Blog Archives

Leardon Solutions San Diego Product Development

May 7 2013 | Cliff | All Posts, Business Tips, Product Development | Comment

San Diego Product Development

At Leardon Solutions, we eat, breath, and sleep product development. It’s something that we’re extremely passionate about. Everyone has an innovator / entrepreneur buried within and the funnest part of our job is helping people bring that innovator / entrepreneur out by creating an environment of collaboration that combines industry experience, creative drive and thought leadership.

Since 2005, we’ve been working with the product development community within San Diego and globally. We have discovered that San Diego product development isn’t only great for innovators and entrepreneurs just starting their journey, but also has the talent to create some truly amazing startup teams especially in the areas of consumer electronics, medical device and diagnostic equipment, health and fitness, and sporting goods.

The large biotech innovators in San Diego create a high quality leadership minded talent pool perfect for the kind of teams looking to develop disruptive technologies and devices within specific niche markets.

If you’re in Southern California and ready to take the leap of faith with your product idea, We suggest that you do your research and pick a team close to home if possible. Working with a local team that you may have face to face meetings with while reviewing physical prototypes can have several advantages such as avoiding communication pitfalls and costly time delays.

Have questions about your product development journey? Contact us today, we may be able to help.

Tagged San Diego

Product Development With The Customer In Mind From Day 1

February 21 2013 | Cliff | All Posts, Product Development | Comment

Product Development With The Customer In Mind

With the advent of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and e-tail solutions like Amazon.com, communication for a global community is now easier than ever before in history. This is great news in many ways, but especially for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses attempting to launch new products into the market place.

While the fundamentals of building and selling product are still very much the same as they have always been. Never before in history has the entrepreneur / small business had a global reach like they have now.

However, with that voice and reach that communications technology allows an organization, comes responsibilities of thinking about product development differently in terms of what roll the customer plays in the development of that product from day one.

It is now more important than ever to build a customer-centric product from the inception of the product all the way through manufacturing and even at the point of sale. The reason why is that the global community can make or break a product in very little time.

Functions like customer reviews and ratings on many trusted sites have in large part, replaced high dollar marketing campaigns from a consumer perceptive. User reviews direct from the consumer are a powerful alley or foe. If you build a great product, many people will know about it quickly. If you build a bad product, many more people will know about even faster.

An immediate action item is to thoroughly evaluate your intended end user and to be sure that you are in fact building a product that addresses a need or want. Making this a core value proposition will help keep your product development team focused and avoid the pitfalls of feature creep.

Need more information on how to design for customer from day 1? Please contact us here.

Tagged product development tips

Find A Product Requirements Document – Here Is A List

February 7 2013 | Cliff | All Posts, Business Tips, Product Development | 2 Comments

If you have an idea for a great product such as a medical device, retail product for mass market or even a niche product, a great way to start is with a product requirements document.

A product requirements document or PRD will help you to fully explore your idea on paper to see if it answers the basic questions that are fundamental to building a great product that serves a practical purpose in today’s market place. A correctly executed product requirements document can provide you with the following:

1) Answers to unknowns

If you find yourself scratching your head with the unknowns of product, a PRD can help you see the idea in an organized way that helps you keep track of how particular elements of the product are connected in theory and the purpose they serve.

2) Communication

A product requirements document can help you communicate the necessary components of your product to your team members, vendors, suppliers and others.

3) Version Tracking

By keeping track of the documentation, you can be sure that all stakeholders have the correct document when the PRD needs to be referred to. If you have a large group of people that need access to the document or need to contribute to it, consider building an online Wiki.

4) Keeping on track

With multiple people involved in the process, a product runs the risk of experiencing feature creep. Sometimes this feature creep can backseat the original purpose of the product. Refer to earlier versions of the PRD to make sure that the product is still focused on the correct market(s) and resolves the right problems.

Need a Product Requirements Document Template?

We have compiled a list of paid and free templates available on the web.

How to write a PRD

http://www.inc.com/tools/product-requirements-document.html

Microsoft Docx formatted PRD

Great outline of a PRD from MIT

Need more information? Contact the Leardon Solutions team here.

Product Development Is NOT Product Manufacturing

January 24 2013 | Cliff | All Posts, Manufacturing, Manufacturing Tips, Product Development | Comment

If you are looking to develop a product, it’s important to know the key differences between product development and product manufacturing. The two terms are often confused and the expectations of each are vastly different.

What Is Product Development?

Product development requires that a creative team of engineers, industrial designers and program managers work in sync to solve unique problems related to functionality, design, standards and the costs of a product idea.

By in large, a process is followed and often referred to as the product development lifecycle. This lifecycle includes gates and checkpoints that help the product development team reduce failure rates, avoid common pitfalls and design the product for manufacturability.

Generally, the product development lifecycle can take far longer than the actual manufacturing of a product. When performed correctly, product development will reduce manufacturing time and costs by achieving the aforementioned goals.

Product Manufacturing

After the product development has been completed and production prototypes have been fully qualified, manufacturing is ready to begin. A well designed product can be replicated thousands of times with consistent performance results directly off the production line.

Comparatively, manufacturing a product is easier since most variables and unique problems to that particular product have been solved and worked into the production prototype which was designed with manufacturability in mind.

Common pitfalls to watch for during product manufacturing include quality control, materials sourcing issues, labor problems and missed delivery dates.

If you have questions about product development or manufacturing, please contact us here for more information.

Tagged Joe Donoghue, Manufacturing, Product Development

How To Find A Great Electrical Engineer For Product Development

January 22 2013 | Cliff | All Posts, Business Tips, Product Development | Comment

If you are a small business, startup or entrepreneur developing a product and you’re looking for a team or an individual to contribute when it comes to electrical engineering, then there are a few things that you might want to take note of. We recently asked our own in house electrical engineer Ryan Wilshusen about steps he would take to qualify candidates who may wish to take on an electrical engineering role related to new product development. Shortly after we explained that we weren’t looking to replace him, he gave us these answers.

Q: Are there questions startup teams or business should ask companies like Leardon regarding their electrical engineering team specific to the project or in general?

Ryan: Potential customers should get a background on the electrical engineering team or individual. What’s their past experience? What have they designed in the past? How is that experience relevant to their product? It’s important to place a timeline on their experience; the electronic landscape changes on a daily basis. Make sure your engineering team is up to speed on the latest technologies so the design can take advantage of parts and processes that are common right now to ensure cost efficiency and a long product life.

Q: Are there areas of your trade that have the highest risk of potential failure? can those be avoided / if so / how ?

Ryan: Many engineers can make a functional electronic design. The tough part is finding experience with navigating that design through regulatory and safety requirements and creating a design that can be easily and cost effectively manufactured. The electrical design must be constrained by the requirements during the prototype stage to avoid undoing mistakes down the line.

Q: What are great traits of a top notch electrical engineer ?

Ryan: A good electrical engineer understands the system design of the product. A good electrical engineer understands how his or her design impacts the mechanical, firmware, software, regulatory, safety, and manufacturing of the overall system. The best thing for the electrical engineer is not always the best overall decision for the product.

Q: How would you recommend someone pre-screen an EE prior to hiring them?

Ryan: You can make the most of your pre-screen meeting by having someone on your team knowledgeable in electronics. They don’t need to be an electrical engineer but they should have some understanding of electronics. If all else fails, read some Wikipedia and Make articles. The goal is to avoid being duped by a poor designer.

Still need answers, feel free to contact the Leardon team here.

Tagged Electrical Engineering, product development tips

Product Development Problems

January 3 2013 | Cliff | All Posts, Business Tips, Product Development | Comment

Product Development Problems Can Balloon Quickly

Regardless of the experience of the team, product development problems will arise during your product development process. The ability to recover from these problems will largely dictate the overall success of the product.

At Leardon Solutions, new clients sometimes come to us with problems that need immediate solutions to save the product from certain death. Problems can arise in any number of areas from prototyping to manufacturing. If the project has been mismanaged to any degree, only a highly experienced team can right the boat for smooth sailing with minimal damage and loss of speed.

If you have found yourself in a bind with your current vendors and suppliers, not all hope is lost. Teams like Leardon work tirelessly to correct problems with your current vendors to avoid the cost overruns associated with moving tooling to other vendors, renegotiating contracts and repairing damaged relationships/partnerships.

Like the game of Dominoes, failures in the pipeline will affect the overall product. Do not allow your product development problems to balloon to the popping point, step in and get a second opinion if you feel uncomfortable with the current process.

For more information, contact us or visit our product development forums

Tagged Joseph Donoghue, Product Development

Start 2013 With Your Innovative Product Idea

December 27 2012 | Cliff | All Posts, Business Tips, Product Development, Prototyping | Comment

The New Year is just around the corner and if you have been thinking about a product idea for a while or built a homemade version of a prototype, perhaps a great New Years Resolution is to pursue your dream of bringing a marketable product to reality in 2013.

Here are some things to think about when it’s time to get serious about building your product.

1) Don’t fall in love with a bad idea

Listen to feedback from friends, family and focus groups. Read the body language of people because often they won’t tell you what they’re really thinking to your face. Don’t fall in love with the first few iterations of your product. Things will change quickly. Be open to feedback and remain flexible.

2) Don’t quit your day job (yet)

When you no longer have a single minute in the day to fulfill purchase orders and you have the money but not the time to scale your business, then it is a good time to consider walking away from your day job. However, until then, hang on to that job that helps pay the rent because many things can change rapidly for better or worse in any area from manufacturing to distribution of your product.

3) Don’t ask just anyone for help

It’s easy to fall into the trap of feeling overwhelmed when developing a product. Reaching out and asking people for help is a good thing, but asking the right people is going to make your life much easier. Do your research and convince rockstars to join your team, even if it’s just an advisory or mentor position. Getting the wrong people involved is a great way to spend a lot of time and money just spinning your wheels.

4) Expect the best but prepare for the worst

Be real with yourself in regards to what you are willing to sacrifice to make this thing work. You may be surprised with how much you don’t need to get by.

5) Stay positive and remember to smile

From day one, it’s imperative that you are perceived as someone people want to be around and be inspired by. An easy way to achieve this is to keep a positive frame of mind and to smile. It may take some serious effort especially when things get really tough, but in the long term it will pay off.

Have tips of your own? We would love to hear them.

Also, feel free to contact us with any questions.

Tagged Joe Donoghue, product development tips

The Best Industrial Design

December 18 2012 | Cliff | All Posts, Business Tips, Industrial Design, Product Development | Comments Off

Creating The Best Industrial Design

Creating the most effective industrial design is no easy task. Achieving the best design that accommodates all aspects of a great product which can be produced for a profit is a tricky proposition that takes more than a just a great design eye to achieve quality fit, form and function.

It is important not to over complicate the process of finding the right design for your product idea. Here are some tips that may help guide you down the right path and help you avoid getting overwhelmed or frustrated to the point where you throw in the towel.

Industrial Design, Product Development, San Diego, Orange County, Prototyping, Leardon Solutions, Leardon.com, Joe Donoghue, Murray Learmonth

Leardon Solutions Industrial Design

1) Do not re-invent the wheel

Are there products on the market that have functions or designs similar to yours, but you think your product can do the same task faster, better or cheaper? Head to the store to play with those products and ask yourself what they did right with their designs and what they didn’t do so well. Are the buttons in the right place? Does the chosen material make the product feel like a quality product? Is the product worth the price they’re asking for it? Does it stick out from the crowd sitting on the shelf? What other types of products does it look like?

2) Hire an industrial designer with access to a product development team

Few things are more frustrating than spending months on an awesome design only to discover that it can’t be manufactured on a larger scale. You will discover that the best industrial design ideas incorporate design for manufacturability. Keep this in mind as you look for an industrial designer that fits your style and ask if the product is being designed with manufacturability in mind. Often, experienced industrial designers will work hand in hand with a product development team as they develop the concept.

3) 3D printing vs. real world manufacturing

While there a number of ways that you can create great a 3D embodiment of your product, don’t fall into the trap of believing a 3D / rapid prototype is going to be final product design. While 3D printing a rapid prototyping is a great and inexpensive way to get an idea of your industrial design, it falls short of proving fit and function verification. If you have a product with multiple moving parts and complex internal functions, a machined prototype mock-up will help prove the concept more effectively and expose any major problems early on in the product development life cycle before those problems are uncovered in production.

4) Hire an experienced industrial designer

Even if your product has the best fit and function, it may not sell simply based on it’s appearance. The best industrial designers understand design, usability, design trends, human behavior and some engineering. A great industrial design places a product within a industry but also makes it stand out. It’s a fine balance.

5) The Wow factor

If you are aiming to sell your product in retail, one of the most important aspects of drawing the consumer in is the “Wow!” factor. The “Wow!” factor is a combination of great design, function, fit and magic. It’s a product that doesn’t scare a consumer off, but instead draws them in by combining familiar fit, form and functions with innovative and outside the box thinking added to all three.

Still have questions? Contact Us for more information about industrial design and product development.

Tagged Industrial Design Tips, Joe Donoghue, Product Development

iFactory Plays Host To The Best Product Development

November 20 2012 | Cliff | All Posts, Business Tips, events, Northern Ireland, Product Design, Product Development, U.K. | Comment

On 8 and 9 November 2012 iFactory played host to product development experts, entrepreneurs and small businesses in Belfast, Northern Ireland and Letterkenny, Ireland.

If you are in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland, U.K. and looking to further develop a product idea into a business, the team at iFactory can help. Leardon Solutions was invited to speak as part of this two-day iFactory event. Joe Donoghue and Murray Learmonth from Leardon Solutions spoke about entrepreneurial product development and how to be successful even when your resources are limited.

The event was part of the iFactory iLearning series with this particular event titled “Product Design – The blocks for success” and featured keynote speaker Christian Majgaard M.Sc.,B.A. who is known as “The Man Who Recaptured The True Mission Of Lego”. iFactory, part-financed by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund through the Interreg IVA Cross Border Programme, is an innovation support programme helping small businesses grow their companies.

Some of the main topics that were covered during the event included a session about product development in general as well as a motivating presentation by Mr. Majgaard discussing the customer focused product development at Lego. Participants of the events were curious about developing a prototype and what to expect from the process in terms of cost and time involvement. Leardon provided sound advice based on their industrial design, prototyping, manufacturing, and product development life cycle knowledge.

Joe Donoghue, Apt Floe, Leardon Solutions, Northern Ireland

From left to right: Dr. Barney Toal, Jason Paul and Joe Donoghue

Rory Campbell, Anita Murphy, Eunan Cunningham

Also featured were a few success stories such as the Apt Innovations Floe Drain Down System and Rory’s Story Cubes.

For more information feel free to contact us.

Tagged Joe Donoghue, Northern Ireland

Traits Of The Best Product Development Companies

November 6 2012 | Cliff | All Posts, Business Tips, Product Design, Product Development, Prototyping | Comment

If you are looking for the best product development companies, consider these traits

Not all product development companies are created equal and when it comes down to spending your hard earned money and valuable time developing your next product, you need every advantage that you can get to avoid cost overruns, missed delivery schedules and quality control issues. All of these risks of product development can be minimized or avoided all together by choosing the best product development company for your needs. Here are a few tips that we can offer based on years of experience developing products with entrepreneurs, startups, and businesses.

#1) Choose an end-to-end solution:

Maybe we’re playing favorites here, but we always suggest a team that offers an end-to-end solution. With so many variables already working against the entrepreneur, choosing an end-to-end solution can eliminate a lot of areas of risk. These include, but are not limited to the common pitfalls of communication issues between engineering / manufacturing groups, cultural differences when doing business overseas and negotiating costs with suppliers.

#2) Choose a company that is passionate about providing the best product development experience.

If you are an entrepreneur reading this article, then you are are probably passionate enough to seriously consider getting a professional prototype or product produced. You’ll want to select a team of product development professionals that eat, sleep and breath product development. A passionate team will go far beyond delivering a baseline product and will have enough vision to build a viable product that can be iterated upon as needs or markets change.

#3) Everyone gets involved

While it can be information overload in the beginning, a key indicator that you have found a great team is when your first or second meeting has more than just a sales guy or gal discussing your product idea with you. Passionate teams like to work together and will often bring electrical / mechanical engineers, industrial designers and project manager to the first few rounds of meetings to help discuss and evaluate options. If you are talking only to a sales guy or gal, this could mean that you are missing out on valuable feedback from key parts of the team.

#4) The Best Product Development Companies follow a time tested and proven product development lifecycle

Each product varies greatly in shape, size and function, but the product development process in which that product becomes a reality should be proven and time tested. Ask the product development company to explain to you their product development process. The best product development companies rarely stray from their product development strategy because it has been developed to be efficient in managing the project management triangle – Cost / Scope / Schedule / Quality.

#5) Great communicators and relationships

One of the most important things that sets apart the best product development companies from others is their relationships with their customers, vendors and suppliers. It’s important that the company you may hire can pull a few strings and call in some favors. Great product development rarely goes without few snags or unexpected hiccups. If the company of your choosing has long standing relationships with their vendors, problems can be resolved quickly and often at a fraction of the cost. These relationships are critical to success especially overseas where greater weight is put on the value of a relationship in regards to business.

#6) An impressive portfolio

Check out their portfolio. Do the products look impressive? are their some that are in the same or similar market as your idea? If so, this could be a key indicator that you will benefit from working with this company.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Have comments about this article? We’d love to hear them. Just comment below.

Page 1 of 512 3 4 5 »