Project: Product Manager Resource Center
Client: Allergan
Description: The Product Manager Resource Center (PMRC) site was designed to help new product managers get up to speed quickly through short, focused, self-directed learning programs. Topics included Business Planning, Primary and Secondary Market Research, Forecasting, Budget Planning, Campaign Development, and Product Life-cycle Management. Trainer’s materials were produced for portions that could be delivered as instructor-led training.
My Role:
Employed a case-based approach to learning by creating a fictitious product and product manager and developed scenarios to illustrate key concepts.
Relied on my expertise as a business owner to help design exercises as practice opportunities.
Co-wrote scripts and storyboards for videos that provided situation set-ups for the scenarios.
Handled layout and design of PDF portions of the program.
Strong Suit: The ability to work coherently with a broad set of subject matter and design exercises that help support learners in acquiring new skills. Familiar with instructor-led training programs.
The online resource covered a variety of topics and each module covered a stand-alone topic. This allowed learners to choose their own learning path or managers could assign topics for completion.
A primary goal was to deliver a program on sound business principles. By creating a fictitious product (Ocutan) and product manager, we were able to add context and relevancy to the material. Each module included work assignments that could be completed for the fictional product as well as serving as a template for their own product.
Each module also incorporated worksheets and exercises that gave learners practice opportunities. These exercises also provided an opportunity for managers to check in with direct reports on progress.
Modules covered each topic in a step-wise manner, starting with an introductory presentation that laid out the basics. The interface was designed so that learners had module-related resources at the ready.
As an example, in the Product Lifecycle Management module, learners listen to an interview with the product manager and work through an evaluation exercise.
Aside: See my blog post about the benefits of writing in the context of learning.