From Failure to Success: Mastering Platform Product Management

An intermediate-level course offered by UMD and USMx

Course Description

This comprehensive course tackles the inevitable hurdles faced by Product Platform Managers, transforming failed systems into delayed successes through strategic course correction and user-centric approaches.

What Students Will Learn

  • Change Management and User Adoption Essentials
  • Evaluation methods for a failed rollout
  • Methods for reviving a failed platform
  • Establishing a user community
  • Strategies for user engagement and incorporating them into the development process
  • Techniques for effective listening and reacting to user feedback
  • Facilitating user communities to support platform rollout and increase adoption
  • Decision-making skills for determining salvageable components and moving forward
  • Closing a failed platform implementation professionally

Prerequisites

While there are no specific prerequisites listed, a basic understanding of product management and technology platforms would be beneficial. The course is designed for intermediate-level professionals, so some prior experience in the field is recommended.

Course Coverage

  • Strategies to evaluate system failures and identify root causes
  • Techniques for engaging users and incorporating their feedback
  • Methods for facilitating user communities and increasing platform adoption
  • Decision-making processes for salvaging or replacing failed platforms
  • Change management and user adoption best practices
  • Evaluation and course correction strategies for failed rollouts
  • Techniques for reviving struggling platforms
  • Approaches to establish and nurture user communities
  • Strategies for gaining buy-in and scaling platform success

Who This Course Is For

This course is ideal for Product Platform Managers, technology professionals, and business leaders responsible for implementing and managing technology platforms. It's particularly valuable for those facing challenges in platform rollouts or seeking to improve their skills in user engagement, change management, and platform revival.

Real-World Application of Skills

  • Effectively respond to and manage user dissatisfaction during platform rollouts
  • Implement strategies to engage users and incorporate their feedback into development processes
  • Create and nurture user communities to support platform adoption and success
  • Make informed decisions about salvaging or replacing failed platforms
  • Apply change management principles to increase user adoption and platform success
  • Evaluate and course-correct failed implementations
  • Transform setbacks into opportunities for growth and improvement
  • Develop resilience and problem-solving skills crucial for technology management roles

Syllabus

Week 1: "Everything is broken"

How to respond to negativity when your platform rollout doesn't meet users' expectations and how to keep them engaged for the platform's future.

Week 2: Listen to your users (and react)

Delve into the subtle art of reacting to user feedback with grace and adjusting your strategy appropriately.

Week 3: Getting buy-in is critical for your platform success

Learn how bringing users along for the ride can lead to greater success at scale.

Week 4: Knowing when to throw in the towel

Learn how to decide whether to reset and try again, and how to learn from your mistakes when a platform rollout doesn't work.