Ian McAllister

UX Craftsmanship for Product Managers

Uber

Airbnb

Amazon

Senior Director of Product at Uber

How to define UX requirements, provide feedback, prepare for effective exec reviews, and ship high quality products

Level up the quality, fit, and finish of your product's UX

Best practices to set your UX partners up for success and hold each other accountable

How to best work with your design and PMM partners

Leverage the "working backwards" and "moment of relevance" approaches to design your product

Create strong first impressions for your products

As a designer, being able to identify, validate, and bring new product opportunities to market propelled my design career forward (even when companies were more skeptical of Design). But, having led 100-person initiatives and shipped some of today's most recognizable products at DoorDash &amp; Airbnb, I’ve seen how the out-of-the-box product development process often falls short. Designers have the power to change this outcome. In PM Masterclass for Designers, we'll go beyond the basics. Learn the tactics and proprietary frameworks I created to uncover new business opportunities, keep massive projects on track, and win-over some of today’s most successful business leaders. If you want to confidently lead product strategy, be a stronger partner to your PMs, win over key business stakeholders, or future-proof your design career with business skills, this course is for you.

Confidently drive product strategy while future-proofing your design career

Provide a brief description for each module as a way to sell the value of what students will be learning throughout the course.

First Module

Second Module

Third Module

Course syllabus

4x live sessions introduce actionable tactics and frameworks.

Live lecture

Optional Q&amp;A session immediately after class while lessons are fresh

Post-session Q&A

Experienced PMs will join each cohort to share their experience &amp; the top Product tactics designers need to know

Expert PM guest speakers

Exercises &amp; resources to expand your learning

Self-paced exercises

Course schedule

Experienced UX Designers who want to influence what ships, when it ships, and explain the business rationale for why it's valuable.

Design leaders &amp; managers seeking new tools to uncover business opportunities &amp; advocate for Design from a business perspective.

Designers who want stronger partnerships with PMs or are considering a shift to Product Management themselves.

Who is this course for

What you’ll get out of this course

Learn the tactics I used to discover, pitch, and drive the launch of live order tracking, remote driver training, mobile group orders, and Dasher Instant Pay at DoorDash.

Frameworks for identifying, validating, and shipping great products

Learn how to navigate the complex development process, from getting projects on the roadmap to making sure one bad A/B test doesn't derail the whole project.

Tools to confidently participate in and lead strategic product initiatives

Through exercises and Q&amp;A, get feedback, advice, and tactics from Ryan to ensure course content is immediately applicable

Personalized 1:1 guidance

Through small, live cohorts, get feedback and advice from fellow experienced designers from around the world

Access to an engaged group of international expert designers

Can't make every live session? Never miss a beat with recordings sent immediately after each lesson. With lifetime access, refer back to every framework, tactic, and "ah-ha" moment for the rest of your career.

Lifetime access to recordings from every session

Master product strategy & development to drive impact, gain influence, and ship the best design work of your career.

January 2025

Ryan Scott

Learn product management skills from a designer with hands-on PM expertise

December 2024

February 2025

UX designers, UX researchers, product owners, and product managers don't just deliver solutions. At the heart of it all, they solve problems. They're either solving problems for users, for clients, for colleagues, or for a business for which they work. Problem-solving is at the heart of ALL the work. Teams also need to communicate the significance of the problem and convince people why it's worth solving. Without doing this, they're simply taking orders and who knows if the solution will actually meet needs in the world. It depends on whether you're solving the right user problems in the first place. This class teaches you how to solve the right problem, and how to solve the problem correctly. Take a deep dive in product management and product strategy with this masterclass. The next time someone asks for a solution, you'll be equipped with tools to break it down into user problems, user goals, user need, and more. Through this you will build better things for the world and empower teams to do better work. Learn how to deliver: 1. Problem statements2. Vision boards3. Product scope4. Epics, features, and tasks5. User stories6. Acceptance criteria7. Task flows8. Behavior-driven development9. Roadmaps10. Backlogs

Become a Requirements Master with This Course

Tuesday, July 23rd

Week 1 repeat lecture and discussion

Thursday, July 25th

Tuesday, July 30th

Week 2 repeat lecture and discussion

Thursday, Aug 1st

Tuesday, Aug 6th

Week 3 repeat lecture and discussion

Thursday, Aug 8th

Tuesday, Aug 13th

Week4 repeat lecture and discussion

Thursday, Aug 15th

Tuesday, Aug 20th

Week 5 repeat lecture and discussion

Thursday, Aug 22nd

Tuesday, Aug 27th

UX Designers and UX Researchers who want to learn how to solve the right problem and solve the problem correctly.

Product Owners and Product Managers who want to orchestrate better product releases and build things people need.

Business Analysts who want to step up their requirements game and generate better buy-in.

Understand how solve the right problem, and solve the problem correctly. 

Implement product strategy on Agile teams.

Document user, business, and technical need before UX and development work.

Understand how UX research and UX design relates to product management.

Create well-crafted user stories and acceptance criteria.

Orchestrate backlogs and product releases for product management.

Understand what it takes to be in Product Management or Product Ownership.

Document advanced requirements like task flows and behavior-driven development.

Scope and plan product releases iteratively.

This is the Book of Requirements. Learn everything you need to know about how to orchestrate work iteratively on Agile teams!

Cohort 3

Morgan Denner

UX Designer and Product Manager, Founder of Tech Fleet

Learn the ropes of product management. Cohort 2 starts on Sept 9th, 2024 and will run for 5 weeks.

Cohort 2

Cohort 4

Whether you are considering seeking your first Manager role, or are embarking on your first management role it's like stepping into a new world—one filled with opportunities, challenges, and the chance to make a real impact. But without a map, it's easy to feel lost. Designed specifically for first-time or aspiring managers, this course is your guide, and I can become your coach. In just two weeks and four one-hour sessions, we'll navigate together from the basics of transitioning into your new role to mastering the art of communication, leading high-performing teams, and creating systems that work uniquely for you. Each module is crafted to transform your approach to leadership, empowering you to lead with confidence, inspire your team, and drive innovative projects to success. You're not just learning to manage; you're learning to lead with vision, empathy, and effectiveness – which is great if you decide official Managing is not for you too. By the end of this course, you'll not only have the tools and insights to excel in your current role but also have assessed your readiness for Management, and a plan for your next steps. This isn't just about becoming a manager—it's about becoming the kind of leader who shapes the future of Design.

Join the missing training for aspiring & new Design Managers

Our live sessions will focus on a single topic, collaboration with peers, and open Q&amp;A with Alison.

Tuesdays & Thursdays

Each Topic will be covered LIVE, and you have the freedom to go deep in your Course Workbook.

Beautifully Crafted Workbook

There will be two keystone projects that are immediately applicable to up-skilling as a manager, and carving a future path of more ease and expertise.

2 Projects Your Future-Self will Thank You for

New Managers in Design and Creative fields – UX, Content, User Research, UI, Design Systems, Creative.

Aspiring Managers seeking to step up into an official role within 12-18 months.

Managers in role, experiencing a sense of "is this right for me?" seeking a place to safely assess and plan next steps.

Find your new identity as you step up to a new context, even when leading former peers, or navigating complex change.

Assess Your Management Profile
 

Learn to delegate effectively, confidently balancing deep critique and empowering your team, while cultivating trust in their capabilities.

Inspire & Lead Through Others, vs Doing it Yourself

Discover how to design personalized systems and routines that elevate your management style, reduce stress, and enhance team productivity.

Wrangle the Calendar Overwhelm

Learn alongside and workshop with others in your shoes, who can become go-to peer support or mentors.

Meet a new Network of Peers who Get it

Aspiring or new-ish Manager? Step into UX Mgmt with the vetted knowledge, skills and frameworks from an expert Design Leader. 

Alison Gretz

Head of Design, Leadership Coach & Trainer

Cohort 5

Product people are naturally curious — but many work in this role without being equipped with the essential skills. Instead of driving business growth and building products people love, they end up feeling stuck and exhausted. We created this course to change that — not by just teaching theory, but by helping you apply learnings in your real-world context. Whether you’re a PM with a few years of experience, transitioning into Product from a related role, or stepping up as the lead of a product team, this course is for you. Why This Course is Different There are endless great resources out there to learn Product, but understanding the ideas fully and applying the techniques in your individual setup and environment is a very different game. We designed this course drawing from over 25 years of experience across various product roles, companies, and industries. We bridge the theory into practice without getting lost in framework details. We’re not from big tech — but we understand what it’s like when things get tough. We know there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for effective product work. You’ll learn directly from us and other product professionals who face the same challenges you do. This isn’t about hypothetical scenarios; it’s about learning and training the exact skills you need to succeed in your role. With small cohorts, we ensure you get personalized attention and meaningful engagement with others, helping you grow both your skills and your network. How You Will Learn This six-week program is packed with actionable knowledge. We use a flipped classroom approach: you get the theory as compact video content, and our sessions are dedicated to discussing, exploring, and training these skills within the group — as no other course does. What We’ll Cover •	Understand the big picture of product management and how discovery, strategy, and delivery fit together.•	Identify knowledge gaps to learn more about your business.•	Practice talking to users to uncover insights that typically stay hidden.•	Craft a basic business case and tell a compelling story to get the buy-in you need.•	Dive into the tech details to build confidently and minimize gaps in your specs.•	Communicate and align effectively with stakeholders, and learn to resolve conflicts.•	Create a clear strategy and stay focused using the right tools. Check out the full curriculum for everything we’ll cover together. Why This Works We provide a safe space for you to learn, practice, and take action. That’s why we run this course in small cohorts—to give you the environment you need to succeed. Join us and a community of forward-thinking product managers, and let’s set a new standard for your career.

Unlock the Secrets to Becoming an Outstanding Product Manager

We'll meet three times a week from 9:00am to 10:30am CET (GMT+1). This will be our

Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays

We follow a "flipped classroom" model that provides you with short, focused videos and theory and concepts to maximize the use of time in our live sessions

Knowledge input

We'll facilitate additional practice sessions to go deep on certain topics (e.g. interview training, business case building, communication training)

Weekly practice sessions

Product people with a few years of experience who want to level up their skills and get the basics right.

Product adjacent roles (e.g. UX design, QA, Engineering, ...) that want to move into product management.

Young product leads with a different background who need to get a grasp of the foundations to better lead their teams.

Understand the roles and responsibilities of a product manager so you can find your areas of improvement

Product Role and Responsibilities

Learn to build up the knowledge you need to make profound decisions and convince stakeholders

Building Domain Expertise

Master the art of user research by actively training the skills and learn ways to get the insights you need

Master the Art of User Research

Learn how to root-cause insights and ideate the right features that drive user and business impact.

Solve Problems that Matter

Learn how to assess opportunities and prioritize them so you can ensure to build features with impact

Opportunity Assessment

Explore different techniques to experiment and validate hypotheses and fill knowledge gaps

Experimentation & Hypotheses Testing

Learn about the characteristics of a vision, mission, roadmaps, goals, and KPIs and how to use them to make decisions and stay focussed

Strategy, Roadmaps & Goals

Craft a business case and understand the financial aspects of the features you build

Business Case modeling

Learn to tailor information-flows so you and your teams are well-informed and build trust with your peers

Information Flows

Master the art of communication to resolve conflicts

Conflict Resolution

Learn how to craft a story to convince people and get the buy-in you need

Storytelling

Learn to align with stakeholders, your team, and key people in your work so you can work collaboratively with ease

Collaboration & Team Alignment

Practice ways to create good products from customer-facing to uncover technical details that your development team needs to perform. Understand the principles needed to build high-quality products while still shipping fast

Building the Product

We offer a 1h coaching session after the course to discuss very individual questions you might have

Bonus: 1h Coaching Session

knowledge, tips, and tricks on how to run Product better and more efficiently.

...and many more

Become a better product manager with a guaranteed impact on your business – in only 6 weeks.

Lightning Lessons

UX Craftsmanship for Product Managers