MTAT.03.325 Software Product Management
Coordinator: Fredrik Milani (milani ät ut . ee)
Objective
The objective of this course is to provide students with the foundational knowledge required to successfully manage digital products. By the end of this course, students will be able to design a business model for a digital product, elicit user needs, consider relevant aspects of user experience, elicit requirements and prioritize them to define the minimum viable product. The course also introduces methods for conducting user testing of digital products, managing risks, and defining the future evolution of the digital product (roadmap). Finally, the students will learn about how to use metrics to assess the success and financial viability of digital products. The course is well suited for students who seek to gain a fundamental understanding of digital product management or who wish to pursue a career as a product manager. On successful completion of this course, students will:
- Describe, analyze, and develop a business model for a digital product
- Apply different ideation techniques for product innovation, and conduct user research to understand user needs
- Elicit and formulate requirements for digital products, and understand what constitutes a good user experience
- Define and determine the minimum viable product of a digital product
- Conduct user testing, manage risks associated with digital products, and work with a roadmap of the digital product
- Use quantifiable data to monitor, analyze, and assess the performance of a digital product
Lecturers
Structure
The course will be delivered to the students through the following channels:
- Lectures – Theory with examples are presented during sessions.
- Practical Sessions – The theory provided during the lectures is applied to case studies.
- Assignments – There will be individual quizzes, a project assignment to be done in groups, and an individual exam.
All the lectures happen on-site at Delta and are recorded. Practical seminars take place on-site at Delta and are not recorded. For links and additional information, see Moodle. Please note that we use Moodle as the main tool in this course (all materials, assignments, quizzes, etc. are in Moodle).
Assessment
This course consists of quizzes, one project assignment, and a final exam. The distribution of the points for each assessment type is as follows.
- Quizzes: The quizzes (in Moodle) can give a total of a maximum of 30 points.
- Group Project Assignment: The group project assignment can give a maximum of 20 points.
- Exam: The exam can give a maximum of 50 points.
The maximum number of points for the course is 100. For a passing grade, points are required from all assessment parts (and at least 15 points from the exam). The grading follows the standard rules of the University of Tartu. For a passing grade, at least 51 points (grade E) are required. For D, 61 points are required. The same structure applies to grades C, B, and A where an A requires at least 91 points.
Commitment Expectations
The students are expected to dedicate an average of 8-9 hours per week of which 4 hours are in lectures and practical sessions every week. NB! Please notice that the amount of homework and quizzes increases by the end of the course, plan to work on your project (in advance) accordingly.
Communication
We are using Slack as our main communication channel. In Slack, you can address questions regarding the course, the project assignment, and general questions. The invitation to Slack is available on the Moodle page of the course.