Published rubric

Certified Product Leader 360™ Rubric

The Certified Product Leader 360 credential is earned by submitting a portfolio that meets the six competency pillars below. Each pillar is scored at one of three performance levels by a PLA reviewer. This rubric is the same one reviewers use.

Emerging

Baseline competency

Proficient

Meets the bar

Advanced

Exceeds the bar

Issuing authority & accreditation status

Certified Product Leader 360™ is a private credential issued by Product Leader Academy. It is not accredited by any government, university, or industry-recognized accrediting body (including but not limited to AIPMM, PMI, or any university certification). Employers and third parties evaluating this credential should treat it as evidence of portfolio-based coursework, not as an accredited qualification.

How to earn the credential

1
Complete the PLA free curriculum to at least 80% profile completion.
2
Submit one portfolio artifact per pillar (six total) through your PLA account.
3
A PLA reviewer scores each pillar at Emerging, Proficient, or Advanced against the criteria on this page.
4
To pass, you need Proficient or higher on at least 5 of 6 pillars, with no pillar below the Emerging bar.
5
Pay the $399 credential issuance fee. Your credential is issued with a public verification URL.

Reviewers return a written scorecard. If any pillar falls below the bar, you receive targeted resubmission guidance and one free re-review within 60 days.

The six pillars

Each pillar requires one portfolio artifact and is scored independently against three performance levels.

Pillar 01

Product Strategy & Business Model

Required artifact

A written product strategy brief (2–4 pages) for a real or candidate product, covering problem, target segment, business model, and three strategic bets.

Emerging

Strategy names the segment and the business model, but bets are generic or untied to segment evidence.

Proficient

Strategy ties each bet to a specific segment insight and a measurable business outcome within 2–4 quarters.

Advanced

Strategy explicitly reasons about counter-positioning, second-order effects, and what evidence would falsify each bet.

Pillar 02

Customer Discovery & Opportunity Sizing

Required artifact

Discovery write-up: 5+ interview synthesis notes, an opportunity tree, and an opportunity-size model with stated assumptions.

Emerging

Interviews are documented but synthesis is thin; size model uses industry numbers without local assumptions.

Proficient

Opportunity tree links user problems to product bets; size model has 3+ stated, falsifiable assumptions.

Advanced

Synthesis distinguishes signal from preference; size model shows sensitivity to the two highest-leverage assumptions.

Pillar 03

Delivery & Cross-Functional Execution

Required artifact

A shipped (or staged) feature with PRD, acceptance criteria, launch plan, and a post-launch retro.

Emerging

PRD and acceptance criteria are complete but retro is descriptive, not decision-oriented.

Proficient

Retro names at least one process change adopted by the team and one scope/scoping lesson with next-time behavior.

Advanced

Retro separates execution signal from outcome signal and shows the decision rule used to cut or add scope mid-flight.

Pillar 04

Product Analytics & Experimentation

Required artifact

One analytics or experiment case: chosen metric tree, instrumentation plan, and a reading, not just a result.

Emerging

Metric tree is present; reading is 'it went up/down' without causal discussion.

Proficient

Reading addresses sample size, segment heterogeneity, and at least one alternative explanation.

Advanced

Reading explicitly states the decision the metric is supposed to inform and whether the result is actionable at this n.

Pillar 05

Acquisition, Conversion & Retention

Required artifact

Funnel or retention case: current funnel with numbers, one diagnosis, and one intervention plan with expected effect and success threshold.

Emerging

Funnel is mapped but diagnosis is a best-practice list, not a ranked bet.

Proficient

Diagnosis is a ranked set of hypotheses with a clearly chosen first test and stop-criterion.

Advanced

Intervention plan names the counter-hypothesis, the disconfirming signal, and what you will stop doing if it succeeds.

Pillar 06

Product Leadership & Communication

Required artifact

An executive communication artifact (memo, deck, or decision doc) written for a real or simulated stakeholder.

Emerging

Artifact communicates the decision but buries the ask or decision request.

Proficient

Artifact leads with the decision requested, supports it with the top-3 pieces of evidence, and names the trade-off.

Advanced

Artifact pre-empts the two strongest objections and names the condition under which the recommendation would flip.

Reviewer calibration & appeals

Every pillar is scored by a PLA reviewer who has passed an internal calibration set. Sample calibration artifacts are republished quarterly.
A second reviewer spot-checks approximately 20% of portfolios across all scoring bands.
You can request a free re-review by a different reviewer within 30 days of your scorecard. The second review is the final decision.

Verification

Each issued credential gets a public verification URL at /verify/<code>. Employers open that URL directly from a resume or LinkedIn to confirm the credential is active, who it was issued to, and when.

Revoked credentials display a revocation notice. Credentials are not transferable.

Ready to earn the credential?

Start with the free curriculum. You can submit your portfolio whenever you're ready.

Start the free curriculum About the credential

Issuing authority & accreditation status

Reviewer calibration & appeals

Every pillar is scored by a PLA reviewer who has passed an internal calibration set. Sample calibration artifacts are republished quarterly.

A second reviewer spot-checks approximately 20% of portfolios across all scoring bands.

You can request a free re-review by a different reviewer within 30 days of your scorecard. The second review is the final decision.