Tech Fundamentals Course

Tech Fundamentals is an online, self-paced course for product managers who want to build technical fluency without learning to code. It covers the concepts you need to make better product decisions, have more productive conversations with developers, and hold your own in technical discussions — across 10 units and 38 lessons, from platforms and tech stacks to APIs, security, DevOps, and interview preparation.

No. The course is built on the premise that coding is not a requirement for effective product management — but technical literacy is. You will not write a single line of code. Instead, you will learn how the systems your developers work with actually function, what the terminology means, and how to use that knowledge to collaborate more effectively, make better prioritisation calls, and ask the right questions at the right time.

The course is designed for product managers from non-technical backgrounds who want to close the gap between themselves and their engineering teams. It is also well suited to PMs transitioning into more technical roles, product leaders who want to better support their teams through tech debt and DevOps conversations, and anyone preparing for a technical product manager interview. If you have ever nodded along in a technical discussion while understanding very little, this course is for you.

A tech stack is the combination of programming languages, frameworks, databases, and tools your engineering team uses to build and run a product. As a product manager, understanding your stack helps you make more realistic estimates, have more credible conversations with developers, and recognise when a proposed feature is likely to be technically straightforward or unexpectedly complex. Unit 3 of the course covers tech stacks and databases in depth, including frontend vs backend and how cutting-edge technologies like AI/ML and blockchain fit in.

Tech debt refers to the accumulated cost of shortcuts, outdated code, and deferred maintenance in a codebase. It builds up when teams move fast without investing in quality — and left unaddressed, it slows delivery, increases the risk of bugs, and makes new features harder to build. Product managers need to understand tech debt because they are often in the room when the trade-off between shipping fast and building well is being made. Unit 5 of the course covers what tech debt is, how it accumulates, and the strategies teams use to pay it down.

An API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of rules that allows different software applications to communicate with each other. When your product pulls in payment data, sends notifications, or connects to a third-party tool, it is almost certainly doing so through an API. Product managers who understand APIs can assess integration complexity more accurately, have sharper conversations with engineering about what is feasible, and make better decisions about build vs buy. Unit 4 of the course covers key API concepts and a hands-on activity using the API Strategy Design Canvas.

A technical product manager typically works on infrastructure, developer tools, APIs, or platform products — areas where the customer is often an engineer and where deeper technical knowledge is required to define requirements and evaluate feasibility. A general product manager may work on a wider range of products without needing the same depth of technical knowledge. That said, the line is blurring. Technical fluency is increasingly expected of all product managers, regardless of the product they own. Tech Fundamentals gives you the foundation to function effectively in either role.

The most common friction between PMs and developers comes down to two things: a lack of shared language and a lack of respect for how developers do their best work. When PMs understand the concepts developers work with — stacks, APIs, tech debt, testing cycles, deployment environments — they can write better requirements, set more realistic expectations with stakeholders, and protect their team's focus. Units 7 and 8 of the course cover developer productivity, the rhythm of a developer's day, and how to prepare for launch with a DevOps team.

Yes. Unit 9 is dedicated entirely to interview preparation. It covers both types of questions you are likely to face — those that assess how you work with developers, and those that test your technical aptitude — with practice questions and worked example answers drawn from the course content. The glossary and roundup in Unit 10 also serve as a reference you can return to before any technical interview.

The course has 10 units and 38 lessons. Most students complete it over 4–6 weeks alongside their full-time role. You have 12 months' access with no deadline, so there is no pressure to rush — and you can revisit any lesson, glossary term, or downloadable template any time.