Module 3: Shaping the Opportunity
The learn-fast core of the course: low-res idea in, high-res decision out.
Why and when
Section titled “Why and when”Testing a risky idea cheaply, before anyone builds it, is the highest-leverage skill in product management. This module is that skill, end to end. You’ll reach for it whenever engineering time is about to be committed to an unvalidated idea, whenever an executive arrives certain about what to build, and whenever you need evidence instead of opinions to settle a roomful of confident people.
What you’ll cover
Section titled “What you’ll cover”- a crisp, defensible problem statement
- mapping opportunity options and making an explicit choice
- positioning the idea
- naming the bet: the riskiest assumption as a testable claim, with an explicit win condition
- the minimum viable narrative: six things, nothing more; built to be thrown away
- prototyping with Artifacts: brief like a collaborator (goals, not screens)
- pressure-test and decide: pass/fail/inconclusive, then go, no-go, or revise and retest
The rule
Section titled “The rule”A prototype existing proves nothing. This module isn’t done until you’ve made, and defended, a real call on your own concept.
Where the learning happens
Section titled “Where the learning happens”Not on this page. This site is your map; the classroom is Claude Desktop. Open a Cowork session pointed at the course-materials folder and say: “Take me to Module 3.”
If you’re lost mid-module, paste this into that session, even a brand-new one:
I'm taking the Claude Desktop for Product Managers course and I'm lostsomewhere in Module 3 (Shaping the opportunity). Read COMPANION_INSTRUCTIONS.mdand my-progress.md in this folder, tell me where I am, and offer methree ways forward.