Best Product Management Certifications for 2022

As a product manager, it’s crucial to stay on top of the latest product management strategies, ideas, and launches. One way to do that is to get certified in product management. Here, we’ll cover the best product management certifications to level up your product management career in 2022.

What Is Product Management?

Product management encompasses the best practices, strategies, and processes that ensure a company makes a product that keeps the customer happy. Product managers’ tasks include researching competitors and the market, developing product strategies and plans, communicating plans to stakeholders, creating and sticking to a product roadmap, and setting up a feedback loop with customers in order to continuously improve the product.

What Is a Product Management Certification?

A product management certification is a credential earned through training on areas of product management, including but not limited to:

• Customer experience research
• End user testing
• Market research
• Product lifecycle development and management
• Product roadmap planning

Though a product manager learns about these areas on the job, they benefit from learning more innovative and efficient ways of approaching these competencies.

Best Product Management Certifications for 2022

AIPMM Certified Product Manager Credential

Best for: Mid-level professionals looking to hone their product lifecycle management skills

The Association of International Product Marketing Management (AIPMM) offers the Certified Product Manager (CPM) credential, among many others. It is geared towards established product management professionals. This credential demonstrates proficiency in developing, launching, and continuously improving products based on global best practices.

The program focuses on internal functions that drive a successful product lifecycle from initial idea to final launch. Those enrolled in the Certified Product Manager program will train on areas such as:

• Competitive analysis
• Developing product launch plans
• Market planning
• Phase-Gate Process modeling
• Product Life Cycle Project modeling
• Product/Market Data modeling
• Product specifications
• Writing segmented business plans

The exam costs $395 for members and $520 for non-members. Registering for the exam as a non-member includes AIPMM’s annual membership fee of $125.

PDMA’s New Product Development Professional Certificate

Best for: Professionals with 2-5 years of experience looking to advance into leadership

The Product Development and Management Association offers the New Product Development (NPD) Professional Certificate. A non-profit governing board of global product development and innovation management experts administer the NPDP exam, which is open to product managers, product team members, product leaders, and innovation executives.

The NPDP credential attests to an individual’s mastery of new product development principles and end-to-end product processes. It also identifies individuals who have the skills, knowledge, and experience to manage product lines and product teams, making them fit for leadership positions.

PMHQ’s One Week PM

Best for: Aspiring product managers

Product Manager HQ (PMHQ) hosts a variety of certification topics, including its one-week product management certification. This is a good starting point for new product managers especially, but even more experienced product managers could benefit from this one-week course.

The course is made up of learning modules that focus on practical application of acquired skills. In the beginning of the week-long course, users learn the fundamental skills and methodologies of product management. From there, users learn how to conduct end-user research, define product specifications, and conduct prototype development and testing.

At the end of the week, learners create full product roadmaps and learn more about the core marketing and tech functions that are involved in product management. The course also prepares learners for job interviews and culminates in a final exam. Signing up for and completing the course gets users lifetime access to the course, one-on-one mentorship, and entry into a widespread product management professional community.

Product School’s Product Management Certification

Best for: New product managers looking for path to executive leadership

Product Management Certification At the start of the course, learners find out how to identify opportunities and target customers before learning the software product lifecycle from start to finish (ideation to launch). Throughout the course, learners have access to veteran product managers who have extensive experience in software product development.

After completing the course, users have lifetime access to a professional community of product managers and a credential to insert into their LinkedIn profile to get recognized Product School offers two additional certifications. The Product Leader Certificate is perfect for those with about three years of experience in product management who are looking to advance to the next stage of their career. The Product Executive Certificate is great for current product leaders who want to learn how to scale products and lead dynamic teams.

Further Areas of Specialization in Product Management

For product management professionals who are looking to acquire knowledge on a particular area of product management, the below certifications may be of interest.

AIPMM Agile Certified Product Management and Owner Credential

Best for: Professionals of any level who want to become Agile product managers

AIPMM provides the Agile Certified Product Manager and Product Owner (ACPMPO) credential. Earning this certification demonstrates in-depth knowledge of basic and advanced strategies and tactics in Agile product management and Agile product ownership. This certification displays an individual’s excellent grasp of Agile product management.

This course covers all of the core Product Owner concepts, as well as the following:

• Agile best practices

• Effective leadership within Agile teams

• Lean, XP, and Kanban

• Product Owner strategies for the entire product life cycle

• Successful integration of business strategy, product management, and Agile processes

The exam costs $395 for members and $520 for non-members. Registering for the exam as a non-member includes AIPMM’s annual membership fee of $125. The certification course is available in self-study or in-person formats.

AIPMM Certified Digital Product Manager Credential

Best for: Experienced product managers seeking specialization in digital product management

The Certified Digital Product Manager (CDPM) credential shows that an individual understands and excels at the practical skills, processes, and concepts for successful digital product management. Those who earn this certification have proven that they fully understand concepts from multiple disciplines, such as Lean methodology, Jobs-To-Be-Done theory, and Design Thinking.

At the end, individuals receive a complimentary resume review to ensure job readiness and effective communication of new skills and knowledge.

The exam costs $395 for members and $520 for non-members. Registering for the exam as a non-member includes AIPMM’s annual membership fee of $125.

Product School’s One Week Technical PM

Best for: Aspiring technical product managers

Product School’s One Week Technical PM certification teaches the fundamentals of technical product management, how to develop high-quality software products, and how to market yourself to employers when applying to jobs.

Highlighted topics in the course include:

• Front- and back-end web and mobile app frameworks
• Machine learning
• Product analytics and experimentation
• Product security and user data privacy
• System design and architectural patterns in software products
• Virtual reality

Each day of the course allows learners to apply what they’ve learned in hands-on projects.

Choosing the Right Product Management Certification

There are several course and exam offerings out there, each with their own focus and required knowledge level, as well as scheduling and payment options.

Think first about what is motivating you to get a product management certification. If you’re looking to break into product management, the beginner-level courses featured here are a great place to start, but consider enrolling in a more comprehensive program that will also fit your budget (PMHQ or Product School’s PM certification). Aspiring product managers who have a particular focus in mind should check out Product School’s Technical PM credential.

For product managers with some work experience under their belt, flexible options are key, as you already devote 40+ hours to your normal work schedule to product management. AIPMM offers flexible format options, and PDMA’s NPDP certification is an affordable program to consider.

Whether you’re new to product management, or looking to sharpen your acquired skills as a seasoned professional, there are plenty of product management certification options available to help you level up in your product management career.

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