What are the different roles in product R&D and how can you prepare for them?

There are 3 main roles that make up a Master Product Manager 1) Innovation Product manager and this person is mainly responsible for the fuzzy front end including ideation and concept development and roadmaps of long term innovation and innovation strategy 2) Technical Product Manager and this person mainly is responsible for working with R&D and technical team to ensure that the development of the product is on track including technical roadmap. 3) Commercial Product Manager and this person is mainly responsible for the commercial activities of the product during and after launch including price positioning, channel management and commercial strategy Usually several product managers start at the technical product manager role first.

After many years of working with fantastic people who have performed this position. I can define that a Product Manager is the visionary who shapes the destiny of a product. They work hand in hand with customers, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams, always listening keenly to unearth user needs, market opportunities, and product requirements. They don't just oversee the development and launch; they ensure the product grows, meets its goals, and solves real customer problems. Skills needed: Strong business acumen: Master the art of making strategic decisions. Analytical skills: Dive deep into data to make informed choices. Communication skills: Be the bridge between ideas & execution. Customer empathy: Feel the pulse of your audience.

One thing that I think is important to understand is that companies will use different titles for things and depending on the size of the company or team, one person may be filling multiple roles. Some things that I think are important for a product manager: - Articulation of vision and strategy - This comes from understanding their markets, competitors, and the problems that customers have that their products will solve - Curiosity - Coming to a situation seeking to understand rather than jumping straight to conclusion or solution is imperative to being a strong Product person - Collaboration - Many people will talk about working with cross functional teams, and it is true. Product is the hub that must work effectively across all teams

A product manager can also come from a completely different perspective. Currently, there is a lot of talk here about the "early" phase of development. We rely on using product managers for the "product" after sales or service. These managers network with the development departments in the early phase of development and influence them to design repair-friendly and service-friendly developments. The skills required are: - market knowledge for service and repair - in-depth technical know-how - high level of convincing power. Thus, the topic of product influence from a service and after sales perspective would be another possible aspect for the role.

The first thing you must do in new product development is to clearly define the product you want to create. Then have engineering determine whether it’s feasible or what would the concessions have to be and would it still be acceptable. Finally — if you successfully developed the product what would the cost be, the sales margin and what product you already have would be obsoleted and thus determine the real profit contribution from the potential new product. Considering these steps can negate the need for the new product or, at a minimum, suggest working on a potential different new product. Doing the above, keeps your product managers from leading the company in wrong directions. It also may suggest using resources to improve a product.

Product Designer role in R&D? some tips: Be curious: Curiosity is key to being a successful Product Designer. So, ask questions, explore new ideas, and never stop learning. Be creative: Creativity is essential in R&D. So, think outside the box, try new things, and don’t be afraid to fail. Be collaborative: Collaboration is essential in R&D. So, work with your team, share your ideas, and listen to feedback. Be adaptable: Change is inevitable in R&D. So, be flexible, embrace new challenges, and don’t be afraid to pivot. Be passionate: Passion is what separates good Product Designers from great ones. So, love what you do, believe in your ideas, and never give up. Remember that being a Product Designer is not just a job; it’s a lifestyle

I am an Industrial designer particularly in advertising, metal works and in construction. Being exposed to various projects, you should have the mindset of always learning, being open to suggestions and improvements. You crave to be better everyday to hone your skills just to make the projects efficient and less time spent.

As the product Designer on an R&D team at Niantic, I was forced to rapidly design and test with real users. I would hold focus groups to gain and organize feedback for iterations and direction shifts.

Take a page from creative artists: Examine existing products, analyze their designs, and brainstorm how you could design them in a unique way. Familiarize yourself with creative tools, consider the visual appeal of your product, and keep the target audience in mind because different audiences may have varying preferences for designs.

I've known and worked with people who developed soft furniture, Amish Table Designers, automotive interior designers, textile developers, and highly technical people who developed Ballistic Missile Defense systems. They all ask questions. They ask, Why couldn't we do this? Most are serious readers they are oblivious to time when they are deep into a project because how focused they get.

I wholeheartedly believe in keeping up with the industry developments and being a lifelong learner. However, tools that you're most familiar with, or those that stood the test of time, are usually the best choices. Above all else, keep building. The end users don't care about the tools you're using.

Along with the typical technical skills, when a product developer has knowledge and experience of the industry, product vision and current product strategy, it will enable them to make the right technical decisions for the product at the right time. This plays the key role, as in some cases, highly technical teams with little business acumen, may cause significant deviations when executing a preferred solution.

Paper game it first. Don't waste time on trying to build something that is not fun. Then it's not about being the cleanest code. Its about getting your idea in the users hands.

A product developer must look at the big picture from the initial concepts to the long-term scalability of the product. In my time as an early product development engineer, not many of us look out for the operator that will need to build these concepts daily. There is a big difference with building a preliminary concept in an R&D lab compared to building hundreds if not thousands of unit on the production floor. Always keep them in mind.

In my young career as R&D scientist/ product developer I can say that You need to know as more as You can about the unitary processes and the operations involved in your field. You need to listen to all the workers in the process line. Many of these workers has a lot of years of experience doing the same process, so they know everything about the reality of the industrial production in a normal day. The product development has to include all about the process reality, and the ideas of the people who will spend all day manufacturing the new product every day of the year. Mix your scientific resources and data analysis with the experience of the operators.

To succeed in the role of a product analyst, prioritize mastering data analysis and visualization tools, comprehending statistical methods and hypothesis testing, cultivating skills in market research and user behavior analysis, sharpening communication and presentation abilities, staying current with industry trends and tools, constructing a robust portfolio, actively participating in open-source data analysis projects, seeking guidance from seasoned data analysts as mentors, obtaining relevant certifications, and consistently advancing your knowledge through continuous learning and skill refinement.

Data, data, data—it's a crucial aspect. Without a dedicated product analyst closely monitoring your product's performance, advancing to the next stage of product growth is challenging. It's not just about having vast amounts of data; the quality of the data matters. Additionally, using the appropriate statistical tools to draw meaningful conclusions is equally important. To practice this, you can obtain free datasets from the internet and apply SQL and Python to perform analytics. Additionally, work on how you'd present this data effectively to Product Managers, developers, and senior leadership. This hands-on experience with real data can enhance your analytical and communication skills.

There are plenty of excellent data science courses available in the public domain with focus on scripting skills with Python an R. However, most professionals overlook the importance of grounding such abilities on solid statistics foundations; this is why I always recommend to dust off your high school mathematics textbook first.

Depending on organizational set-up, there might be some overlap with controller, business analyst or customer/market insights roles when it comes to product analysis. If the responsibilities of a product analyst are covered by other functions, it would be critical for a product manager or a product owner to have seamless communication with them, and the collaboration should be enabled by the organization.

A product analyst is a linchpin in the product development process, helping the team create, refine, and deliver products that meet customer needs and achieve business objectives. Their analytical and research skills are instrumental in driving the success of the product.

In my experience, to excel as a product owner or project manager, it's crucial to possess exceptional communication skills with developers and a deep understanding of their challenges. Moreover, the ability to effectively shield developers from direct stakeholder communication is vital to prevent requirements creep and missed deadlines. It's worth noting that R&D efforts often don't align well with Agile framework. Based on my observations, I firmly believe that a good product owner should have prior experience as a developer. Mastery of this craft typically doesn't come solely from academic studies. Therefore, my recommendation is to start in a developer role and progressively transition into project management or product ownership.

True product designers are designers who immerse themselves in the need of that product through compassion. This need perspective creates intricate details more vivid to the designers. The courses and training would equip product owners to get insight on the methodology of design .however the true compassionate designer only could design as near to the requirements satisfying product. The characteristics of compassion to fulfill the needs of the time , client will come within the true product designer

Product owners can easily become the babysitters of a project. It is really needed to them to step up into an inspiring role to prevent the team to get blindsighted by bias

To flourish as a product owner, artfully master the intricacies of Agile methodologies, craft a deep understanding of user needs through empathetic engagement, skillfully hone the art of communication, deftly prioritize product features, orchestrate product launches with finesse, unravel the mysteries of business metrics, wield data analytics as a creative tool, metamorphose into a virtuoso of the product domain, and nurture the fertile ground of a growth mindset.

The Product Owner plays a pivotal role in connecting stakeholders, customers, and the development team. Their duties are vital in guaranteeing that the product stays aligned with the vision, provides value, and addresses the target audience's requirements. Key areas of focus include prioritization, crafting user stories, establishing acceptance criteria, and, importantly, engaging in daily collaboration.

I strongly believe that rather than using the conventional wisdom of artificially compartmentalizing people into these roles based on job titles, we should look for the natural attitude fitment and consider these jobs as roles. One can switch from one role to another if that person stays true to the mindset required for that role. For example, a good developer can be a good product manager (or vice versa) if that person can behave like and practice the duties of that role.

I believe that the proposed classification is somewhat unconventional. If, for instance, we discuss a startup's R&D, sustaining a large team can be challenging. Consequently, there could be potential for role merging, such as the Product Owner with the Product Analyst and Manager. It's also commonplace for a CTO (equivalent to a Product Developer in this context) to assume one of the aforementioned roles. If we consider a well-established company, the role of Product Developer, as mentioned, should be divided into subsets such as backend, frontend, QA, and so on. From my perspective, there are four primary areas: Business, Management, UX/UI, and Development.

Mindset mantra to be effective working in Product R&D! Curiosity: Ask more questions, especially about people. Embrace Uncertainty: Share stories of unexpected outcomes. Practice: Use simulations to experience uncertainty. Growth Mindset: Believe in continuous growth and change. Measure Progress: Develop effective mechanisms to track your journey. Remember, you’re not just working in R&D, you’re shaping the future!

Everything I have read implies a project manager or owner can manage any product. All it takes is a knowledge of product management. A person who knows how to manage development of a jet engine can also manage development of medical software. To some extent that is true, but wouldn’t you rather have an aeronautical engineer develop the jet engine and a doctor manage the medical software? And it isn’t just a question of hiring someone who used to work in that field, it also matters that the person continually upgrade their skills, not just in product management but also in jet engines or the medical field. Staying abreast of advances in the target field can be much more time-consuming that staying abreast of advances in product management.