PRODUCT
Mastery
5 week intensive program
New dates will be announced soon.
Master your Product Skills
Develop a strategy that impresses
Product strategy is confusing. You may have been tasked with developing your upcoming quarterly strategy but not know where to start. Using the Department of Product’s own strategy canvas, you’ll learn what questions you should be asking in order to uncover the strengths of your business and make your competition irrelevant.
Communicate confidently
Building products doesn’t happen in isolation. With a never ending stream of requests from stakeholders, it’s rare that everyone will ever be happy with the strategic decisions you make. But we’ll explore some of the most powerful frameworks and techniques you can use to secure stakeholder alignment – and deal effectively with disagreements.
Translate your strategy into a clear roadmap
Strategic decision making is one thing, translating your strategic decisions into a clear roadmap is another. Understanding the difference between your roadmap and strategy is essential. During the product mastery program you’ll craft your strategy and your roadmap which aligns with your strategic decisions.
Unlock new commercial opportunities
Product management isn’t just about creating a product that delights customers. Ultimately, all products are businesses, and product managers are expected to know how to create delightful experiences in difficult to copy, margin enhancing ways. You’ll explore ways to do this for your own product.
The Product Mastery process
Program instructor
Sean Jackson
Director of Product, Audible
Sean Jackson has been building digital products for a decade. Currently, he leads the Web Platform at Audible. Prior to Audible, Sean spent 8 years in the startup world where he founded and led early-stage ventures in GovTech and Enterprise Collaboration in Detroit.
Program dates and information
New dates for 2023 TBC
- Location: Online
- Instructor: Sean Jackson, Director of Product at Audible (Amazon)
- Fees: $1,299 USD
- Availability: New dates for 2023 TBC
Product Mastery Program
What you’ll learn
The Product Mastery program is the Department of Product’s flagship product management course, designed for product managers to master the essential skills of product management.
Strategy development
Strategy execution
Product roadmaps
Communication skills
Product market fit
Choosing metrics that matter
Essential business skills
Alignment and execution
With your strategy and roadmap completed, you’ll focus on aligning with stakeholders to get buy in for your strategy.
Portfolio showcase
In this final week of the program, you, your instructor and peers will share some elements of your strategy and roadmap with the wider group.
For product people who love to learn
Our approach
Live classes
All our programs include live classes taught by our program leads which give you the chance to ask questions, clarify problems and clearly understand the principles you’re being taught throughout the program.
If you miss a class, you can catch up online later in your dashboard.
Skills not certificates
Certificates are a little outdated and our research shows most hiring managers don’t care about them. Instead, we focus on skill acquisition.
You’ll dive straight into the details through lessons and practical live practical exercises designed to help you acquire new skills which you can put into practice in your role.
Practical application
We don’t believe in passively consuming content. Instead, we encourage all participants to practically apply the concepts taught in their day to day role.
You’ll start creating your project portfolio from day one and by the end of the program you’ll have a strategic deck to use for your product.
If you miss a live class, simply catch up in your own time with live class recordings. A 1 year subscription Department of Product members area is also included.
Program eligibility
Our community is proudly for product and technology professionals. To apply to take part in Department of Product programs you must meet the following requirements. All information submitted will be treated in confidence.
Eligibility
- You are a product management or professional in full time employment, self-employed or working on a contract basis.
- You have experience working as a product manager or professional that can be demonstrated through either a portfolio or a LinkedIn profile upon request.
- You have a strong desire and commitment to learning new skills.
- You are over the age of 18
- You have access to a high speed internet connection which can be used to stream video
- You have access to a location you are comfortable learning remotely from
Fees
$1,299 USD for Product Mastery Program
Includes full access to the program materials. No hidden extra costs.
Price includes:
- 5 weeks of live classes from our product instructors
- 1 year subscription to the Department of Product members area
- Access to all learning materials
- Access to the Department of Product resource library
- Exclusive supporting material from industry leading product leaders
Who should take part?
Product Managers
Become more confident speaking to stakeholders and your engineering teams about your product roadmap. Apply practical skills in your day to day role as a product manager including how to conduct experiments that matter and how to develop a unique strategy for your product.
Senior / Heads of Product
Build a powerful, clear and coherent strategy for your product. Unlock your ability to create and curate product ideas to build and deliver truly creative and innovative products. Strengthen your existing product knowledge and broaden your skillset to include essential business skills and strategy creation.
Exclusive members area
All participants get a 1 year membership to Department of Product’s members only content
Continue your journey online with materials, exercises, articles and projects to put into practice the skills and knowledge you acquire over the 5 weeks.
What previous participants say
"I did the General Assembly course on Product Management, but it didn't cover the technical side of product management and I didn't really know where to start.
The program gave me a broad overview of the key technologies used in building digital products from a product management perspective. I particularly liked the practical exercises with front end technologies (HTML, CSS and Javascript), as well as learning about APIs. I’d definitely recommend it to other product managers who want to learn more about the technical side of product management."
Joe Thornton, Product Manager
Web Technologies Program
"I really enjoyed the Web Technologies program. You've done an excellent job of distilling the information that is most important to product managers into a very digestible format. I've already begun applying some of the resources you provided and they've been very helpful."
Kevin Grommersch, Product Manager
Web Technologies Program
“I was delighted to discover The Department of Product’s Web Tech course, and enjoyed it so much that I also completed the Product Mastery course as well!
Both courses are outstanding, and focused on: a) what you critically need to know as a PM, so your time is well spent and b) implications of product strategy and technology (i.e. great module on APIs, both the ‘why’ and ‘how’). These courses are a MUST for any PM, at any stage of their career.”
Sreten John Gajic, Head of Product
Web Technologies and Product Mastery Programs
“As someone who’s been working in product management for just under 2 years, I was initially worried that the content of the course would be a bit too introductory to me.
I liked how well structured the course was. Every topic built upon the previous topics, which made it very easy to follow and understand. It was also really great that all the material was available at any given time for self-learning/review.
I would highly recommend the program to those interested in product management, specifically with web technologies. The course covers a lot of ground and the attention-to-detail & experience that Jason & Richard provide are second to none.”
Matt Tse, Product Manager, Atlassian
Web Technologies Program
"After a friend (Director of Product) kindly listened to my deep insecurities around engineering + tech, she nudged me toward Department of Product Web Technologies. Jason and Richard make the content accessible by making it conversational. They share tons of practical insights throughout the course that I was able to flex as a PM immediately.
If you are uncertain about APIs, Databases, Javascript or any other web technology, but you have an inkling you should know more about as a PM, this is for you. The confidence that comes from this tactical course makes it worth the investment."
Kathleen Fred Cunningham
Web Technologies Program
"This is one of the best online courses I've taken, and I would recommend this course to any product manager who wants to dramatically increase their understanding of web technologies in a short amount of time."
Connor, Product Manager
Web Technologies and Product Mastery Program
"I wanted to say thanks. You have an outstanding program in both the Product Mastery and Web Technologies. I was skeptical at first because there are so many programs out there offering very basic stuff you can find in a book. But I'm impressed with your level of content and real world experiences."
Phil, Senior Product Manager
Web Technologies and Product Mastery Programs
"I wanted to thank you guys for a job well done. I had a chance to have a chat with two engineers this past weekend and I totally understood and contributed to the conversation."
Jason Ludvig, Product Manager
Web Technologies Program
"Yesterday, I received a job offer for a product management position here in San Francisco, and I couldn't have done it without you guys. Getting familiar with the back-end stuff especially helped me a lot during the interview."
Stefan Dunjic, Product Manager
Web Technologies Program
What people are saying
Phenomenal article explaining APIs. Everything you need to know about a RESTful APIs. #API https://t.co/ah6ilgTvou
— Tina Bean (@TinaMBean) January 25, 2017
SQL Skills for Product Managers | Outstanding must-read post from Richard Holmes #prodmgmt https://t.co/tZA80S0GbU pic.twitter.com/sOjwWQS4qx
— Paul J (@pivotservices) May 9, 2017
This is great stuff... https://t.co/WVyNsp4kXM
— NSJ (@lansaja) January 21, 2017
Probably the best article ever about getting up to speed with SQL as a PM: https://t.co/dGpciks40H from @Deptofproduct
— Octavia Hirst (@tavihirst) May 22, 2017
APIs Explained for Product Managers via @jeanettesuh https://t.co/HzWZ7wyDgn pic.twitter.com/Nyuaf1fndL
— Andrew Chen (@andrewchen) January 24, 2017
This is excellent: APIs Explained for Product Managers https://t.co/v5e4CE8DtO via @sjohnson717 #prodmgmt
— Matt Anderson (@MattAndersonUT) January 10, 2017
Frequently asked questions
What can I expect to accomplish by the end of this program?
By the end of the program you’ll have created a clear product strategy which differentiates your product offering, identified competitive advantages and put together a plan to align with stakeholders and execute on your vision. Your project portfolio will give you tangible assets you can use in your real world role as a PM.
How much does it cost?
$1,299 USD. This includes the live classes and 1 year's access to our members area including lessons, exercises, practical projects and access to the Department of Product resource library.
Do I need any prior working knowledge?
We would expect you to be a product manager or business professional working in a relevant industry. This program is designed for product managers or similar functions who want to learn about developing successful product strategies, roadmaps and agile product development skills.
Who teaches the program?
Department of Product instructors are product people from top product companies. Instructors for each cohort are confirmed before the start of each program.
How will I learn the skills outlined in the program?
Our programs are taught live online by product instructors, giving you the opportunity to ask questions in real time. Every week, each class will cover a new topic and you’ll be set practical exercises to put into practice the topics you learn.