ICAgile Product Management Certification (ICP-PDM) Training In Petaling Jaya, Selangor

There is a common misunderstanding that the Product is a thing that is built. The thing that is built is your solution to a customer problem, which is one part of, but not the whole Product. Product managers need to be aware of aspects of the business (e.g., strategy, channels to reach customers, how the business captures value from customers) as those things will impact the Product.

There are many different types of products, and specific teams may be responsible for all or part of a whole product. Introduce different types of products (e.g., hardware, software, service, and experience) and different types of delivery models (e.g., D2C, indirect, marketplace).

Projects are a default way of working for many organizations. Projects get approved, funded, and then assigned budgets, teams, and timelines. Products, on the other hand, are not temporary endeavors. We expect them to continue indefinitely since that demonstrates they are still evolving and delivering value. Switching from projects to products changes the way we approach planning, funding, staffing, and many other elements of work. Explain that projects are not products; projects MAY be a means of funding product development, but the project is never the Product itself.

The product lifecycle covers a product from conception to death. Introduce the common product lifecycle model that covers the complete evolution of a product from conception to removal from service (e.g., Variations on Conceive, Design, Realize, Service or Introduction, Growth, Maturity, Decline). Distinguish between the approach taken when working on a new product vs. extending/maintaining an existing product and how the stage in the lifecycle impacts product management. Example: delivery (can we build this), going to market (how do we take this to the marketplace), operationalizing (customer support, call center, sales, value proposition for customers), optimizing the Product, retiring the Product, and repeating the circle.

The technology adoption curve provides a way to explore different approaches to product management based on the stage in which a product is operating. Explain the technology adoption curve, the importance of crossing the chasm, and how product management differs when targeting customers in different stages of the adoption curve.

It is imperative to know the market to create a successful product. Cover different strategies and tools that help teams learn about and understand the market (e.g., industry, segmentation, pricing, value proposition, market positioning, understanding competitors). Discuss how they can adapt their Product based on what they learn from market research and how the approach to the Product may change.

Product management must align with the mission of the broader organization and go beyond pure financial return. Cover the value and the goals of the Product to the organization (e.g., impact, revenue, market share, cost reduction) and consider how the business's mission and goals can introduce constraints on the Product (e.g., risk, legal and regulatory, compliance, sustainability).

There are many different ways to leverage research to collect and grow ideas, solve existing problems, and discover new opportunities. Introduce different product-related research approaches and their common uses in product management (e.g., data mining, competitive analysis, focus groups, ideation sessions, open innovation programs, and customer feedback portals).

While the ideal state is starting completely from scratch, product management often means building on work already underway. Show how the reality of most environments is inheriting an existing product or legacy applications/services. Explain how the organization probably has a collection of products that are not well aligned or defined and how product management includes responding to that context. The likely situation is not that of a well-funded startup where it may be possible to take a "green fields" approach.

Product management happens within the context of a larger organization ecosystem, and that has an impact on product strategy.

Everyone involved in the making of a product should share a vision. Cover different processes and tools for creating a compelling vision (e.g., storytelling, vivid descriptors, product vision board) and the impact of sharing a vision.

Choosing the right metrics allows us to track the success of a product effectively. Cover a wide variety of metrics (e.g., qualitative and quantitative, OKRs, outputs, outcomes, impacts, vanity metrics, leading & lagging metrics) and the benefits and disadvantages of different approaches. Convey the importance of feedback and the need to shorten feedback cycles to enable rapid innovation.

The best product managers live and breathe their products. There is little about the Product that they do not know. Explain the importance of knowing the Product and how that manifests in the ability to demo to a prospective customer, handle live support inquiries, and speak to its relative state from a business model, ethics, UX, and tech perspective.

Customers and users are whom products serve. We need to truly understand them and their needs. Provide an overview of multiple techniques that can help uncover customers' behavior and needs (e.g., customer relationship management, looking at their behavior vs. asking them, Jobs to Be Done, contextual inquiry), focusing on the pros/cons of each and when to use them. Provide an overview of the various ways to communicate assumptions and understandings about customers (e.g., empathy maps, personas), focusing on why and when these are used.

There will be many sources of ideas within the scope of a single product. Product management includes collecting, reviewing, and assessing these ideas. Explain how product management includes collecting, triaging, and prioritizing ideas. One of the key skills of product management is knowing why to say yes and when to say no. Cover multiple approaches for idea filtering.

It's important for product roadmaps to be aligned to outcomes. This requires a shift from a feature roadmap to an outcome-oriented roadmap. Outcome-oriented roadmaps help create the context for everyone involved with the Product. Introduce a range of outcome-oriented planning approaches (e.g., user story mapping) to create a product roadmap and show how these allow adaptation based on feedback.

There are many different approaches to defining what can and will be built into a product. Provide an overview of why and when to use different approaches (e.g., design thinking, human-centered design, service design, lean startup, build measure learn).

Rapid learning is a key competency in the uncertain world of product discovery. Designing good experiments (e.g., framing hypotheses, making them measurable, and testing for customer behavior) is imperative to maximize learning.

Product management includes collecting, assessing, deciding, and responding to feedback as appropriate. Explain the importance of keeping a pulse on the market, capturing feedback, choosing if/how to respond to feedback, and responding to feedback. Deciding if/ how to respond is often more critical than simply responding (e.g., true customer centricity is not responding by just giving the customer what they ask for).

As the Product moves through the product lifecycle, the structure and composition of the product team will evolve. Show how products in different stages of their lifecycle need different competencies and approaches from the team members. Identify and address common pitfalls and anti-patterns (e.g., BAU team where products go to get neglected, mercenary teams, and the silo structure). Cover the transition from launch to operations.

As products become more complex, there is a need to bring in structures to support scaling and partitioning the work without impacting the ability to adapt and respond to market changes. Slicing the Product should focus on value and not only on analytical or technology-driven approaches. Introduce ways to partition a product optimized for value delivery as opposed to execution.