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Product Managers, how do you do idea brainstorming effectively while working remotely?
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Using miro with product teams helps a lot. Basically, all the new multiplayer drawing tools help, even Figma.
@germa Totally agree. While remote work used to rely upon on a lot of async commenting, also being able to leverage these tools in real time is where they can really shine. In my last role, my CEO was of the mind that everyone should have the working doc open in a meeting and be ready to make the change themself. There is no reason to have one person be the secretary to everyone else. It means that meeting notes and decisions are embedded in the working doc, not spread across every attendees' notes.
@5harath @danylpo No problem, I have a quick answer: each of the tools has its own advantages.
Google is handy with its spreadsheets, presentations, file sharing, and Notion is strong with documents, storing and organizing information.
Why give up the advantages when you can make a convenient configuration.
@mituhin I wouldn't use too many tools because it gets confusing. Who will post what and where? Sure, we can set rools but it'll always be a pain in the abs to communicate to other what things were shared and where.
@gabriele_sangrigoli I agree, There is a team data base (where it is important to work systematically as a team, keeping everything in order), and there are many cases of individual interactions, where the choice of tool depends on the task, not on the rules of the team.
There is no universal tool. The more universal they are, the less useful they become.
It's okay to have 5, 10, 20 tools in the technology stack of modern remote teams. The main thing is to use them consciously, without creating chaos. We seem to be succeeding in this.
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Miro + Notion + good old pen and paper! Always helps to just write things down and send a photo across even if it's not the most 'efficient' method.
Make it clear that silence is ok, silence is acceptable and silence is appreciated. Most calls result in poor brainstorming because people feel the need to fill in the silence with talk. While silence is totally acceptable in physical brainstorming. Once you do this people will get time to hear themselves and think about what was said and result in better conversations and brainstorming
We continued a tradition that we had while we were back in office -- a daily 12PM meeting without any particular agenda. None of us thought of it as a "meeting" and coz it was agenda-less, we'd brainstorm solutions kinda organically. Any task of priority would also bubble up organically. And then may be a quick chat about a movie. We continued this into Zoom is all -- while remote, that meeting also served as a hangout that we enjoyed. I was the manager and I learn the 12PM meeting is still alive and kicking even after my leaving.
Honestly - I love video chatting and working on a white board. Feels a little bit like remote teaching/learning, but it can be very similar to having a classic white board session.
Other than that, we've pushed using Asana and Google Docs to promote creativity and a writing culture for new ideas!
@nicmahaney1 Can't go wrong with white-boarding sessions, be it on person or online :)
Asana is the best for product tracking progress 💯
@nicmahaney1 @5harath I'm curious why do most people prefer Asana over Trello. I think Trello is faster, easier to customize and make your own and wayyyyy less red tape. I really want to know.
@5harath @steven_brewis I personally don't have any real experience with trello, so can't provide as much help there, but Asana has been perfect for my team
We organized a closed ideation portal to post and discuss ideas and keep everything in one place (using UseResponse Feedback). Plus we have weekly meetings in Zoom to discuss these ideas in more detail
1. Preparation: define goals + exercises based on those goals on Miro
2. set up: Miro + Butter.us
3. In the brainstorming: mixture of icebreakers and exercises with the moderator not partecipating in the brainstorming, explaining exercises, starting groups/timers etc
Worked pretty well for us!
Product Development Process Is the Core, Defining the Problem, Holding Brainstorming Sessions, Conducting User Research, Focus on Documentation, Communication, Product Development Best Practices, The Right Set of Software Tools, A Key to Success and many more.
We love creative Fridays. Start the Zoom session, crack open a beer and wine - start with a convo non-work related. Then give the team context into what the ultimate end-goal of the brainstorm.
Tools: Miro, Zoom, Slack, Corona & La Crema
Hi @5harath - Do you know guidde.com?
It's a video-based platform that enables you to create, share, request, search (and always find) knowledge in just a few clicks. Super useful for remote onboarding and training of new employees, establishing and sharing best practices, replacing release notes on new product updates, helping customers navigate complex workflows, and probably many more use cases!
Happy to chat about it if you wish to!
I think I’m in wrong section I didn’t realize this was a development thing associated with tech I am tech illiterate for sure but a lot of the things that people are working on seem interesting and I wish I knew more about it
Miro! Couldn't live without it now. We also use Slack and Zoom, but Miro is perfect for getting ideas and thoughts 'on paper'.
Hey @5harath - We use Guidde.com and Slack ALL THE TIME :) Lately, we also added Miro for more visual stuff. I've used Ruttl in the past, didn't love it.
This is a personal experience, during the pandemic I started working at businesign.com as a developer, this is a new project so many things are not well organized including how we work together remotely. finally, we use Telegram to communicate, maybe this application is not specifically designed for work but from my experience, using Telegram is much simpler in communicating and sharing files.
We (a team of 3) have been developing Stormz (https://stormz.me) for 10 years now. It has been used by pro workshop facilitators all over the world and we're about to launch a brand new version very soon. It is a little bit like Trello for brainstorming and therefore is a great alternative to the many whiteboard-like tools that you have on the market. Reach out to me if you like early access to the new version.
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