Topic outline

  • Course logistics, goals & grading

    Basics of taking and completing the course
    • The course is open for all, but assumes familiarity with business concepts, especially related to business development
    • The course consists of 12 lectures and 6 weekly assignments
    • Lectures are on Tuesdays and Fridays 12.15-14.00, at campus (except the first lecture on Monday Sept 5th). Lectures are recorded and available in MyCourses also for later viewing.
    • Assignments become available on Mondays of each week, and the DL is the following Monday
    • You can reach course personnel through tu-ev0009@aalto.fi
    • Key reading are: 
      • Perri, Melissa. Escaping the Build Trap : How Effective Product Management Creates Real Value . First edition. Beijing: O’Reilly, 2019. Available online in Aalto
      • Cagan, Marty. Inspired : How the Best Companies Create Technology-Powered Products and Services . Second edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley, 2018. Available online in Aalto

    Goals

    The course is designed as an introduction to product management to aspiring founders, to those that have interest in exploring a career in PM, and to those looking to work in growth companies in a role overlapping with product management, such as software development, design, business development or marketing. 

    Learning objectives: The course provides an introduction to the product leadership in software startups / scaleup firms. After the course, student is able to 

    • Identify the domain of product management and how it relates it to design, business development, product development, and other connected domains 
    • Understand how product management - both as a function and as a professional role - contributes to the integration of customer needs, business development, and product development in a growth-oriented technology company
    • Understand how the three key areas (customer, business, development) vary in different business models and at different stages of growth, and how it affects the role of product management
    • Identify and use the key concepts of product management
    Prerequisites: The course is targeted to MSc-level and advanced BSc-level student with basic familiarity business and management, e.g. BSc-level minor in Industrial Engineering & Management.


    Grading system

    The course is graded on a scale of 0-5. Grading is based on points: Each lecture attendance (or later viewing) equals one point, each completed assignment equals two points (or less, if late or iterated). It takes 12 points (50% of all) to pass with grade of 1, 23+ points equals grade 5.

    • Each lecture equals one point. A lecture is counted as attended if you are either present on the online lecture or view the recording of the lecture afterwards through Panopto. Verifying the attendance (zoom or recording) is based on logs. We do not sum up participation and viewings for one lecture from different sources, so make sure that either one you use, you follow it through.
    • Each assignment equals two points. Each completed assignment, submitted successfully and in time, awards two points. If the initial submission is not of sufficient quality, you'll have until Friday of the same week to revise your submission. The revised submission is evaluated with points 0, 1 or 2, depending on the quality. If you submit late, the maximum points available that week is one (with no possibility to resubmit if failed).

    The points from lectures and assignments count towards a grade. Maximum number of points is 24 and to pass with grade 1, you need 12 points. The grading is based the following scale:

    Grade   Points needed

      1                12-14

      2                15-17

      3                18-20

      4                21-22

      5                23-24


    Including the course in studies/programs

    The course can be selected as part of the elective studies to any Aalto student, but also part of the major/track in the following programs:

    • Product Management Minor: Course is an alternative for the broader TU-5040 Product Management
    • Information networks (MSc & BSc): Course can be included in the major/track as an optional course.
    • Industrial Engineering and Management (MSc): Course can be included in the major as an optional course (note the overlap with TU-5040)
    • Software and Service Engineering / CCIS (MSc): Course can be included in the major 
    • Information and Service Management (MSc): Course can be included to optional courses

    Others: If you have a good case of why this course should be part of your major / track, let us know. We can help!



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Week 1: Products and people around them