Managing Product Growth

Catalog description

The product management function does not end with the development and launch of a new product. It is critical for a product manager to ensure that the product (a) scales and grows profitably (in terms of volume and market reach) and (b) evolves to address changing market conditions. This course will focus on the post-launch activities in product lifecycle management -- scaling, growth, evolution, and sunsetting. We will start with product scaling and consider how product scaling strategies may vary for digital and non-digital products. We will also examine platform-based strategies for product scaling. Following that we will focus on diverse types of strategies for driving product growth -- for example, from the niche to the masses, from domestic to international, and from product to platform. We will then consider product evolution strategies -- how to 'read' changing market trends and develop plans to transform existing products to stay relevant for the future. In some instances, such assessments may reveal the need for sunsetting the product. The broader focus of the course will be on imparting a deep understanding of the product manager's role in ensuring product growth and profitability as well as its continued relevance vis-a-vis changing markets.