Authors: Frank Anderson Jay Sella
Last Updated: 7 August, 2023
“Life can be so much broader, once you discover one simple fact, and that is that everything around you that you call 'life' was made up by people who were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.”
Computer Science does not only have direct applications to being a programmer. To build any product over a certain size, you need to work with a team.
Many students have the notion that group work is a waste of time and energy. However, companies all over the world (that all of you will work for on co-op and after graduation) know that figuring out how to work together is of paramount importance to increase productivity. This module will teach you the two most popular industry approaches to product management. A technical understanding of computing makes you well-prepared to lead teams of engineers… from the start of a project to the finish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk-JwtScIlw
Product management is the business process of planning, developing, launching, and managing a product or service. It includes the entire lifecycle of a product, from ideation to development to launch. Software products need not only developers to build them, but also managers to direct the teams to help them work together so they can build the best, most useful product.
Before we discuss how products are made, let’s discuss what products are and how users compare them.
Products are goods or services that you sell to users. It could be an application, a physical good, or service. For example, when you eat at a restaurant, their product is the whole dining experience (the food, the drinks, the vibes, the service).
Users are anybody who makes use of your product to complete a task. It could be an accountant using your finance software to complete analysis, a chef using your shopping list app to buy groceries for their restaurant, or a high school student playing your video game to relax. When choosing to use your product, users compare your product to alternatives.
Fundamentally, users are comparing the “value” your product provides compared to alternatives. Value is the measure of how well the product helps them complete their goals.