Introduction To Product Management
Session I - Thursday, December 6 from 8 - 9:30 pm
Session II -  Tuesday, December 11 from 8 - 9:30 pm
Session III-  Thursday, December 13 from 8 - 9:30 pm
Session IV -  Tuesday December 18 from 8 - 9:30 pm
Session V -  Thursday, December 20 from 8 - 9:30 pm
Jason Schwartz, Founder, Matchbook

"I have a great idea, now all I need is a technical co-founder!"

Sound familiar? The first step in turning your vision into a reality is to become a Product Manager. Saying, "All I need is a technical co-founder" is a bit like saying, "I want to construct a building from the ground up and all I need is a construction crew". There is a huge amount of work between the idea stage and the coding stage, and this course will help you understand what needs to be accomplished.

You will learn the best practices for navigating the product development process. We will start with tools to evaluate the viability of early ideas, and culminate in a step by step description of the product development process.

Session I - [Is Your Idea Worth Pursuing?] (12/6)

• Break down an idea into its primary parts and assess the viability of those parts
• Test assumptions and gather supporting data
• Learn general rules for what works and what doesn’t

Session II - [What Features Should Your Product Have?] (12/11)

• Learn why it’s so important to have a minimum viable product and decide its basic feature set
• Learn which features belong and make clear decisions about what to leave out
• ID and profile potential users using focus groups, usability testing, analytics and more

Session III - [How Product is Built] (12/13)

• High level overview of building software
• Learn the various skills and resources required: product, UX, design, development, etc
• See what to expect from each role and who should fill it

Session IV - [Creating a Product Spec] (12/18)

• Learn to deliver an effective product spec, including how the spec and wireframes work together
• Through case studies and best practices, learn the appropriate level of detail a spec requires

Session V - [Metrics For Product Managers] (12/20)

• Use metrics to inform future iterations
• Build tailored measurement tools for your product
• Learn which tools to use, what to track and ensure those numbers are accurate
• Students should bring a laptop with Excel to this session

Level Prerequisites:
This is a beginner course for first time software product managers.

Preparation: None.

Jason Schwartz is the founder of Matchbook, an iPhone app for remembering restaurants. Matchbook has been repeatedly featured by Apple, so you're in good hands. He has taught his Intro To Product Management class to hundreds of students as well as to companies like MTV and the Warner Music Group. He regularly consults with startups on metrics.

Questions? Check out our FAQs <http://generalassemb.ly/faq/>.

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Our Refund Policy: Plans change? We get it. But if you can't make it to a class/workshop, please email us at classes@generalassemb.ly at least 5 days before the scheduled event date. No refunds will be given after this timeframe.