A new online Product Management training course

The SPRINT program is a 4-week cohort-based course teaching you the basic theory of Product Management, paired with accountability to actually crafting your own PM Product Spec or PRD. It blends both async content as well as live independent work.

This new Product Management training course intimates students with the essentials of Product Management, while helping them go beyond the theory by growing a community in tech, and showcasing real product credibility.

You'll get to do the initial ideation, brainstorm problem spaces, and speak to real users. You'll then take all those tangible learnings and document it all... and get your strategy and product proposal reviewed by industry Product Managers.

Pair that with live sessions and fireside chats from industry experts... and that makes SPRINT an excellent opportunity for all who have struggled to learn Product Management in isolation, or for those afraid to take the plunge into Product Management because they do not wish to learn by themselves. 

Here at Co.Lab, we advocate for hands-on learning. We’ve spoken time and time again about why we consider this form of learning to be the best, especially when it comes to Product Management. Articles or watching a few videos alone simply is not enough.

It was with this ethos that our 8-week team-based Product Management Bootcamp was built, and we've now adopted those same principals to the 4-week SPRINT program for aspiring Product Managers.

‍

Who is the SPRINT program for?

Complete Beginners: You've heard about Product Management but don't know where to begin? Co.Lab's Ideation Sprint is open to anyone, regardless of where you are in the world, your age, or your background. Learn PM fundamentals and go beyond the theory with us!

Junior PMs or APMs: Already in Product Management? Take your ideation, research, and spec skills to the next level, while meeting new peers and building key relationships.

Hands-on Learners: You're not looking for a step-by-step article or another video to watch on your own. You want to roll up your sleeves, speak to actual users, and learn Product strategy with a community of like-minded peers.That's what you'll get here. If all you want are video lectures and don't want to have to do any additional reading, research and execution ... this is likely not the right program for you.

‍

Team-based Bootcamp vs PM Ideation Sprint

If you're familiar with the Co.Lab Product Management Bootcamp, you might wonder what the difference is between the Bootcamp and the new Ideation Sprint PM course.

The Co.Lab PM Bootcamp is an 8-week team-based experience that requires anywhere from 15-20 hours per week. The SPRINT program is a 4-week solo & peer-learning experience (for Product Managers only!) with an estimated weekly workload of around 5 hours.

With the PM Bootcamp, Product Management students have an extremely accelerated experience when it comes to ideation, initial research and strategy. The core focus is on building out an MVP with a cross-functional team, and supporting the design and dev team in getting that done.

The SPRINT program differs here, by allowing more time to focus strictly on the fundamentals of Product Management... and especially the actionable parts of it. You'll have content on how to conduct user interviews, how to draw out user needs, write a spec - but the key part of the SPRINT program that sets it apart from other courses is that you'll focus on learning by doing.

It's this mechanism of accountability and taking action, and the SPRINT program is aimed to support you as you build your skills and your credibility online.

You'll leave SPRINT with a completed spec and published PM Portfolio of your own... which means you're in a prime position to now start trying to build with a cross-functional team. It's an excellent pathway that prepares you for the full 8-week Co.Lab PM Bootcamp experience if you choose to pursue it! 

What’s our mission with this new Product Management course?

Our goal here is to have you step into the role of a Product Manager, while equipping you with information on best practices in today’s changing landscape. We want to build your ability to come up with valuable problems and understand the process to validate your ideas. And we want to support you on doing that while building in public, and growing your tech community.

By the time you conclude the course, you should have preliminary knowledge in conducting real user interviews, discovering and documenting new product opportunities, and forming working relationships at depth with peers, community members and industry professionals.

The key though, is that we want to instill confidence. We want you to leave with knowing that you tried your best to get things done, and that's one of the biggest skills that a Product Manager (aspiring or not!) can have.

Want to learn more about the Product Management Ideation Sprint course? Check out the main page here to download the syllabus, or just apply now for an upcoming cohort!