Digital and SaaS for Product Managers from edX

Learn analytics, business modeling, and team coordination to create and deliver digital products that your customers will love.

The explosion of the SaaS model in recent years has been monumental in changing the technological landscape, and this shift to the cloud, naturally, has had a major impact on the product space and how product managers and teams – whether old or new – perform their job. In this course, you will learn the key aspects that are required from a Digital and SaaS Product manager. You will gain insights into all the important tools and skills that are required for being a successful SaaS Product Manager. Additionally, you will explore the best practices and strategies to effectively manage and grow SaaS products.

What's inside

Learning objectives

Digital value proposition
Digital product management thinking
Prioritization in digital products
Portfolio of metrics - business metrics, customer metrics, product metrics

Product lifecycle stages, a framework for north star and supporting metrics
Performing product analytics
A/b testing
Industry case studies and applications

Digital value proposition
Digital product management thinking
Prioritization in digital products
Portfolio of metrics - business metrics, customer metrics, product metrics
Product lifecycle stages, a framework for north star and supporting metrics
Performing product analytics
A/b testing
Industry case studies and applications

Syllabus

Understand & Create Digital Business Models

Create Data-Driven Roadmaps

Leverage Product Analytics for decision-making

A framework to identify the focus metric and supporting metrics for any digital product

Traffic lights

Read about what's good

what should give you pause

and possible dealbreakers

Explores business modeling, which is essential for understanding the financial viability and scalability of SaaS products

Covers A/B testing, a crucial skill for optimizing SaaS products based on user behavior and data-driven insights

Examines product lifecycle stages, providing a structured approach to managing SaaS products from inception to maturity

Teaches product analytics, which enables product managers to track performance, identify trends, and make informed decisions

Requires learners to understand digital business models, which may necessitate prior knowledge of business strategy

Presented by the Institute of Product Leadership, which is devoted to educating leaders in the field of product management

Reviews summary

Digital and saas product management essentials

According to learners, this course provides a solid foundation specifically tailored for Digital and SaaS Product Managers. Students frequently praise the practical examples, relevant case studies, and insights directly applicable to real-world job responsibilities, particularly regarding product analytics, metrics, and creating data-driven roadmaps. While the course is seen as well-structured and easy to follow for many, some experienced product managers found certain sections to be too basic, suggesting it is perhaps best suited for those newer to the SaaS product space or looking for a structured overview.

Provides a good overview, sometimes too basic.

"Great course for understanding the basics of SaaS PM, but experienced PMs might find some parts superficial."

"While comprehensive in breadth, I wished for more depth in specific areas like advanced analytics or growth strategies."

"It's a good starting point, but you might need to supplement it with more advanced resources if you are already experienced."

"Excellent course for getting a solid overview and understanding key concepts in SaaS PM."

Well-structured and easy to follow modules.

"The course is very well-structured, making complex topics easy to digest in bite-sized modules."

"I found the flow logical and the topics built nicely upon each other."

"Clear progression through the material, which helped reinforce learning."

Highlights on Analytics, Metrics, and Roadmaps.

"Modules on product analytics and metrics were highlights, providing actionable insights."

"Loved the section on creating data-driven roadmaps; it changed how I plan."

"The deep dive into different types of metrics was invaluable for my day-to-day work."

Focuses on practical tools, frameworks, and examples.

"The focus on practical applications rather than just theory was a major plus for me."

"Case studies were excellent, illustrating how concepts work in real industry scenarios."

"I really appreciated the hands-on approach to using analytics for decision-making."

"Provides useful frameworks and tools that are easy to understand and implement."

Course insights highly applicable to PM job.

"The content was very relevant to the challenges I face daily as a Product Manager in a SaaS company."

"I found the modules on product analytics and metrics particularly useful. They gave me practical tools I can apply immediately."

"This course helped me frame my thinking around digital products and SaaS in a way that directly impacts my work."

"Aprendí estrategias prácticas para gestionar productos SaaS que pude usar en mi trabajo desde la primera semana."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Digital and SaaS for Product Managers with these activities:

Review Product Management Fundamentals

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Solidify your understanding of core product management principles to better grasp the nuances of digital and SaaS product management.

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Review key product management concepts.
Study the product development lifecycle.
Familiarize yourself with common product management frameworks.

Review 'The Lean Startup'

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Understand the principles of Lean Startup to apply them to SaaS product development and management.

View The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use... on Amazon

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Read 'The Lean Startup' by Eric Ries.
Identify key concepts and principles.
Reflect on how to apply these principles to SaaS product management.

Analyze a SaaS Product's Metrics

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Apply the course's teachings on product analytics by analyzing the metrics of a real-world SaaS product.

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Choose a SaaS product to analyze.
Identify key business, customer, and product metrics.
Analyze the product's lifecycle stage.
Create a report summarizing your findings.

Four other activities

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Create a Presentation on A/B Testing

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Deepen your understanding of A/B testing by creating a presentation explaining its principles and applications in SaaS product development.

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Research A/B testing methodologies.
Prepare a presentation outlining the process.
Include examples of A/B testing in SaaS products.
Present your findings to peers.

Review 'Inspired: How to Create Products Customers Love'

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Gain insights into building customer-centric products by reading and reflecting on Marty Cagan's 'Inspired'.

View Product is Hard SVPG Box Set: Includes INSPIRED... on Amazon

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Read 'Inspired' by Marty Cagan.
Identify key product management techniques.
Reflect on how to apply these techniques to your work.

Develop a Data-Driven Roadmap

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Practice creating a data-driven roadmap for a hypothetical SaaS product, incorporating insights from product analytics.

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Define a hypothetical SaaS product.
Identify key metrics to track.
Develop a roadmap based on data analysis.
Present your roadmap and justify your decisions.

Mentor Junior Product Managers

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Reinforce your understanding by mentoring junior product managers on digital and SaaS product management concepts.

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Offer guidance to junior product managers.
Answer questions and provide feedback.
Share your knowledge and experiences.

Career center

Learners who complete Digital and SaaS for Product Managers will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

SaaS Product Manager

A Software as a Service product manager specializes in the unique requirements of cloud-based products. This course is specifically created for a Software as a Service product manager, and it delves into the critical tools, skills, and best practices for success. The course covers how to create data-driven roadmaps, which is vital to product planning, and provides a framework to identify important metrics, which are crucial for a SaaS product manager to understand product performance and progress.

See salaries and explore the career path for SaaS Product Manager

Digital Product Manager

A digital product manager focuses on the strategy, planning, and execution of digital products. This course is designed to equip learners with the precise skills needed for this role as it covers the core aspects of digital value proposition, product management thinking, and prioritization in digital products. It also addresses performing product analytics, key to determining a product's success, and A/B testing, which is vital for product optimization. A digital product manager uses data to make decisions, and this course helps build a foundation in leveraging product analytics to inform decision making.

See salaries and explore the career path for Digital Product Manager

Software Product Manager

A software product manager guides the development and success of software products. This course directly addresses the demands of this role by teaching how to effectively manage Software as a Service, or SaaS, products. It provides insights into the tools and skills necessary for this job, with a focus on best practices for growth in a SaaS model. The curriculum on creating digital business models and data-driven roadmaps helps a software product manager succeed in a technology-driven market.

See salaries and explore the career path for Software Product Manager

Product Manager

A product manager is responsible for the strategy, roadmap, and execution of a product. This course helps aspiring product managers gain a strong understanding of the digital and Software as a Service landscape. It explores key tools and skills needed for success in this role, and guides learners toward best practices for managing and growing Software as a Service products. This course's focus on data-driven decision making, creating data-driven roadmaps, and leveraging product analytics, helps product managers prioritize features, make informed decisions, and create products that resonate with customers.

See salaries and explore the career path for Product Manager

Product Analyst

A product analyst examines data to understand product performance and identify areas for improvement. The material in this course is directly relevant to a product analyst, as it focuses on metrics, product analytics, and a framework to identify focus metrics for any digital product. This course teaches strategies to effectively perform product analytics as well as creating data-driven roadmaps, which are needed skills for a product analyst.

See salaries and explore the career path for Product Analyst

Founder

A founder establishes and builds a company from its early stages. This course helps a founder by providing insight into the critical aspects of product management using a digital and SaaS model. A founder can use the course's focus on creating data-driven roadmaps, leveraging product analytics, and understanding business models to make informed strategic decisions about the product. This course helps a founder build a sustainable and successful business.

See salaries and explore the career path for Founder

Product Marketing Manager

A product marketing manager is responsible for bringing products to market and communicating their value to customers. This course helps product marketing managers by teaching the value proposition of digital products and how to effectively manage and grow SaaS offerings. The course's focus on product lifecycle stages, metrics, and product analytics offers insight into how a product marketing manager may position the product within the market.

See salaries and explore the career path for Product Marketing Manager

Product Owner

A product owner defines and manages the product backlog and ensures the development team works on the most valuable items. This course may be useful to a product owner because it helps in understanding prioritization in digital products, as well as identifying the focus metric and supporting metrics for any digital product. This course's focus on analytics and business modeling helps product owners to understand product performance and customer behavior.

See salaries and explore the career path for Product Owner

Marketing Manager

A marketing manager develops and implements marketing strategies to promote products or services. This course may be useful to a marketing manager because the curriculum includes the analysis of product metrics, which can inform marketing decisions. Additionally, the course teaches product lifecycle stages, which helps a marketing manager align marketing initiatives with the product's development and maturity. This course helps one understand the value proposition of a product, a key aspect of marketing strategy.

See salaries and explore the career path for Marketing Manager

Business Analyst

A business analyst assesses an organization's processes and systems to identify areas for improvement. This course may be useful for a business analyst because it covers how to create digital business models. It also covers a framework to identify the focus metric and supporting metrics for any digital product, which can help a business analyst understand product performance. The course's focus on data driven decision-making helps business analysts to provide informed recommendations to stakeholders.

See salaries and explore the career path for Business Analyst

Data Scientist

A data scientist analyzes large amounts of data to extract meaningful insights and inform business decisions. This course may be useful to a data scientist because it provides a framework for product analytics, and it focuses on leveraging product analytics for decision making. The course teaches how to perform A/B testing, which is a key skill for a data scientist. A data scientist can use this information to refine data analysis techniques and provide value to product teams.

See salaries and explore the career path for Data Scientist

Project Manager

A project manager is responsible for planning and overseeing the execution of specific projects. This course may be useful to a project manager because it explores business modeling and team coordination. The course's focus on prioritization in digital products can help project managers make informed decisions about resource allocation, and the material on product lifecycle can help with project timelines and milestones. This course focuses on best practices and strategies, which could assist a project manager in efficiently managing a team.

See salaries and explore the career path for Project Manager

Technology Consultant

A technology consultant advises organizations on how to use technology to improve their business. This course may be useful to a technology consultant by offering a solid understanding of SaaS products and digital business models. The course covers portfolio metrics and product lifecycle stages, which can assist a consultant to understand the technological landscape. The focus on product analytics may help a technology consultant provide data-driven recommendations.

See salaries and explore the career path for Technology Consultant

Solutions Architect

A solutions architect designs and oversees the implementation of technology solutions to address business needs. This course may be useful to a solutions architect as it helps them understanding the product side of business, and the digital business models that make it successful. The course's insights into product metrics and A/B testing can assist a solutions architect in designing solutions that align with business targets.

See salaries and explore the career path for Solutions Architect

Digital Marketing Specialist

A digital marketing specialist is responsible for implementing digital marketing strategies. This course may be useful to a digital marketing specialist, who can use the course's understanding of digital products, data driven decision making, and A/B testing to inform marketing campaigns. Understanding how to create metrics for a product can help a digital marketing specialist track the success of their campaigns. The curriculum in this course helps a digital marketing specialist understand how to connect marketing efforts with overall product performance.

See salaries and explore the career path for Digital Marketing Specialist

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Digital and SaaS for Product Managers.

Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use...

Save

Introduces the Lean Startup methodology, emphasizing validated learning, rapid experimentation, and iterative product releases. It's highly relevant for understanding how to build and scale SaaS products efficiently. The book provides a framework for building a minimum viable product (MVP) and continuously improving it based on customer feedback. This foundational text for product managers in the digital and SaaS space.

The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use...

Hardcover

The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use...

Kindle Edition

SVPG Box Set

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Provides a comprehensive guide to modern product management, covering topics such as product discovery, product strategy, and product execution. It's valuable for understanding how to build products that meet customer needs and achieve business goals. The book is commonly used as a textbook at academic institutions and by industry professionals. It adds more depth to the course by providing practical advice and real-world examples.

Product is Hard SVPG Box Set: Includes INSPIRED,...

Hardcover

$$$$

Digital and SaaS for Product Managers

What's inside

Learning objectives

Syllabus

Traffic lights

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Reviews summary

Digital and saas product management essentials

Activities

Career center

Reading list

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