TU-EV00034 - Principles of Product Management, Independent study, 22.4.2024-31.5.2024

Basics of taking and completing the course

• The course has a limited intake, but given that there's space, it is open to all.
• The course assumes familiarity with business concepts, especially those related to business development. E.g. BSc level minor in Industrial Engineering and Management or similar is recommended.
• Lectures for the week are published on Mondays and can be studied at your weekly schedule.
• Assignments and weekly feedback quizzes become available on Mondays of each week, and the DL is the following Monday. Grading for the assignments is aimed to be finished three days after the deadline the latest yet the right for changes is reserved for the course staff.
• You can reach course personnel through firstname.lastname@aalto.fi
• The core readings 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 who have an 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 product leadership in software startups/scaleup firms. After the course, the student is able to 

• Identify the domain of product management and how it relates to design, business development, product development, and other connected domains
  
• Understand how product management contributes to the integration of customer needs, business development, and product development in a growth-oriented technology company
• Understand how product management varies in different business models, at different stages of growth
• Identify the key elements and alternatives in organization design in terms of organizing the product management as a function
• Use basic frameworks to structure customer needs, business requirements, and product development
  
• Relate the growth-oriented product management model to other types of product management
  

Prerequisites: The course is targeted to MSc-level and advanced BSc-level students with basic familiarity with business and management, e.g. BSc-level minor in Industrial Engineering & Management.

Grading System

The course is graded on a scale of 0-5. The grading is based on the quality of the assignments and demonstrated understanding of the learning objectives. All assignments are independent work.

• Weekly assignments:  28 points. Each completed weekly assignment, submitted successfully and in time can be revised until Friday of the same week after receiving a grade. Please see the weekly assignments for more details about submissions and grading.
• Excursion Bonus: 2 points. Possibility to gain two extra credit points by attending a self-chosen excursion. Please see the Excursions page after Weekly assignments for further details.
• Weekly Feedback Quizzes: Not graded. They serve as a prerequisite to unlock next week's topics.

The points from each category count towards a grade. Maximum number of points is 28(+2). To pass the course, you need in total of 12 points. The points are converted to a grade with the following scale:

Grades and Points

Grade	Points
1	12-14
2	15-17
3	18-20
4	21-24
5	25-28

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:

• Industrial Engineering and Management (MSc), Product and Innovation Management -major: Course is a required part of the major
• Product Management Minor: Course is a required part of the minor
• Information networks (MSc & BSc): Course can be included in the major/track as an optional course.
• 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 a product management course should be part of your major / track, let us know. We can help!