I pay by invoice?
As we are a small team we only offer payment by invoice if you are buying 5 tickets or more due to the additional overhead. Early Bird conference tickets cannot be purchased by invoice. Please also note that no tickets are held/issued until payment of the invoice has been received. Request to pay by invoice by emailing tickets@mindtheproduct.com

Tickets are not held until payment has been made – there are no exceptions to this.
We cannot agree to any terms and conditions associated with Purchase Order numbers or other supplier agreements.
We do not fill in supplier detail forms for ticket invoices – if you cannot find details you require on our website – please ask.