Product R&D is a vital skill for creating innovative and customer-centric solutions. However, working remotely can pose some challenges for developing and applying this skill effectively. How can you overcome these obstacles and enhance your Product R&D skills from anywhere? Here are some tips to help you out.
One of the benefits of working remotely is that you have access to a wide range of online courses and resources that can help you learn new Product R&D concepts and techniques. You can find courses on platforms like Coursera, Udemy, or edX that cover topics such as design thinking, user research, prototyping, testing, and more. You can also explore blogs, podcasts, videos, and books that offer insights and best practices from experts and practitioners in the field. Make sure to set aside some time each week to learn from these sources and apply what you learn to your own projects.
Make sure that you attend relevant online courses. For example, if you are going to work on back end web development, then there is no point of attending any course related to “autonomous driving”. Put another way, don’t attend an online course because it is famous and many people are getting certified with it.
Another way to develop your Product R&D skills remotely is to join online communities and networks that connect you with other professionals and enthusiasts who share your interest and passion. You can find groups on platforms like LinkedIn, Slack, or Reddit that focus on specific aspects of Product R&D, such as user experience, product management, or innovation. You can also participate in online events, webinars, workshops, or hackathons that offer opportunities to learn from speakers, mentors, or peers. By joining these communities and networks, you can exchange ideas, feedback, and support, as well as expand your network and exposure.
Exchanging your knowledge with other professionals is a great way to improve your writing skills and to gain more knowledge about your area of expertise
Working on personal or side projects is a great way to practice and improve your Product R&D skills remotely. You can choose a problem or need that you are passionate about solving, or a product or service that you want to create or improve. You can then follow the Product R&D process, from identifying and validating your target market and value proposition, to designing and building your prototype, to testing and iterating your solution. You can also use tools like Figma, Miro, or InVision to create and share your work online. Working on personal or side projects can help you develop your creativity, problem-solving, and technical skills, as well as showcase your portfolio and achievements.
Having a side project is very rewarding because it makes you free from any constraints set by your current job. However, be careful not to work continuously each day and even during the weekend, because you will each the burnout zone faster that you expect.
Feedback and mentorship are essential for developing your Product R&D skills remotely. You can seek feedback from your customers, users, colleagues, managers, or mentors on your products, prototypes, or ideas. You can use tools like SurveyMonkey, UserTesting, or Google Forms to collect and analyze feedback online. You can also seek mentorship from experienced Product R&D professionals who can offer you guidance, advice, and support. You can find mentors on platforms like MentorCruise, GrowthMentor, or Plato, or through your online communities and networks. By seeking feedback and mentorship, you can learn from others' perspectives, experiences, and expertise, as well as improve your communication and collaboration skills.
Frequently people tell that they are eager to get more knowledge from online courses, but they don’t know where to start given the huge amount of available courses. So, a mentor will guide you to find the relevant online courses to your area of expertise.
Finally, one of the best ways to develop your Product R&D skills remotely is to reflect and document your learnings regularly. You can use tools like Evernote, Notion, or Google Docs to keep a journal or a blog of your Product R&D journey. You can write about your goals, challenges, successes, failures, learnings, and insights. You can also use tools like Trello, Asana, or Jira to track and manage your projects and tasks. By reflecting and documenting your learnings, you can assess your progress, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and plan your next steps and actions.
Writing is an underestimated skill. It is obvious that we work to achieve business results, not to make documents. Nevertheless writing helps to measure the work progress, and to share it with your customers. Moreover sharing the knowledge between different teams is more effective when it is well documented and shared by mail in in internal company wiki.