What is UX-PM? Three levels, one goal: putting user experience at the center of product work

Last week we said that UX-PM is a product certification, not a design certification. This week we go one step back and answer the simple question: what is UX-PM, exactly?

The short answer

UX-PM is the international UX certification for product and management profiles. UXalliance, a network of independent UX consultancies on five continents, endorses the program. In addition, a certified partner delivers it locally in each country.

UX professionals created the program in 2011 because they saw the same problem in every company. Most companies treated user experience as a design task. In reality, it is a product responsibility. So they built UX-PM to give product managers, team leads and executives the knowledge to take that responsibility.

Since then, more than 15,000 professionals in around 19 countries have completed the UX-PM certification. The content is the same everywhere and the trainers are local. This is why a UX-PM certificate means the same thing in Madrid, São Paulo, Warsaw or Paris.

Three levels, one path

The UX-PM certification is not one course. Instead, it is a path with three levels, and each level answers a different question.

Level 1: Adopting UX

Level 1: Adopting UX answers the question “what is UX and why does it matter to my product?” This level is for people who are new to UX. It is also for people who work with UX teams but do not understand their work yet.

First, you learn the basic concepts. Then, you learn the main research and design methods and how to recognise good and bad user experience in a product. As a result, at the end of Level 1 you can have a real conversation with a designer or a researcher.

Level 2: Executing UX

Level 2: Executing UX answers the question “how do I integrate UX into my product process?” This level is for people who already manage a product or a team. They want to make UX part of the daily work: discovery, definition, delivery and follow-up.

Here you learn how to plan research and how to work with design and development. Most importantly, you learn how to bring user insights into product decisions.

Level 3: Leading UX

Level 3: Leading UX answers the question “how do I make UX a strategic asset for the organisation?” This level is for people who lead.

You learn how to measure UX maturity and how to build a UX strategy. In addition, you learn how to align user experience with business goals and how to defend UX investment in front of the executive team.

You choose how far to go

Do not worry if this looks like a lot. You can stop after any level. For example, many people take Level 1 as a team and only some of them continue to Level 3. However, the levels form a sequence, and each one builds on the previous one.

One goal

Three levels, different audiences and different questions. Still, the goal is always the same: to put user experience at the center of product work.

This is the difference between UX-PM and a course about a tool or a method. The UX-PM certification does not certify that you know how to run a usability test. It certifies something more useful: that you know how to use what you learn from users to make better product decisions, at your level of responsibility.

How the training works

Each level is a short, intensive training. A certified partner delivers it in person or online. The format is practical: cases, exercises and discussion, not only theory. Because the groups are small, people can work on their own products and situations.

At the end of each level, you receive a certificate issued by UXalliance. Then, you join a global community of UX-PM alumni.

Who should read the next articles

In the coming weeks we will go deeper into each level. We will also share examples from certified teams and look at how UX-PM is evolving for products with AI.

So, if you have a hand in product decisions and you want to understand what the UX-PM certification can do for you or your team, this series is for you.

UX-PM is an international UX certification program operated within the UXalliance network.