Building Next Gen Product Managers @ SAP Labs India

[Malavikha]

Aspiring Product Management Curriculum at SAP Labs IndiaThe Product Management Forum at SAP Labs India is a vibrant hub that serves as a catalyst for collaboration, learning, and growth in the realm of Product Management. The forum has 3 primary initiatives with the objective of strengthening product thinking and taking PM learnings at SLI to the next level:

1. Building a pool of end-to-end Product Managers (aimed for senior product managers
2. Establishing Thought Leadership and External Community presence via knowledge sharing & gaining Outside-in perspective
3. Grooming next generation product managers from the aspiring colleagues

I had the privilege of working closely on the third pillar, driving the “Aspiring Product Management” Curriculum. The Aspiring Product Management Curriculum is a part-time activity spread across 6 months with a program agenda that includes a combination of learning sessions, assignments, and sessions from external leaders across two phases.

The 6-months long curriculum was mainly divided into 2 phases: Phase 1 promoted an understating of SAP Big Picture by understanding SAP’s product and business strategy, diverse lines of business and industry applications at SAP, and Phase 2 focused on core Product Management principles ranging from Product Strategy and Portfolio planning to Go-to-Market and Product Design – thus promoting a holistic understanding of different verticals within the product management portfolio. The program also features assignments to implement and showcase all the learnings from the program.

This learning program aims at incorporating a gamified approach to keep participants engaged and motivated throughout the course of the program by incorporating game elements such as points, rewards, and leaderboards. Skill points are awarded for attending sessions and completing assignments, influencer points are earned by publishing blogs/articles/PoVs/external participation on the topics and learnings from the program, reputation points are earned by promoting outcomes on social media (Linkedin/Twitter) using predefined #tags, and karma points are given for supporting other team members and participating in volunteering projects.

Since the launch of the program, within the first 2 editions, the Aspiring Product Management program has garnered immensely positive feedback from over 120 colleagues who have successfully completed the program. The amazing feedback received from the participants is a testament to the fact that this program has indeed helped them to broaden their understanding of Product management function and principles. As we now embark on a 3rd edition of this program, it’s worthy to note that several colleagues from the past editions of the program have successfully transitioned to Product Management roles within SAP and others are now more confident with the freshly inculcated product mindset.

A program of such scale and successful outcome would certainly not be possible without the great leadership that we have in the SVP & MD, SAP Labs India Sindhu Gangadharan . And certainly not without the able guidance, support and encouragement from PavanKumar PVN and Deepak Padmanabha  who helped conceptualise and drive the very first instance of the program!

Justin Paul Shiva Kumar H S Ajay Nayak

#productmanagement #productthinking #aspiringPM #PMcurriculum