July 2023 Issue - Remote Tech

THE UNDISCOVERED TALENT THAT COMPANIES HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR! JULY 2023 | ISSUE #5

REMOTE TECH BUILD TRUST AND CREDIBILITY - SOFT SKILLS AS A SERVICE

Productizing FOR THE FUTURE Soft Skills As A Service PAGE 05

Becoming The Go-To Digital Transformation Partner PAGE 10

The Role of a Fractional Delivery Manager and CTO PAGE 12

Building a Digital Course (Behind The Scene) PAGE 15

Scan Me!

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e t o N s ' r o t i d E Editor's Note

Building effective remote product teams requires a different approach to assemble dedicated teams that seamlessly align to client's objectives While our core focus has always been to equip talent with tablestake tech product management skills, we also recognize the importance of soft skills to build credibility and trust with businesses that the talent works with.

The best value-add we can provide to startups and companies that engage our remote tech teams is having a pulse on what is happening with the product development on a regular basis.

This is the power of tech outsourcing when done right.

We are excited to continue moving towards a game-changing and innovative engagement model that bridges the gap between companies and remote tech talent.

Cheers!

Alida

WHAT'S INSIDE 02

15

EDITOR'S NOTE

BUILDING A DIGITAL COURSE Behind The Scenes

05 SOFT SKILLS AS A SERVICE The critical role of remote tech teams in virtual collaborations

10

24 PROMOS For Indonesia Startups

BECOMING THE GO-TO DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION PARTNER There's No Slowing Down For Us

12 PROJECT MANAGEMENT AS A SERVICE Fractional Delivery Manager and CTO

14 PRODUCTIZING THE UPSKILLING PROGRAM On-Demand and Bite-Size Upskilling

@innov8pod

www.innov8pod.com

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JANUARY 2023

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JULY 2023

SOFT SKILLS AS A SERVICE

While our core focus has always been to equip talent with tech product management skills, we also recognize the importance of soft skills to build credibility and trust with clients that engage the talent.

The best value-add for startups and companies that collaborate with our inhouse remote product teams is having a pulse on the tech projects on a regular basis.

We have taken a three-pronged approach to offer transparency and remain accountable: 1. A complementary fractional delivery manager works with the remote team on a day-to-day basis and is the main point of contact with companies for progress updates and decision making 2. Code auditing is provided to every client and they can choose to employ it, using an independent auditor, so that they can verify the quality of the work 3. Rotation of scrum masters, with each team member becoming a scrum master for at least one sprint. This instills the team ownership of the sprint objectives This is the power of tech outsourcing when done right.

We are excited to continue moving towards a gamechanging and innovative engagement model that bridges the gap between companies and remote tech talent.

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JULY 2023

I have learnt more things that are interesting for me in this incubator. For example, I have learnt how to use Miro, how to create a project portfolio, organizing virtual team meetings using Google Meet and Zoom as scum master, conducting research , how to create a product road map, defining problem statements, using digital tools and so much more.

This was super interesting and I think it will help me in next project I will do

My experience in the incubator

Clementine Uwase Product Lead

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JULY 2023

WORKING REMOTELY: Learning soft skills What I liked the most was the way our product coach taught us from scratch how to understand the tech project we have to work on, how to define the hypothesis for validation, defining the problem statement, empathizing with the user, conducting user market research and surveying, defining user persona and user journey mapping, brainstorming on technical solutions, system process flow, product roadmap and prototyping.

Mariam Umutesi - Backend Developer

Bienfait Mwumvaneza - QA Lead

I have learnt new things after joining the incubator, I thought that being a developer was all about programming only but I have learned that there are various stages you have to pass through in order to reach the final product like digital discovery, digital journey, etc. I have learnt to collaborate virtually as a team even if you are not together, communication skills, time management, and I’m still learning from this incubator.

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JULY 2023

How to Build Effective Remote Product Teams As the world continues to shift towards remote work, it's becoming increasingly important for talent to possess the necessary soft skills to succeed in this new environment. In Rwanda, a growing number of talented individuals are taking the initiative to learn these skills and adapt to the changing work landscape.

One of the key soft skills that is essential for remote work is the ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously. This requires a high level of organization and prioritization, as well as the ability to stay focused and productive in a potentially distracting environment. Many talented individuals in Rwanda are recognizing the importance of this skill and are actively seeking out resources and training to improve their abilities.

Another important soft skill for remote work is clear communication. When working remotely, it's crucial to be able to communicate effectively with colleagues and clients, even when you're not in the same physical location. This includes being able to express ideas clearly and concisely, as well as actively listening and responding to feedback.

In addition to managing multiple tasks and communicating clearly, remote workers also need to be able to raise concerns in a timely manner and have a sense of urgency.

As remote work continues to become more prevalent, the demand for professionals with strong soft skills will only continue to grow. In Rwanda, a new generation of talented individuals is rising to the challenge, actively seeking out opportunities to learn and develop the skills they need to succeed in this new work landscape.

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JULY 2023

Working Remotely Builds a Global Mindset

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JULY 2023

THERE'S NO SLOWING DOWN FOR US

Read More

innov8pod.com

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BEING AT THE FOREFRONT OF EMERGING TECH In today's rapidly evolving world, where emerging technologies are reshaping industries and pushing boundaries, tech product managers play a crucial role in driving innovation and bringing ideas to reality. They are the bridge between the visionary ideas of developers and the needs and desires of the business and end-users.

At Innov8POD, we foster a continuous learning environment for the talent.

We consistently push the talent to build expertise in emerging tech so that we can position ourselves as the goto tech product management partner for startups and large companies.

Our team recently joined the Microsoft partner program so that we can provide cost effective support for cloud migration, generative AI solutioning, updating applications and building new apps.

We have positioned ourselves as the go-to digital transformation partner for startups and large companies As Innov8pod continues to navigate the realms of AI, Web3, and Blockchain, the empowerment of talents become paramount to success. They are the compass that ensures technology solves real problems, shaping a better future.

The ability of our talents to foster a culture of innovation, and full ownership of work, we are able to provide efficient and effective services and create a new standard for how businesses and remote talent partner and collaborate.

AI, WEB3 & BLOCKCHAIN Remote Tech | 11

JULY 2023

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AS A SERVICE Fractional Delivery Manager One of the greatest advantages of fractional delivery managers is the costeffectiveness it brings to businesses.

Organizations no longer need to invest in full-time project managers or CTOs, saving valuable resources while still gaining access to top-tier expertise. This flexibility allows businesses to scale their project management and technical solutioning needs based on demand, ensuring optimal utilization of resources and maximizing efficiency.

Our outsourcing process is more than a simple plug and play system. We assemble a dedicated remote product team to align with your mission and business objectives.

On top of that, we have a network of fractional delivery managers who are both technical and bring a wealth of experience and expertise to guide the remote teams through complex projects, all while balancing the demands of multiple clients.

With Fractional Delivery Managers at the helm, businesses unlock a world of opportunities. They enable organizations to focus on their core compentencies while leaving the complexities of project management in the hands of experienced professionals. This empowers businesses to innovate, adapt, and thrive in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

This approach to project delivery has proven to be super effective as we build credibility and trust with our clients. We then provide their service on a complimentary basis so that they can be your main point of contact on the tech projects that the remote teams are working on.

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JULY 2023

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JULY 2023

Productizing the Upskilling Program On-Demand and Bite-Size Upskilling At Innov8POD, we have a fast growing community of tech talent in Africa and Asia.

We continue to build an exclusive network of vetted talent, who go through a career discovery incubator.

To date, we have received 275 applications but only incubated 45 participants. We intentionally run small size cohorts to ensure that each participant gets sufficient time with the product coach and is able to ask as many questions and as often as they need to.

But our mission is bigger! We aim to double the cohort size, and to maintain the quality, it is inevitable that some parts of the program has to be productized.

Productizing the program involved turning some content into an online course, creating a methodology to guide the entire experience and to develop frameworks and templates to support new concepts in a practical way.

This was a huge upfront effort, to plan, script, create presentations and graphics, film, edit and publish to an LMS. But the benefits are felt almost immediately.

Not only was I able to reduce the 60 hours of coaching substantially, I also stopped repeating the content for every cohort. The participants now have a more flexible experience where they can consume the content in bite-size formats that is not overwhelming.

Now, let me share some of the meticulous work that went into building the online course.

Check out the behind-the-scenes...

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JULY 2023

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JULY 2023

BUILDING A DIGITAL COURSE It all starts here.

After running 3 cohorts and spending over 180 hours to cover new concepts, digital tools and coach 45 participants, I quickly realized that it was better to create a digital course so that the incubator can be best used for the hands-on learning.

I want to give you a look behind the scene on how everything came together...

...First, there are 10 main components that I had to work through to build a digital course:

1. Deciding on Creating A Digital Course 2. The Course Content 3. Frameworks and Templates 4. The Presentation 5. Scripting 6. The production team 7. Recording location 8. Filming 9. Video Editing 10. Publishing

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JULY 2023

IT IS NOT A WALK IN THE PARK!

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JULY 2023

READY to augment digital learning experience?

Am I ready to create your digital course?

It took me a whole two years to get to a "YES, I need to create a digital course!".

I always knew that at some point I would digitalize the coaching, but I was not sure whether what I had built was sufficient.

I first wanted to validate the course with a few people in a live setting. It allowed me to identify the most impactful methods to deliver the coaching.

I also felt more confident that my value as a coach was to equip the participants with the skills in a handson way.

The digital course covers the theoretical concepts and it removes the "lecturing" in the incubator

What do I include in the digital course?

It became clear to me that jamming too much details for a beginner learner makes the experience overwhelming, while being too high level may not provide the indepth upskilling for experienced learners.

I settled on creating learning tiers, so that a beginner and an expert can find the right value specific to their upskilling needs.

This also allows Innov8POD to better vet and quality talent based on their upskilling journey

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JULY 2023

Creating methodologies, frameworks and templates is the best value add for a digital course

The best way to show and tell how tech, agile and product management concepts are applied to real life problems is through methodologies and frameworks.

This is by far, the best value that learners get out of an upskilling program.

To define these requires a lot of structuring and restructuring ideas and concepts in a way that is easy to understand. This forms the baseline of the hands-on work to be done by the learner.

I always start with simple templates which go through several iterations and evolve over time, based on feedback from users.

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JULY 2023

READY to augment digital learning experience?

Once the course structure is nailed down (at least the MVP version), now the work to create the content and turn that into a presentation is where the fun lies.

My approach was to start with bullet points and short paragraphs. This was then transformed into a clean presentation with icons, animation, and graphics.

Presenting the course content is both an art and a science!

To keep the learners focused, I used less words and more graphics. This means that I had to do more of the talking during filming

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JULY 2023

Coming Up....

In the next issue, we will continue on: 1. Scripting 2. Choosing a production team 3. Recording location 4. Filming 5. Video Editing 6. Publishing

Remote Tech | 21

JULY 2023

A great product is the outcome of a great team Remote Tech | 22

JULY 2023

CORNER @singapore_girl

Curious about life in Singapore, working remotely and living abroad?

Check out the latest videos before you pack your bags

@singapore_girl Remote Tech | 23

JULY 2023

PR O M O : TE CH T A LE N T D E M A N D ECH F O R IN D O N E S IA S T A R T UPS

The tech startup scene in Indonesia has witnessed phenomenal growth in recent years, leading to an exponential increase in demand for tech talent. As the industry continues to thrive, there is an unprecedented demand for skilled professionals in various domains like software development, data science, scrum master and product developer.

Join the next incubator cohort and start working with companies in Indonesia!

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JULY 2023

PR O M O : DO YOU WANT TO UPSKILL IN AI, WEB3 AND BLOCKCHAIN?

The last incubator cohort of 2023!

Sept 18th, 2023 Are you a: developer product owner product designer QA engineer Are you looking to: explore your career path in tech gain hands-on experience in Web3 and Blockchain building build products and system implementation join a remote product team, after the incubator

RSVP Now!

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JULY 2023

Sign up for the inaugural conference!

AI SUMMIT: AFRICA TO THE WORLD

RWANDA OCT 23 - NOV 1, 2023

10 DAYS. 2 EVENTS. WORK + PLAY. LOCAL TOURS. AUTHENTIC GUIDES - ALL PROVIDED

CONFERENCE Remote work in different industries

Connecting companies and vetted tech talent

Digital Transformation Strategy & POCs Web3 Hackathons (for local businesses) Reception & Awards

2 DAY CONFERENCE

TOUR Gorilla Trekking Lake Muhazi Kigali City Tour Rwanda Traditional Dressing Photo Op

8 DAY TOUR Remote Tech | 26

JULY 2023

RWANDA

OCT 23 - NOV 1, 2023

AI SUMMIT: AFRICA TO THE WORLDl conference! ugura Sign up for the ina

10 DAYS. 2 EVENTS. WORK + PLAY. LOCAL TOURS. AUTHENTIC GUIDES - ALL PROVIDED

CONFERENCE + TOUR Remote work in different industries Connecting companies and vetted tech talent Digital Transformation Strategy & POCs (for local businesses) Web3 Hackathons Reception & Awards

Gorilla Trekking Kigali City Tour Lake Muhazi Rwanda Traditional Dressing Photo Op

2 DAYS CONFERENCE + 8 DAYS TOUR! Remote Tech | 27

JULY 2023

and sign up here to get notified! https://forms.gle/a2hv43jnEY7sYvNB6

Connect, Learn and Explore!

Reserve your spot before August 30th Expand your network and meet with the tech talent in person Enjoy and tour Rwanda!

Package 1: Conference + Tour

Package 2: Conference Only Remote Tech | 28