The document discusses the development of the Product Management Body of Knowledge (ProdBOK) guide. It was developed by the Association of International Product Marketing and Management (AIPMM) with input from over 60 contributors from academia and industry worldwide. The guide aims to establish standard processes, terminology, and tools for the product management profession, as other guides have done for fields like project management. It addresses issues like the fragmented nature of product management education and skills. The development of the ProdBOK guide was a collaborative effort meant to further professionalize and standardize the field of product management.

1. The Guide to the Product Management and
Marketing Body of Knowledge (ProdBOK®)
A Conversation with Therese
Padilla and Cindy Solomon
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2. The material contained in this presentation is protected under the copyright laws
of the United States. This material may not be reproduced in any form or by any
means without the express written permission of Actuation Consulting. Any
infringement of these copyrights or trademarks will be prosecuted to the full
extent of the law.
© Actuation Consulting. All rights reserved.
The product management body of knowledge (ProdBOK)® is the property of The
©
Association of International Product Marketing and Management
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3. © AIPMM 2013
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4. AIPMM Certifications
AIPMM offers globally recognized certifications:
• Certified Product Manager (CPM®)
• Certified Product Marketing Manager
(CPMM®)
• Agile Certified Product Manager (ACPM®)
• Certified Innovation Leader (CIL®)
• Certified Brand Manager (CBM®)
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5. Tweet!
Today we will be using the hashtags:
#ProdBOK & #aipmm
You can also reach us at:
Paula Gray: @paulagray
Therese Padilla: @theresepadilla
AIPMM: @AIPMM
Cindy Solomon: @cindyfsolomon
Global Product Management Talk: @ProdMgmtTalk
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6. Participate and Win!
• Two lucky winners will win one Guide to the
Product Management and Marketing Body
of Knowledge (ProdBOK®)
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7. Today’s Topics
What is the ProdBOK® Guide?
• About Bodies of Knowledge
• Other well-known BOKs
Why is a ProdBOK Guide Needed?
• Blurry boundary lines
• Support the profession’s evolution
Who was Involved in the BOK’s Development?
• Contributors
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8. Our Editors
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9. Greg Geracie
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President, Actuation Consulting
Author of the global best seller Take
Charge Product Management
Adjunct Professor at DePaul University’s
College of Computing and Digital Media
Editor-in-Chief of The Guide to the Product
Management and Marketing Body of
Knowledge
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10. Dr. Steven D. Eppinger
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Professor Management Science and
Innovation at MIT
Holds the General Motors Leaders for
Global Operations Chair
Teaches interdisciplinary product
development courses
Co-author of another leading textbook
entitled Product Design and Development
(5th edition) McGraw-Hill
ProdBOK Guide co-editor
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11. What is the ProdBOK Guide?
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12. A Cornerstone
Bodies of Knowledge establish:
• The language of the profession
• Process groups used to accomplish
work
• Information and tools that help
practitioners improve their
effectiveness
BOKs are living documents that evolve along with
the profession.
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13. Universal Prerequisites of a BOK
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14. Three Conditions
• A BOK must be sponsored by an industry
association
• A BOK needs to incorporate a wide variety of
industry voices to ensure a representative view
of the profession
• BOKs typically require multi-year development
efforts
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15. Other Well-Known BOKs
PMBOK
BABOK
SWEBOK
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16. The Benchmark for All BOKs
Fueled the growth of the project
management profession
• Dominant standard for the project
management profession
• Over 3 million copies in circulation
• Professional membership has
increased to over 334,000
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17. Why is a ProdBOK Guide Needed?
Source: Take Charge Product Management © by Greg Geracie. All rights 17
reserved.
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18. Poor Academic Adoption
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19. Rite of Passage: Trial by Fire
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20. Fragmented Profession
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21. Examples
• Top ten product management books on Amazon
written from one person’s perspective
– Haines, Geracie, Cagan, Pichler, Gorchels, Mironov, La
wley, McGrath, Dver
• Lack of a standard definition for basic things
• Rite of passage means practitioners need to
continuously reinvent the wheel
• Confusion on which product management skills
are transferrable (from one vertical to the next)
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22. The Result? Obstacles…
Source: Take Charge Product Management © by Greg Geracie. All rights 22
reserved.
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23. Who Was Involved in the
Guides Development?
Source: Take Charge Product Management © by Greg Geracie. All rights 23
reserved.
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24. Broad Industry Participation
A wide variety of contributors:
• Sponsor: The Association of International Product
Marketing and Management (AIPMM)
• Principle Editors: Greg Geracie and MIT professor
Dr. Steven D. Eppinger
• Contributors: 60 industry participants spanning:
– Academics, analysts, associations, authors, bloggers, co
nsultants, thought leaders, and practitioners
These contributions have come from around the
world.
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25. Academic Representation
Participation from academics at
leading universities
• Including:
– Cambridge University
– DePaul University
– The Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT)
– University of Calgary
– University of Wisconsin
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26. Product Management
Generous contributions from the global product
management community.
Greg Cohen
Therese Padilla
Tom Grant
Roman Pichler
Linda Gorchels
Scott Sehlhorst
Steve Johnson
Cindy F. Solomon
Jeff Lash
Adrienne Tan
Linda Merrick
Don Vendetti
And there are many, many more…
© AIPMM 2013
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27. Cross-Discipline Participation
Incorporated thought leaders from the
adjoining professions too:
• Project Management
– Duggal, Goff, Hanley, Heerkens,
Lambert, Rothman, Saladis, and Starke
• Business Analysis
– Brennan, Heidt, Hilty, Larson, and McWhorter
• User Experience
– Gunther, Smith, and Van Tyne
Tremendous participation and support!
© AIPMM 2013
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28. Contributor Comments
“I immediately recognized the value to create an international standard to guide our
profession, much as PMBOK has for the field of project management and BABOK has
for the discipline of business analysis.” - Greg Cohen, 280 Group
“This document will become a vital addition to every project manager’s library and will
sit proudly on the shelf next to the PMBOK.” - Lee Lambert, CEO, Lambert
Consulting Group
“…aligning terms and language between the ProdBOK, BABOK, and PMBOK will help
the industry (at large).” - Richard Larson, President, Watermark Learning
“ We think that it's very important for the product management community to have a
common reference point for the roles and responsibilities of product management. We
expect it to help provide additional credibility to the product management function in
organizations.” - Nick Coster, Partner, Brainmates
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29. Summary
• Honor to have sponsored this industry-wide effort
• Thankful for the strong support of so many talented
and dedicated professionals
• Tackles several of the key challenges facing the
profession
- Academic adoption
- Lexicon
- Portability of skills
Get your copy.
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30. Questions
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31. Now Available at Amazon!
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32. Our Friends
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33. REGISTER NOW:
https://prodbok.eventbrite.com/
Sponsor options:
http://startupproduct.com/call-for-sponsors/
http://startupproduct.com
@startupproduct

34. Please Join Us Again!
AIPMM Webinar Series:
McKinsey on Transformation
Thursday, Sep 26th, 12 pm ET
http://aipmm.com/aipmm_webinars/
Global Product Management Talk:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/prodmgmttalk
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