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Curriculum
The curriculum consists of 24 required courses; each course is five weeks long. Courses are open only to mpd² students, and all students take the same classes in sequence.
Overview
The courses range from those typical of a professional design and development curriculum, product management, understanding through design, obtaining meaning from data, protecting intellectual property, creativity, leading design sprints, design research and managing innovation, to those typical of a business curriculum, such as marketing, finance, accounting, organizational behavior, leadership, negotiation, decision making and business modeling. The courses below can only accomodate MPD students.
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Fall 1
MPD 400-0: Introduction to Product Design and Development
Course Description
- Class time: AM
- Credits: 0.5
- Dates: Sept. 23, Oct. 1, 7, 15, 21
- Instructor: Michael Saubert
Understanding the overall process of the design and development of products and services from opportunity identification to realization.
MPD 450-0: Effective Communication
Course Description
- Class time: PM
- Credits: 0.5
- Dates: Sept. 23, Oct. 1, 7, 15, 21
- Instructor: Beth Bennett
Communication within the corporate environment: public speaking, live presentations, reports, and emails. External communication: interaction with clients/partners, domestic and foreign, crisis communication. Interpersonal and team communication, navigating difficult conversations.
MPD 430-0: Sustainability in the Product Development Process
Course Description
- Class time: AM
- Credits: 0.5
- Dates: Oct. 29, Nov. 4, 12, 18, Dec. 3
- Instructor: Stephen Carr and Craig Arnold
Exploring the choices made in product and service development, and their impact on performance, cost and sustainability strategies.
MPD 442-0: Team Building and Organizational Behavior
Course Description
- Class time: PM
- Credits: 0.5
- Dates: Oct. 29, Nov. 4, 12, 18, Dec. 3
- Instructor: John Boyce
Living with and exploring corporate culture(s), team building, motivation, managing change, feedback and mentoring. Cross-cultural issues in the global marketplace. Applying proven concepts in an organizational environment.
Winter 1
MPD 420-0: Accounting Issues for Product Development
Course Description
- Class time: AM
- Credits: 0.5
- Dates: Jan. 6, 14*, 20, 28, Feb 3
- Instructor: Robin Soffer
Understand the financial statements with emphasis on the Income Statement and Balance Sheet. Understanding, analyzing and explaining the financial performance of a company for managerial decision making. Additional focus on areas of importance to new product teams including variable costing, cost analysis, cost allocations and development of projections for new products.
*January 14th will be a remote class.
MPD 410-0: Understanding through Design
Course Description
- Class time: PM
- Credits: 0.5
- Dates: Jan. 6, 14*, 20, 28, Feb 3
- Instructor: Greg Holderfield
Strong emphasis on right brain creative thinking for service design. Study will include: ethnography, consumer empathy, creative collaboration, brainstorming, design language, brand, storytelling, and the culture of innovation within business.
*January 14th will be a remote class.
MPD 424-0: Financial Issues for Product Development
Course Description
- Class time: AM
- Credits: 0.5
- Dates: Feb. 11, 17, 25, March 3*, 11
- Instructor: Leo Brubaker
Financial skills for product development: valuation, capital structure, corporate governance, risk management, and financial modeling including Monte Carlo methods. Product cost analysis.
*March 3rd will be a remote class.
MPD 444-0: Negotiation/Conflict Resolution
Course Description
- Class time: PM
- Credits: 0.5
- Dates: Feb. 11, 17, 25, March 3*, 11
- Instructor: Thomas Gibbons
Win-win negotiation, power in negotiation, planning and conduct of negotiation. Minimizing and resolving conflicts, tactics and ethics in negotiation. Objective standards in disputes.
*March 3rd will be a remote class.
Spring 1
MPD 432-0: Leading with Data Analytics
Course Description
- Class time: AM
- Credits: 0.5
- Dates: March 31, April 8, 14, 22, 28
- Instructor: Anthony Orzechowski
This course is focused on providing leaders in product development the methods to drive more effective decisions and actions through data analytics. The course will emphasize the use of simple effective visual methods to achieve this.
MPD 408-0: Global Product Design and Supply Chains
Course Description
- Class time: AM
- Credits: 0.5
- Dates: May 6, 12*, 20, 26, June 3
- Instructor: Achal Bassamboo
The challenges and opportunities of global product development. Recent history, economic conditions and the techniques pursued by companies competing in the global economy. Leveraging the global supply and design chains across a variety of industries and contexts.
*On 5/12, MPD 408 will be held from 4-7PM
MPD 445-0: Product Management
Course Description
- Class time: PM
- Credits: 1
- Dates: March 31, April 8, 14, 22, 28, May 6, 12, 20, 26, June 3
- Instructors: Birju Shah
PMs define a product's requirements and then lead a team responsible for its development, launch, and ongoing improvement. Practices in Product Management aims to understand the PM role and develop skills required to perform the role.
Fall 2
MPD 406-0: Human Factors
Course Description
- Class time: AM
- Credits: 0.5
- Dates: Sept. 24, 30, Oct. 8, 14, 22
- Instructor: Russ Branaghan
Human cognitive and physical capabilities and limitations applied to the design of products, processes and services. The design of controls, displays, and human-computer interaction. Design for differing abilities.
MPD 416-0-20 and MPD 416-0-21: Customer Driven Opportunities
Course Description
- Class time: PM
- Credits: 1
- Dates: Sept. 24, 30, Oct. 8, 14, 22, 28, Nov 5, 11, 19, Dec. 2
- Instructors: JoEllen Kames 1 5wk and John Hartman 2 5wk
Integration project starting point, exploring ‘new to the world’ opportunity. Integrates all aspects of product development in a hands-on team project for identifying unmet, under met and unarticulated needs supported by using various research techniques with quantifiable results.
MPD 458-0: Intellectual Capital Strategy
Course Description
- Class time: AM
- Credits: 0.5
- Dates: Oct. 28, Nov 5, 11, 19, Dec. 2
- Instructor: James Conley
Management of innovations and intellectual property. Understanding patents, copyrights, secrets, trademarks. Value translations, value transference. Regulatory and international issues. Using intellectual property as corporate strategy.
Winter 2
MPD 402-0: Management of Product Innovation
Course Description
- Class time: AM
- Credits: 0.5
- Dates: Jan. 7, 13*, 21, 27, Feb 4
- Instructor: John Renaldi, Mike Edmonds
Planning, organizing and creating a product innovation culture. Innovation roadmaps, resource deployment, competencies, partnerships and alliances for sustained innovation productivity.
*January 13th class will be held remote.
MPD 403-0: Creativity and Innovation
Course Description
- Class time: PM
- Credits: 0.5
- Dates: Jan. 7, 13*, 21, 27, Feb. 4
- Instructor: Robert Schwartz
Understand the 6 Friends of Innovation that are central to robust and innovative companies. Culture and leadership, consumer focus and empathy, clarity of vision and brand, focus, talent, tools and behaviors explored through lecture and guest speakers.
*January 13th class will be held remote.
MPD 405-0: Agile Management of Software Product Design & Development
Course Description
- Class time: AM
- Credits: 0.5
- Dates: Feb. 10, 18, 24, March 4*, 10
- Instructor: Chris Riesbeck
Project Management for software: requirements, work breakdown structure, time/cost estimation. Risk management, development methodologies, scope creep. Motivating and maintaining productive teams. Understanding MVP (minimal viable product).
*March 4th class will be held remote.
MPD 404-0: Essentials of Design
Course Description
- Class time: PM
- Credits: 0.5
- Dates: Feb. 10, 18, 24, March 4*, 10
- Instructor: John Hartman
Principles of the visual aspect of design. Deeper understanding of designing for micro-segmentation audience. Development of design dedicated to team integration project.
*March 4th class will be held remote.
Spring 2
MPD 401-1: Principles of Marketing
Course Description
- Class time: PM
- Credits: 0.5
- Dates: Apr. 1, 7, 15, 21, 29
- Instructor: Candy Lee
Understanding and integration of key marketing principles into the management of product development. Identification and application of audience centric goal setting, segmentation, branding, positioning, and promotion techniques to ensure growth of products and services.
MPD 449-0: Global Leadership in a Smart and Connected World
Course Description
- Class time: PM
- Credits: 0.5
- Dates: May 5, 13, 19, 27, June 2
- Instructor: Robert Schwartz
The challenges of leadership of product development teams in a corporate or entrepreneurial environment including how to nurture talent; how to consider growth in a complex, global world; how to lead ethically; how to be a financially literate leader.
MPD 409-2: Business Model Design
Course Description
- Class time: AM
- Credits: 1
- Dates: Apr. 1, 7, 15, 21, 29, May 5, 13, 19, 27, June 2
- Instructors: John Renaldi and Mike Edmonds
Culmination of capstone project integrating all aspects of product development. Iterative development of the capstone business model.