Students will explore the entire product management challenge in a way that goes beyond the typical MBA product marketing and brand management course with emphasis on managing products & services in a high tech environment. The course provides an in-depth exposure to the analyses, decisions, and implementation issues relevant to a typical product manager in a high tech company and prepares students for their first industry product management opportunity. This course is the first step in developing the set of skills needed for a successful product manager utilizing a mix of individual and team-based assignments, case analysis and presentations, computer simulations and projects. 3 credits. (Spring or Fall Semester)

Projects are one of the key mechanisms for achieving organizational goals and implementing change, whether it is the design and launch of a new product, the construction of a new building, or the development of a new information system. This course will focus on defining project scope, developing project plans, managing project execution, validating project performance and ensuring project control. Additional topics covered include decision making, project finance, project portfolio selection and risk management. 3 credits. (Spring or Fall Semester)

This course will take students through a variety of issues related to managing technology and innovation in the context of a technology-based organization. It is about managing know-how and innovation processes as well as creating an organizational culture that fosters and supports innovation. We will study best practices and benchmarks to help students develop their intuition for managing innovation given each unique situation, including; the organization’s culture, and strategy, the employee’s strengths/weaknesses, etc. 3 credits. (Spring Semester)

This course is designed to demystify and unify the journey from idea creation to value extraction through the use of concrete tools and real-world exercises. Innovations have many sources (for example, individuals, companies, universities, governments) and many vehicles for commercialization (for example, licensing, new products, enhanced products, and new ventures). Through this course, students will learn to think more broadly about innovation and commercialization options and strategies. 3 credits. (Fall Semester)

The success of established companies and entrepreneurial ventures depends upon their ability to identify customer needs and then develop products and services that meet these needs in an affordable and effective manner. A disciplined design thinking process leads to successful innovations, particularly with regard to value creation and market impact. Starting with an understanding of empathy, ethnography, and interviewing techniques, moving on to the iterative process of defining, ideating, prototyping, and testing, and then developing final designs, this course is a highly engaging opportunity for students to develop a deep set of skills in design thinking and innovation and includes current approaches such as agile development, biodesign, and lean startup. 3 credits. (Spring or Fall Semester)