Web Technologies
for Product Managers
Become more technically confident with engineers
4 week intensive program
28th September – 19th October, 2024 (currently in session)
As a manager…
You hear the words ‘pull request’ and ‘continuous integration’ and nod along without fully understanding what on earth your engineering team are talking about.
Sound familiar? No worries.
It’s possible to learn about code, not how to code.
Web technologies explained
for managers
As a product manager or non-technical professional, you’re not expected to be able to write code yourself but you are expected to have an understanding of technology. That puts you in a tricky position where the rest of the business refers to you as the ‘techie’ or the IT person but your engineers can sometimes treat you like a non-technical outsider.
Make sense of APIs, databases and more
You will have a deeper understanding of the whole end to end process, including continuous integration tools and the process of deployment so that you understand terms like jenkins, cucumber, Github, automated testing, BDD and TDD.
Speak with confidence
Get the confidence to speak with your stakeholders about web development technologies in a fluid and concise way so that they understand why projects may take longer than expected. Your job is to have a broad understanding of technology and distill that into easy to understand nuggets of information.We’ll teach you how to do it.
Learn about code, not how to become a programmer
We will help you to understand the bewildering world of HTML, CSS, Javascript, Ruby on Rails and other web development technologies so that you understand the fundamentals involved in bringing your product ideas to life.
Understand the elements of a full stack
You will get a broad understanding of web development fundamentals and coding languages so that you can engage with your engineering team with more confidence. You won’t be an engineer; you’ll be a product manager who knows more about technology.
Want to find out more?
Web Technologies Program
What you’ll learn
Our 4 week intensive program is designed to help you understand the full stack so that you can speak to your stakeholders and engineering team with more confidence. You won’t be an engineer; you’ll be a manager with a deeper understanding of web technologies.
Web fundamentals
Understand servers and clients
Front end coding languages
Backend coding languages
Databases
APIs
System architecture
Git hub and version control
Questions? Check out our FAQs for more information.
Program dates and information
The Web Technologies program is taught live by Department of Product program instructors.
28th September – 19th October, 2024
In addition to the program, all participants also get a full 1 year subscription to the Department of Product members area with exercises, projects and resources to put into practice what you learn.
- Live online
- Price: $949 USD
- Instructor: Chase Nielson, Senior PM and ex-software engineer, Atlassian
Program instructors
Abhishek Bhardwaj
Lead Product Manager, Square
Chase Nielson
Technical Product Manager, Atlassian
Our program instructors have worked at the following companies:
For product people who love to learn
Our approach
Live, friendly class environment
All our programs include live classes taught by our program instructors which give you the chance to ask questions, clarify problems and clearly understand the principles you're being taught throughout the programs. If you miss a class, you can catch up online later in your dashboard.
A personalised experienced
We work with you to help set your goals at the start of our programs and understand what you personally would like to get out of your time with us. We're on hand throughout to ensure you achieve your goals you set and can apply the concepts you've learned in your role.
Skills, not certificates
We believe certificates are a little outdated so we don't place too much emphasis on them. Instead, we focus on creating the best learning materials to help you to acquire practical new skills you can put to use in the real world to achieve outcomes for your product.
Focused on actions and outcomes
Our programs are not for product people who want to sit back and passively listen to content; this is about being actively engaged. We encourage our students to take specific steps and implement them into your daily routine so that you apply what you learn.
Program eligibility
Eligibility
- You are a product manager or professional in full time employment, self-employed or working on a contract basis.
- You have experience working as a product manager or professional
- 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 live classes
- You have access to a location you are comfortable learning remotely from
Fees
$949 USD for Web Technologies Program
Includes full access to the program materials. No hidden extra costs.
Price includes:
- 4 weeks of live classes from our product instructors (5 classes in total)
- 1 year subscription to the Department of Product members area
- Access to all learning materials
- Access to the Department of Product resource library
Members only access
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?
- Be able to build basic web pages using HTML, CSS and jQuery
- Understand the full stack, including your own product's technology stack
- Have working knowledge of GitHub
- Have a deeper understanding of APIs; what they are, how they work and why they are important to your business
- Be able to structure your own SQL queries to pull data from databases
- Have an understanding of the differences between TDD, BDD and automation testing tools
- Feel more confident speaking to both your engineering team and business stakeholders
- Learn how to distill complex technologies into easily digestible smaller chunks and retrieve the information for access later
How much does it cost?
$949 USD. This includes access to all learning materials, 1 year access to the Department of Product resource library and exclusive supporting material from industry leading product leaders.
Do I need any prior working knowledge?
How will I learn the skills outlined in the program?
Our programs are taught by product managers. Our approach is to teach concepts through tangible real examples. You will then be guided on how to implement these into your role as a product manager. This isn’t a program where you sit back, watch a few videos and get a certificate at the end. Instead we encourage you to apply the principles learned to your role through real world applications.
I'm not a Product Manager. Can I still do this program?
Not a product manager? No worries! Our materials are suitable for business professionals too. Project managers, business analysts, program managers, product marketing managers and senior execs will also benefit from a deeper understanding of web technologies.
Will I be an engineer after this?
No. You’ll be knowledgeable about different coding languages, you’ll know how to write basic programs and web pages and you’ll have a deeper understanding of the principles behind web development, but you will by no means be an engineer. This is not for product managers who want to transition from product management into engineering. This is for managers who want to become more confident with the technical aspects of product development and working with engineers.
I’ve tried learning online before. What’s different about this?
This is not just a series of videos and a few worksheets. Our programs are taught live by real product managers. We mix live classes with an emphasis on real world application and recall so that the skills we teach are learned and applied by our students.