Module 2: Product Management Execution
Product Management
"I loved the way the UC Berkeley Product Management program combined business theory with absolutely practical material I now use day to day at work. I brought back notes for my team and we immediately used Professor Sara Beckman's ethnographic market segmentation techniques in market research for a new product."
Bryan Bleil, Senior Director of Product Development, LeapFrog
Market Research
Successful and profitable product development depends on using the right tools to ask and answer the right questions. Regardless of whether research is conducted in-house or outsourced, Product Managers need to know how to use market research effectively. In this session, participants will:
- Evaluate and select appropriate methods of data gathering and research (including interviews with potential customers, focus groups, surveys, and secondary research)
- Study both qualitative and quantitative research techniques
- Discover when and how to hire an external research firm
- Learn how to perform market research and analyze data with a minimal budget
As a result of this program, participants should be able to decide when to conduct market research, what research to conduct and how to conduct it, how to analyze the data collected, and how to draw actionable conclusions from the analyses.
Customer Focused Design
Customers buy products that fulfill specific needs. Therefore, it is vital to understand customers’ needs to ensure they are reflected in the product. And it is necessary to market products in a way that clearly shows how customer needs will be fulfilled. In this session, participants will learn to:
- Analyze and use data to make product decisions
- Write market requirements documents (MRD’s) and product requirements documents (PRD’s) that clearly and effectively communicate customer requirements to the product development team
New Product Design Video
Participants will watch a video case study of a company that uses very creative processes and customer observation to redesign an existing product. Discussion will focus on the benefits of the methodology used and how a similar exercise might be applied to the participants' companies.
Leading Teams
Every Product Management professional needs team leadership skills in order to successfully work with R&D, Engineering, Marketing, Sales, and other functions that comprise a product team. This session will take participants through an interactive group exercise that puts their leadership skills to the test. Groups will debrief the exercise and discuss strategies for successfully leading product teams within their own companies.
Managing Without Authority: Getting the most out of cross-functional teams
In order to meet their objectives, Product Managers must gain the commitment and cooperation of individuals outside their sphere of organizational authority. This session offers participants an opportunity to improve their influencing skills, especially in situations where they have no positional authority. In this session participants will learn to:
- Understand the motivations of the various constituents of the product team and use this understanding to work more effectively with each member of the team
- Analyze how organizational structure and culture impacts the ability to influence others
- Identify their preferred style of influencing others and determine the effectiveness of that style
- Create negotiation and communication plans
- Focus their team on achieving results
- Resolve performance problems and keep projects on track despite the challenges that inevitably arise
Negotiations for Product Managers
While Product Managers need analytical skills to discover optimal solutions to problems, they also need a broad array of negotiation and communication skills in order to get these solutions accepted and implemented. The session will enable participants to manage conflict and negotiate effectively in both collaborative and competitive situations. Participants will develop these skills experientially through a negotiation simulation exercise. In this session participants will learn:
- How to prepare for a negotiation
- Specific techniques for creating value ("expanding the pie") and dividing value ("claiming value")
- Strategies to develop trust, gather information and build relationships to enhance negotiation power
- Tactics to manage conflict, de-escalate conflict situations and manage people with different personalities and communication styles ("difficult people")
During the negotiation simulation exercise, specific behavior and performance feedback will be given, allowing participants the opportunity to polish their negotiation skills.
Contact Details
To inquire about our corporate offer or register more than one person from your organization, or should you have any questions, please contact:
Tom Peterson
+1.510.643.0476
tom_peterson@haas.berkeley.edu
Anita Anderson
Program Affiliate
+1.415.309.0939
anita_anderson@haas.berkeley.edu
