Product Manager by Nature: Reflections on Product School's PM Course

Validation Through Education

After seven years on my open source journey, I recently completed Product School’s Product Management course and had a striking realization: TLDR: I was Product Manager all along and people who told me to specialize in one thing, they can go fuck themselves. That advice The course confirmed what my varied background hinted at—I’m someone who’s a bit good at everything, which turns out to be exactly what product management requires.

The material refreshed concepts I’d encountered in my 2019 Masters in Tech Management, my 2021 Nielsen Norman Group UX courses, and my 2020 SAFE Agile training, but with the added lens of my hands-on experience. What struck me most was how much I’d absorbed through osmosis while working on various projects.

Key Frameworks That Resonated

The course covered numerous frameworks and methodologies, but several stood out as particularly valuable confirmations of best practices. Here are the major examples that resonated with my experience:

The Design Sprint: From Concept to Testing in Five Days

Google Ventures’ Design Sprint methodology provides a structured approach to rapidly prototype and test solutions. The course broke down the process in a way that crystallized its value for efficient product development:

Preparation Is Everything

Before the sprint even begins, several critical elements need to be in place:

• Problem Selection: Choose a substantial problem worth solving
• Team Composition: Assemble the right people, ensuring each person contributes roughly 1/n % of the time (with 4 people, each contributes about 25%)
• User Studies: Schedule participants for testing in advance
• Facilitation: Designate a neutral facilitator who can guide the process
• Tools: Prepare all necessary materials (whiteboards, sticky notes, prototyping tools)

Day 1: Define and Understand

The first day focuses on creating clarity and shared understanding:

• Define the sprint challenge in concrete terms
• Identify a clear, tangible deliverable
• Map the current context and user journey
• Document what exists now and where the gaps are

Day 2: Divergent Thinking

The second day is about generating as many potential solutions as possible:

• Conduct lightning demos of inspiring examples
• Brainstorm solutions individually and collectively
• Use the “Crazy Eights” technique (fold paper, 8 concepts in 8 minutes)
• Maintain individual work time to prevent groupthink
• Keep ideas anonymous to reduce bias

Day 3: Convergent Thinking

The third day narrows down to the most promising approaches:

• Vote on the strongest concepts (dot voting + anonymous cards)
• Discuss what makes certain ideas compelling
• Use “super votes” from key stakeholders to break ties
• Create a storyboard of the winning solution

Day 4: Prototyping

The fourth day transforms concepts into something testable:

• Focus on creating the facade, not the actual product
• Build only what’s needed for user testing
• Create a realistic enough experience to get genuine feedback

Day 5: User Testing

The final day validates the concept with real users:

• Show the prototype to actual humans
• Document both positive reactions and pain points
• Identify patterns across multiple user sessions
• Determine next steps based on feedback

This structured approach to innovation struck me as the perfect balance between creativity and discipline—something I’ve intuitively developed in my own work but never formalized so effectively.

AARRR: The Pirate Metrics Framework

Another framework that resonated was Dave McClure’s AARRR framework (aptly nicknamed “Pirate Metrics”). This simple yet powerful model provides a clear sequence for growing and measuring product success:

• Acquisition: How users discover your product
• Activation: Their first meaningful experience
• Retention: How often they return and engage
• Referral: Whether they tell others about it
• Revenue: How the product monetizes

What I appreciated most about AARRR is how it creates a logical progression of priorities. Too often, I’ve seen teams jump straight to revenue considerations before ensuring users can even discover and meaningfully engage with the product.

Product-Market Fit (PMF) Funnel

Perhaps the most valuable framework was the systematic approach to achieving product-market fit:

1. Define: Clearly articulate what PMF looks like for your specific product
2. Quantify: Establish measurable indicators of PMF
3. Threshold: Set concrete targets for each indicator
4. Roadmap: Plan features specifically designed to hit those thresholds

This structured approach transforms PMF from a vague concept into an actionable goal with clear metrics—something I wish I’d formalized earlier in my career.

The Hero’s Journey in Product Development

The course also explored how Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey narrative structure applies to product development and user experience:

• Call to Adventure: The initial problem or opportunity
• Supernatural Aid: Tools and resources that help users overcome challenges
• Threshold Crossing: The decision to fully commit to using the product
• Transformation: How the product changes the user’s capabilities

This framework provides a powerful lens for understanding the emotional journey users take with products, not just the functional aspects.

Confirmation Through Retrospection

What I found most valuable about the course wasn’t necessarily new information, but rather the confirmation that many practices I’d developed through experience align with industry best practices. It was validating to see that my intuitive approaches to problem-solving and product development have theoretical underpinnings.

The course helped me understand that my background—a mix of technical knowledge, design thinking, and business acumen—isn’t just a collection of random skills but actually the ideal foundation for product management. Being “a bit good at everything” isn’t a lack of specialization; it’s precisely what makes for effective product leadership.

The Value of Formal Education in an Experience-Driven Field

While experience has been my primary teacher, I found tremendous value in formalizing that knowledge through education. The course helped me:

1. Fill language gaps: I now have proper terminology for concepts I’ve been applying intuitively
2. Identify blind spots: Areas where my self-taught approach could be more structured
3. Validate approaches: Confirmation that my instincts align with best practices
4. Build confidence: Assurance that my generalist tendencies are an asset, not a liability

Looking Forward

Armed with this formal framework to complement my practical experience, I’m excited to apply these structured approaches more intentionally. The Design Sprint methodology, in particular, offers a clear path to more efficient innovation and validation.

For others on a similar journey, I’d recommend finding the balance between hands-on experience and formal education. Each enhances the other, creating a more complete product manager than either could produce alone.

Product management may be a field where you’re always “a bit good at everything,” but with intentional education and reflective practice, that breadth becomes your greatest strength rather than a sign of indecision.