Many of us are spending more time at home than ever before. If you’d like to use some of that time to build up your product management skills, we’ve gathered a few of the most popular e-learning courses for PMs into the list below. Each is geared toward helping you be the best product person you can be.
Coursera
Digital Product Management: Modern Fundamentals
Level: Beginner
Description: Offered by the University of Virginia, this four-week course tackles the basics of digital transformation through the lens of product. Instructor Alex Cowan will take you through the methods used by modern product professionals to explore product ideas, manage feedback, and understand user motivation. The class is also part of Coursera’s Digital Product Management Specialization, so the learning doesn’t need to stop once you’ve completed this initial course.
Managing Innovation and Design Thinking
Level: Beginner
Description: Get ready to take a deep dive into the fundamentals of design thinking and how it impacts product (and business) strategy. This online specialization consists of four courses: Boosting Creativity for Innovation, Strategic Management of Innovation, Organizational Design and Management, and Design Thinking. By the end of all four, you’ll have built your own product or service prototype and gained a thorough understanding of how to encourage innovation on your team.
Running Product Design Sprints
Level: Intermediate
Description: Ready to embrace the design sprint methodology to deliver quick iteration and improvements? In this nine-hour course, you’ll learn how to conduct effective design sprints, test and implement feedback, and get at the core of what your customers really want out of your product.
Udemy
The Complete Product Management Course
Level: Beginner
Description: If you’re looking for a top-to-bottom overview of all things product management, this is the course for you. But it doesn’t just cover the basics. Instructor Charles Du teaches hands-on skills, including how to use tools like Axure and Pivotal Tracker. You’ll also explore real-world case studies from companies like Apple, Zappos, and Google.
Advanced Product Management: Vision, Strategy & Metrics
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Description: How do you set a vision for your product, and what steps do you need to take to make that vision come to life? This course shows you how to chart your product’s strategy and identify those metrics that will let you measure success. You’ll learn how to design cohort analyses, debug metrics, and run t-tests on cohort data.
Advanced Product Management: Leadership & Communication
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Description: Don’t overlook the importance of strong communication skills when it comes to product management. The most effective product leaders know how to clearly communicate their needs and expectations, both through written and spoken channels. This course will show you how to lead through influence, persuasion, and empathy.
Udacity
Product Manager Interview Preparation
Level: Any
Description: Looking to move into the next stage of your product career? This course will teach you the skills necessary for nailing your upcoming PM interview. You’ll discover best practices for prep and research, watch and analyze mock interviews, and go through practice questions you’re likely to encounter. As a bonus, enrollment is completely free.
Activation and Retention Strategy
Level: Intermediate
Description: Learn how to guide your users to your product’s “a-ha moment” faster. This course, which is part of Udacity’s Growth Product Manager Nanodegree program, will show you how to drive customer engagement, analyze user cohorts, and conduct experiments aimed at identifying the key factors affecting retention and lifetime value.
Applying Data Science to Product Management
Level: Advanced
Description: Being data-driven is a must in today’s product management world. This course will help you put the “data-driven” label into practice. Instructor JJ Miclat of Zendesk will demonstrate how to model data, select the best visualization(s) for your analysis, and use data to inform your product strategy. As your final project, you’ll create a data-informed launch plan for a flying taxi car company.
EdX
Product Management Fundamentals
Level: Beginner
Description: This is a great course for those new to the PM field or looking to break into it. You’ll explore the core competencies every product professional needs to have, learn about the day-to-day responsibilities of the typical PM, and discuss how product fits in with other departments within the organization.
Modern Product Leadership
Level: Intermediate
Description: Product management is not an easy job. To be successful in the role, a PM needs to exhibit strong leadership skills and be willing to collaborate with other groups to drive the product forward. In this course, you’ll learn how to empower your team, hire for the right skills, and manage conflict.
Product Management with Lean, Agile and System Design Thinking
Level: Advanced
Description: Geared toward more experienced product managers, this course examines the various frameworks used by product and engineering teams to organize tasks and workflows. You’ll learn about the pros and cons of agile, waterfall, and lean methodologies, how to build a go-to-market strategy, and address business risks.
Happy learning!
