Tips for research and development

On this page

• Store files in one location
• Track product development
• Consolidate product information in one website
• Showcase new product ideas
• Collect product feedback from customers
• Collaborate on documents
• Hold video meetings with your team
• Connect with co-workers using one address
• Manage meetings and product updates
• Use generative AI at work

               

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Store files in one location

When working with a team to get a product to market, keep your work in a central location where everyone can securely store and access the files they need. Product managers and designers can easily collaborate and share confidential product designs, quality guidelines, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and mock-ups in a secure workspace using Drive or a shared drive. When someone incorporates feedback and approvals, Drive shows you what files have changed. Even better, you and your external clients can securely access the latest files remotely on any device.

Learn how

Add files to Drive

If you're using the latest Chrome Browser or Firefox, you can drag files or folders from your computer into a Drive folder. Or, you can click New File upload or Folder upload and choose the file or folder you want to upload.

Add files to a shared drive

Requires at least Contributor access

1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
2. At the left, click Shared drives and double-click one of your shared drives.
3. At the top left, click New.
4. Click the type of file or folder you want to create or upload from your computer. 

Any files you add are owned by the team. If you leave the shared drive, your files remain.

 

 

Track product development

Keep track of sourcing activities for new products by creating a shared task list in Sheets. Create checklists to review new products and processes, then assign tasks to team members. Team members across the globe can directly update the task list in real time, without having to sift through everyone’s email updates. With everyone accessing and updating the same spreadsheet, it’s easier to distribute tasks and oversee development during all points of the product lifecycle.

Learn how

Create a checklist in Sheets

1. In Google Drive, click NewGoogle SheetsBlank spreadsheet.
2. Click Untitled spreadsheet and enter a title for your project plan.
3. Add columns. For example, you might add columns for tasks, task owners, due dates, status, and comments.
4. Add content to track the tasks in your project.

Learn more at the Google Workspace Learning Center

 

 

Consolidate product information in one website

Keeping track of new product plans and resources can be time-consuming, especially if you’re managing different product teams across the globe. Keep your product information, designs, KPIs, budget costs, and documents in one place with a Sites website. Now everyone in your organization—no matter where they’re located—can keep up to date on the product development process.

Learn how

Create and name your site

The name you create here is the document name that appears in Google Drive. The document name is only visible to you.

1. Choose an option:

   • From the Sites homepage, at the top, click Blank, or to choose a template, click Template gallery and select a template.
   • From Google Drive, click New MoreGoogle Sites.
2. At the top left, enter a document name for your site and press Enter.

Learn more at the Google Sites Help Center

 

 

Showcase new product ideas

Want to share a new idea for a product or process? Get your organization quickly onboard with a Slides presentation that describes details, outlines market research strategies, establishes budgets and key timelines, and more. Make your presentation even more dynamic by using Gemini for Google Workspace in Slides to generate and add visuals such as images and graphs.

Learn how

Create a presentation

1. Open the Slides home screen at Google Slides.
2. In the top left, under "Start a new presentation," click New . This will create and open your new presentation.

You can also create new presentations from the URL https://slides.google.com/create.

Learn more at the Google Docs Editors Help Center

Create images based on slide content with Gemini

1. On your computer, open a presentation in Google Slides.
2. At the top right, click Ask Gemini .
3. On the side panel, you can:
   • Create an image based on a selected slide: Enter “Create an image" or "Suggest images for this slide.”
   • Select a suggested prompt: The Gemini in the Slides side panel might suggest images based on the content on your slides.
   • Create your own prompt: For example, you can ask “Create an image of a dog with glasses.”
4. Press Enter.
5. To insert a specific image, hover over the image and click Insert .
   • Optional: To send feedback about the image, click Good suggestion or Bad suggestion .
6. You can also:
   • Edit the prompt: Click Edit Prompt .
   • Generate more images: At the bottom, click Generate more .

Generate a new slide with Gemini

You can use the Gemini in Slides side panel to generate a new slide.

1. On your computer, open a presentation in Google Slides.
   • Tip: New slides will be generated using your current theme.
2. At the top right, click Ask Gemini .
3. On the side panel, select a prompt or create your own. Reference files with @ to create slides using your documents from Google Drive.
   • Examples:
     • “Create a slide about how to optimally train for a marathon.”
     • “Create a slide about @ Company 2023 Goals deck.”
     • "Create a slide about doc @Core Team sync."
     • "Create a slide proposing ideas for engaging with our customers."
4. From the generated slide, you can:
   • Get a different version: In the menu at the bottom of the slide, click Retry .
   • Add the slide to your presentation: In the menu at the bottom of the slide, click Insert .
   • Refine the generated slide: In the menu at the bottom of the slide, click Close . On the side panel, write a new prompt.
   • Send feedback: In the menu at the bottom of the slide, click Good suggestion or Bad suggestion .

Learn more at the Google Docs Editors Help Center

 

 

Collect product feedback from customers

When a product’s in the early stages of development, create a market research survey using Forms to capture customer feedback. Product managers can then sort, organize, and analyze the results in Sheets to improve product quality. Embed the results on an internal website using Sites so the entire team knows the best way to move the product forward.

Learn how

Create a form

1. Go to forms.google.com.
2. Click Blank form .
3. Name your untitled form.

Add a Sheets file to your site

1. On a computer, open a site in new Google Sites.
2. At the right, click Insert.
3. At the bottom of the menu, select the type of file you want to add, e.g. Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms, or Charts.
4. Choose a file Insert.
5. To publish your changes, at the top right, click Publish.

 

 

Collaborate on documents

If your organization is developing new products or processes, you need an easy way to manage its product documentation requirements. With Docs, you can create documents for product guidelines, design notes, research data, and more. Want to brainstorm a new product with your team? Create a document and instantly share it so everyone can contribute ideas. People can edit documents together in real time, chat within files, and get targeted feedback using comments and suggestions.

Learn how

Create and name your document

1. On your computer, open a Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms or Vids  home screen.
2. Click Create .

You can also:

• Create a file from template
• Use a template in Google Vids

At the top of the page, click Untitled document and enter a new title.

 

 

Hold video meetings with your team

Want to schedule a meeting with one of your suppliers across the globe? Hold instant video meetings between design teams, suppliers, sourcing teams, manufacturers, and more using Google Meet. Or, join a video meeting to brainstorm ideas for new products, get virtual feedback on a product in progress, or instantly share task updates. Everyone in a product team can communicate easily and regularly without traveling and still get the benefit of face-to-face contact—all from a computer or mobile device.

Learn how

1. ​Go to Google Meet.
2. Click New Meeting.
3. Select an option:
   • Create a meeting for later:
     • To share the meeting details for a future meeting, copy the meeting link and share with participants.
     • To directly start the meeting with this link, paste the link into a browser; or enter the link into the “Enter a code or link” field click Join.
   • Start an instant meeting: Create a new meeting and join the meeting directly. 
   • Schedule in Google Calendar: To schedule a meeting, you’re directed to Google Calendar.

Tip: Google Workspace Essentials users can't schedule a meeting in Google Calendar.

Learn more at the Google Meet Help Center

 

 

Connect with co-workers using one address

Want to reduce the time you spend emailing different members of product teams? Need to share the same information with designers, suppliers, or manufacturers across the globe? Make communication easier by creating an email list for your team using Groups. Instead of emailing people individually, use the group’s email address to send status updates and share resources with everyone at once.

Learn how

Create a group

1. Sign in to Google Groups.
2. At the top, click Create group.
3. Enter information and choose settings for the group.
   Settings reference.
4. Click Create group.
   Wait a few minutes for your new group to become active before sending a message to it. Otherwise, you might get a notification that your message couldn't be delivered.

Learn more at the Google Groups Help Center

 

 

Manage meetings and product updates

If you’re working with different product teams in remote locations and operating in multiple time zones, it can be challenging to keep track of everyone’s availability. With Calendar, you can layer your team members’ calendars to see when everyone is free. Or, create different shared team calendars so everyone’s aware of key meetings, training, product updates, and deadlines.

Learn how

See others' calendars side by side

You can see guests' calendars side by side in Day view when you create an event. Make sure you have turned on this ability by going to Settings  Settings  View options.

1. On your computer, open Google Calendar.
2. On the left click Search for people.
3. Start typing someone’s name and choose the person you want to meet with.
4. At the top left, click Create Event.
5. Click Find a time. If the guest you invited has shared their calendar with you, you'll see their calendar alongside yours. Guests marked as optional won’t show up.

Note: To check if a room is available, click Add rooms or Add location. Then, choose a room.

Create a team calendar and share it with people

You can only create new calendars from a browser and not from the Google Calendar app. Once the calendar is created, you can find it on your browser and in the app.

1. On your computer, open Google Calendar.
2. On the left, next to "Other calendars," click Add other calendars  Create new calendar.
3. Add a name and description for your calendar.
4. Click Create calendar.
5. If you want to share your calendar, click on it in the left bar, then select Share with specific people.

Tip: After you create and share a calendar, you can schedule events for that calendar. Learn how to create an event in a shared calendar.

Use generative AI at work

If your organization supports it, you can use the artificial intelligence add-on, Gemini for Google Workspace. Use Gemini directly in Google Workspace apps like Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, Vids, and Gmail, to help you write, visualize, organize, and connect. You can also use Gemini as a standalone experience at gemini.google.com. 

Learn how

• Get started with Gemini
• Get tips for writing prompts

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