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Maintain A Strong Relationship With The Supplier: Tip #4:

February 21 2012  |   leardonsolutions  |  All Posts, Insider's Perspective TIps, Manufacturing, Manufacturing Tips, Product Development, Program Management, Supplier Management  |  Comment

Product Development, Leardon Solutions, Manufacturing, San Diego, Southern California

Tip #4: Maintain a Strong Relationship with The Supplier

There is a lot of articles written about the importance of the supplier in new product development and innovation. Most of these articles focus on topics such as supply chain management, supply management, supplier relationship management (SRM), and quality control. While these topics cover important issues such as product quality and continuous improvement plans, there is a lack of research and discussion about the importance of a strong supplier relationship when it comes to new product development.

Leardon Solutions has written about how to achieve strong supplier relationships in past articles focusing on supplier capability and commitment. In order to get the necessary commitment and capability from suppliers, there are Five Vital Characteristics that must be implemented into the relationship. These are:

The relationship:

  • Encourages respect
  • The relationship is a partnership between two trusting parties
  • The relationship supports growth and development of the two parties
  • The relationship consists of managed risk taking
  • Both parties have complementary and balanced capabilities.

Each of these vital characteristics impacts the supplier commitment, capability, or both. If these improve, the relationship will improve to the point of becoming a strong relationship. There are three types of relationships, simply stated as Poor, Fair, and Strong:

POOR RELATIONSHIP: A Poor Relationship exists when the supplier does not commit to the relationship and is not a capable of performing the job at hand. In this case, the supplier must demonstrate some desire to increase their capabilities or their commitment, otherwise another supplier should be chosen.

FAIR RELATIONSHIP: A Fair Relationship exists when the supplier is either fully committed to the relationship or demonstrates good capabilities, but not both. It is possible for this type of relationship to be successful in the short term but typically the relationship will fall apart unless improvement is made.

GOOD RELATIONSHIP: A Strong Relationship exists when the supplier exhibits full commitment to the relationship as well as demonstrates excellent capabilities. This is the pinnacle of supplier management and these strong relationships will become long-term success.

Of course, the goal is to achieve a strong relationship because when this is achieved, there are many benefits including:

  • The supplier feels accountable for the success of the project and acts accordingly.
  • The teams collaborate efficiently on solving issues and defects, even when the supplier didn’t cause the issue.
  • The supplier might give preferential treatment such as payment terms, “jumping the production queue”, allowing lower production volumes, or improved pricing.

These are just a few of the benefits of a strong supplier relationship. Successful product development teams understand that strong supplier relationships are absolutely necessary for success and therefore focus on maintaining and improving these relationships.

Need more information? Please contact us with any questions or contact me directly at joseph.donoghue ( at ) leardon.com

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End-to-End Product Development And 4 Reasons You May Want It

January 24 2012  |   leardonsolutions  |  All Posts, Product Development, Program Management  |  1 Comment

Leardon Product DevelopmentAt Leardon Solutions we specialize in end-to-end product development and we’re often asked why the end-to-end product development solution is ideal for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Below are 4 reasons why you and your organization may consider end-to end-product development. It could save you a significant amount of time an money.

In the product development world where service providers are specialized and fragmented, entrepreneurs and the like will often find it necessary to play the role of Product Development Manager and integrate all aspects of the product development life cycle. Who else is going to pull all of this together if it is difficult to find a service provider that can provide an end-to-end product development solution, fulfilling all the needs of the company from the product idea all the way through manufacturing? In fact, there are service providers that can provide an end-to-end solution to micro-enterprises, thereby providing a more effective solution than one where the entrepreneur plays program manager. Below are four reasons why it is best for entrepreneurs and small/medium enterprises to work with a team that is capable of developing your product from beginning to end.

A “big picture” perspective
There are many tradeoffs and compromises that must be made during product development as it isn’t always possible to meet each and every product objectives. One of the first tasks that a program manager performs when starting a project is to prioritize the program objectives. This involves determining if product features, product schedule, or product cost has higher priority. This prioritization gives the product development team a “big picture” perspective which allows them to optimize the complete program rather than just optimizing certain aspects of the project.

The product development process is like a balloon. When the balloon is pressed down in one place, it bulges in another place since there is a set volume of air in the balloon. The constraints and objectives of product development are similar to the volume of air in the balloon. For example, part cost can be lowered by investing in high-volume production tooling. This tooling is expensive but necessary if a low part cost is required. Pushing in one area (lower part costs) causes bulging in another area (higher tooling cost). In product development, it is important to see the big picture by understanding how the product objectives are affected by the constraints of the program. An end-to-end service provider who understands that ownership is required across all phases of the project will provide the big picture perspective and optimize the complete program rather than optimizing specific parts of the program.

Nothing “falls through the cracks”
Typically, service providers specialize in some aspect of the product development life cycle. This could be mechanical design, prototype fabrication, injection molding tools, or production parts. This service provider specialization creates a fragmented industry that doesn’t satisfy the needs of micro-enterprises. Therefore, it is helpful to have a program manager on the team who not only understands the product development life cycle but also knows how to direct and manage the service providers. When somebody who hasn’t worked completely through the product development life cycle manages a project, it is very likely that some deliverables will be forgotten or overlooked which will make program continuity difficult.

When deliverables and program objectives end up “falling through the cracks”, the team becomes inefficient, wasting time and money. Avoid this by either hiring an experienced product development program manager to integrate the fragmented service providers or hiring a service provider who can seamlessly use their team from the start of the program through the end to fulfill all the needs.

“Built in” accountability
Accountability diminishes as more service providers are added to work on a project. Here is a very common example. A product designer from one company might be hired to design a part that will be handed off to another company who will fabricate the part. The outcome is typically a less than optimal design since designers and fabricators typically have conflicting goals and objectives. This scenario usually results in multiple redesigns and requires more time and money than necessary to complete the task.

The idea of using many different service providers on a program could result in wasted time and money. A more efficient team is one where one service provider is accountable for the product, from the idea all the way through production. In the above example, if the designer and the fabricator worked for the same service provider, a discussion on tooling and fabrication would take place at the start and during the design of the part.

Lower overall cost
Product development efficiency results in faster time to market and lower overall cost. This in return leads to profit which can be reinvested for new products or product improvements. If external service providers are being used for product development, an end-to-end service provider will result in the most efficient and effective solution.

Images courtesy of:

Equus Athletics

Bomber

Ecoleeser

Need more information? Please contact us with any questions or contact me directly at joseph.donoghue ( at ) leardon.com

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8 Product Development Myths to Know…..Part 2

January 17 2012  |   leardonsolutions  |  All Posts, Inventing Profit, Manufacturing Tips, Product Design, Product Development, Program Management, Prototyping, San Diego  |  Comment

Product Development MythsPart one of this blog series outlined hardware product development myths, basically it was four misconceptions that many entrepreneurs believe are true and hence prevent them from starting down the product development path. To recap, the myths were (1) Hardware development is prohibitively expensive, (2) Service providers and suppliers do not want to work with small companies or Entrepreneurs, (3) My idea will be stolen by my suppliers, and (4) I need to manufacture in China to be successful.  We know you’re eager to read the last four on our list. Also, if you have some of you’re own, don’t hesitate to include them in our comment section below.

(5) Hardware development takes too long
All types of new product development, including software and hardware, require considerable amounts of time for innovation and invention. Hardware development is different than software development in that tangible tools, fixtures, and automation are required but that doesn’t always mean that hardware development takes longer than software development. To minimize the amount of wasted time in any new product development project, it is best to follow a product development life cycle. With the proper deliverables in each phase and checkpoints prior to exiting and entering phases, the overall process will be streamlined using less time and less money.

(6) I need to buy a large quantity of products from my supplier
The misconception is that all suppliers require that the entrepreneur buy tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of products on their first order. For a custom product, we recommend that the entrepreneur only buy as many products as needed to fulfill the immediate customer demand of the product. There is a high chance that changes will be required as sales begin so keeping the inventory low will minimize the financial pain of any design changes, reworks or repairs.

There are many entrepreneurs who are “up-sold” to higher quantity orders for a lower product price. There are other entrepreneurs who are shocked to learn that a supplier is unwilling to take a low quantity order and will not to work with the customer unless a large order is placed. It is important to know the prices at all order quantities early in the relationship with the supplier. If the supplier is unwilling to fulfill low quantities in the range of 1,000 products, it might be best to switch to another supplier. Chances are high that there are hundreds of other suppliers that are capable of supplying the product and willing to work with entrepreneurs.

(7) I can’t afford to hire all the individuals on a product development team
A hardware product development team consists of development engineers, tool makers, process engineers, software engineers, technicians, fabricators, procurement engineers, buyers, program managers, among others. Many entrepreneurs try to piece together the product development team with service provides or suppliers that perform only one aspect of the product development life cycle. Since these service providers and suppliers do not provide an end-to-end product development solution from product conceptualization to manufacturing, it forces the entrepreneur to take on the burden of managing all the suppliers and the work performed. If the entrepreneur is unfamiliar with the product development life cycle, this creates an inefficient team without accountability or visibility to the tradeoffs between cost, schedule, and scope.

To create an efficient system with full accountability of the work performed, an entrepreneur should minimize the number of hand-offs throughout the cycle by hiring an end-to-end engineering, prototype, and manufacturing firm that internally handles all the hands-offs without dropping or losing any of the knowledge gained throughout phase.

(8) Hardware development isn’t as cool as software development
Without hardware, there would be no use for software. Without software, most hardware would be boring. Both hardware and software development are challenging and fun so go ahead and pursue your product idea!

Need more information? Please contact us with any questions or contact me directly at joseph.donoghue ( at ) leardon.com

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8 Product Development Myths To Know

January 10 2012  |   leardonsolutions  |  All Posts, Customer Profile, Engineering, Inventing Profit, Manufacturing, Manufacturing Tips, News, Product Design, Product Development, Program Management, Prototyping, San Diego, Supplier Management  |  3 Comments

Product Development MythsMany people who hear the word “entrepreneur” or “start-up” typically think of a software team that came up with the latest and greatest app or web-based solution.  Most people don’t correlate the word entrepreneur with somebody developing hardware or physical products but the fact is that many aspiring entrepreneurs migrate towards software rather than hardware due to some false beliefs or myths.  In the next two blog posts, we will discuss eight common hardware product development myths that are commonly discussed in entrepreneur circles. Don’t believe the hype, get the facts and build something you’re passionate about.

(1) Hardware development is prohibitively expensive

Hardware and software product development are not easy and both have more similarities than differences in terms of the cost.  Both require engineers, tools, computers, time, and money, all of which are hard to come by as an entrepreneur.  If you are developing a hardware product for the first time, here are some hints on how to minimize your burn rate as you proceed along the product development life cycle .

  • Work with an engineering services company that has flexible billing arrangements such as amortization of engineering cost into product manufacturing or fixed total engineering costs. Avoid the hourly engineering rate which requires you hand over a blank check to an engineering services team.
  • There is usually no need to spend money on any expensive production tooling in the early prototyping phases. Even if a production-like method must be used to produce a part in a prototype, the cost can be minimized by fabricating only what is absolutely necessary to make the parts.
  • Only fabricate the quantity of prototypes sufficient to meet the needs of the team plus a small number of replacements. Do not fall victim to prototype companies that demand a minimum order quantity (MOQ) of prototypes. You run the risk of filling your garage with units that will never see the light of day.
  • Use the early prototypes for as much qualification testing as possible. Many times, there is no need to use production parts from expensive production tools for early qualification tests. Work with your end to end service team to map out a test and qualification strategy that allows you to test as much as possible on early prototypes.
  • Once you enter into the production qualification phase, try not to lock up cash in expensive inventory by purchasing large quantities of your product. Work with your team and supplier to get a smaller volume, say 1000 production products, that will allow you to test out the market prior to ordering more. This will also prevent expensive inventory reworks.

(2) Service providers and suppliers don’t work with entrepreneurs

Many entrepreneurs have the false believe that all suppliers only want to work with companies that have lots of money and large production quantities.  The real truth is that suppliers really just want to be involved in successful products.  Your success equates to their success.  In order to find suppliers who work with micro-enterprises or entrepreneurs, network at entrepreneur and start-up groups and ask for recommendations.   Entrepreneurs shouldn’t just try to find a service provider or supplier that is willing to accept them as a client.  The entrepreneur should strive to work with a world-class supplier who is capable of fulfilling all their end-to-end product development needs.  This includes services starting at the idea stage all the way through the manufacturing demand fulfillment.

At first, it can be difficult to get the attention of a supplier when you are an entrepreneur with a product idea and without much money.  In the end, you need to convince the supplier that it is worth their time to team up with you to help get your product onto the shelves and into the hands of customers.   This requires that you show them the dedication and persistence you have for your vision.  Show them prototypes, customer data, letters from distributors, and the business plan.  This will provide proof that you are a devoted entrepreneur who wants to team with a world class supplier.

(3) My idea will be stolen by my suppliers

There are just too many stories being told of entrepreneurs who have had their ideas stolen by service providers or suppliers.  This has created an entrepreneur paranoia that prevents open communication with suppliers and sometimes prevents the entrepreneur from developing their product idea.  As a general rule of thumb, suppliers have no desire to steal ideas.  Suppliers know just as well as entrepreneurs that executing an idea is extremely difficult.  These suppliers are focused on running a business and your product will help them grow the business.

Aside from the legal protection of non-disclosure agreements, patents, trademarks, and copyrights, the entrepreneur should follow these words of advice if they are concerned about intellectual property theft:

  • Try to avoid working with suppliers who have direct access into the market you plan on selling.  For example, don’t work with a flashlight supplier who sells to the largest retailers in the world if you have a unique flashlight design.
  • Break up the product design and manufacturing into separate suppliers who don’t work with each other.  This will prevent any one supplier from having all the pieces to the puzzle.  A good end to end solutions service can help you with this strategy.
  • Trust your vendor and develop a long-term relationship.

(4) I need to manufacture in China to be successful

There is a myth that product manufacturing must be done in China or another low wage country if an entrepreneur wants to have any chance of success.  Fortunately, this myth is untrue and there are cost-effective and technically advanced suppliers located throughout the world, serving local markets.  For example, the United States still has an extremely large manufacturing base and in particular Southern California has one of the largest manufacturing bases in the United States.  As written in the report Southern California is the nation’s largest manufacturing economy, if Southern California were a state, it would be considered the third largest manufacturing “state” with 765,000 people employed behind California and Texas.

When entrepreneurs are first starting out to develop their product, think about local service providers before picking up the phone to speak with a supplier half way around the world.  Entrepreneurs do not need to travel to China or another low wage country to successfully manufacture their product.

To Be Continued……..

Need more information? Please contact us with any questions or contact me directly at joseph.donoghue ( at ) leardon.com

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How To: Successful Product Change – 3 Tips for Product Change Management

December 6 2011  |   leardonsolutions  |  All Posts, Product Design, Product Development, Program Management  |  Comment

Joe Donoghue, San Diego Prototyping, Patents & Prototypes, Live Web Show, Product Development, Engineering Services, Manufacturing, Entrepreneurial Product DevelopmentChange is sometimes the enemy of an efficient and cost effective product development process. While change is inevitable and necessary at times, minimizing unnecessary product change is important to keep the project on schedule and within budget while continuing to meet all the product specifications. There are three true and tried methods that, if implemented in a product development process, will result in a highly effective product change management process.

Communicate the Program Objectives to the Team

Product development can be summarized as a balancing act between the competing constraints of product cost, scope, and schedule. Thousands of decisions are made while a product is under development and the end result is typically a sub-optimal result of these decisions. Since optimization is impossible, it is necessary to prioritize the objectives of the project in order to ensure success. Without prioritization, the individuals working on programs will be pulled in opposing directions and will be continually redirected during the project, resulting in failure. Proper prioritization of product cost, scope, and schedule will result in successful change management.

The three objectives of a program are product cost, product scope, and program schedule.

Product Cost refers to the many financial metrics, including total budget, cost of goods sold, gross margins, or any other financial metrics used on the project.

Product Scope refers to the product features that will be designed into in the final product.

Program Schedule refers to the amount of time available to complete the project.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to change one of these objectives without affecting the others. The cost, scope, and schedule each act as constraints and therefore movement of one affects the others. Hence, to properly communicate the program objectives, a product development team should:

  1. Determine which of the three program objectives is the most important. This chosen objective will be the first program priority that must be constrained and cannot change under any circumstance.
  2. Choose one of the two remaining program objectives that can change but must be held within a range. The second priority should be thought of as an objective that can be modified but should always be kept as close to the goal as possible.
  3. The outcome of the last program objectives will be accepted as is.

Some hard tradeoffs need to be made when prioritizing the program cost, scope, and schedule. By performing this exercise and communicating the priorities, the product development team will be given very clear objectives that allow the members to make their own decisions on the necessity of change knowing the overall program priorities.

The management of these three constraints is sometimes referred to as the project management triangle.

Two of three input factors must be prioritized


The video was produced by J Scott Christianson at http://thefreerangetechnologist.com/ – He has a lot of great project management tips and information on his site.
Product Defects and Issues Drive Change

The product development team should work with the premise that product change is driven only by product defects and issues. The defects can be technical issues or issues raised by anybody on the cross-functional product development team. The technical issues found from the mechanical, electrical, software, firmware, manufacturing, or production teams are obviously product defects that need to be reviewed. Issues from other members of the cross-functional product development team such as marketing, sales, advertising, finance, or field sales need to be considered also. For example, if a new product was introduced in the market with very similar features to your team’s product, then it would be wise to raise a product issue to modify or improve some of the features to differentiate the product. If the product cost was too high and cost was a high priority for the program, it would be necessary to change the product design to minimize the cost. Defects and issues from all the cross-functional members of a product development team can influence change.

Defects and issues can be managed by a complex Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system or a simple spreadsheet. Either way, it is important to document the root cause of the defect, proposed solution of the defect, method of solution verification, and implementation of the solution for completeness and traceability of the defect.

Establish Change Rules

The final method of ensuring a successful product change management solution is to establish rules of changes. If and when a product change is made depends on both the severity of the defect as well as when the defect is found in the product development lifecycle. Product defect severity can be broken down into four categories:

  • Low: Very limited customer impact.
  • Medium: Moderate customer impact.
  • Serious: High customer impact.
  • Critical: Safety or regulatory issue.

The program manager of the product meets with the cross-functional product development team to review each documented issues and defects. As a team, they categorize the defects as either low, medium, serious, or critical. Once the defects are categorized, the team must decide if a change should be made to the product to resolve the issue. The team should have rules in place that determine when the changes should be made depending on where the product lies in the product development lifecycle. Here are some rules of thumb on approving and allowing product changes to take place:

  1. Critical defects should always drive an immediate change and the production line should be shut down if the product is in production.
  2. Serious defects should be fixed as soon as feasible and rolled into prototype testing or production.
  3. Medium severity defects should drive changes the early stages of the product development lifecycle but should not be resolved during production.
  4. Low severity defects should only be fixed in the early prototyping phases and should be ignored in all later stages of the lifecycle.

If the product development team has a rigorous defect review process and change rules, then only necessary changes will result from the product change management system.

Need more information on product change or product development in general? Please contact us with any questions or contact me directly at joseph.donoghue ( at ) leardon.com

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Success Factors of a Product Inventor

September 15 2011  |   leardonsolutions  |  All Posts, Program Management  |  1 Comment

There are many inventors in this world but unfortunately many of their inventions never see the light of day. Why is this? There must be some factors that determine if the inventor will create a successful company from the product idea or if the inventor will fail.

Leardon Solutions worked with Randy Hupp from EcoLeeser from the early days of his invention of a product that helps increase the chances of survival for released rockfish suffering from barotrauma. This invention named the RokLees is pictured below.

EcoLeeser RokLees manufactured by Leardon Solutions

Throughout the process of working with Randy, there were three success factors that contributed to the success of Randy’s invention and hence his company EcoLeeser.

(1) Proper prototyping and product testing: Even the best product ideas can fail if they are introduced to the market prematurely without the proper engineering and testing. Some inventors believe that the best way to develop their product is to go onto one of the outsourcing websites and hire an overseas company that makes similar products. Many times this leads to failure since product prototyping and qualification do not occur. Skipping the prototyping phases will definitely limit the ability to succeed.

Randy understood that in order to be successful, he had to provide a quality product that simply did what it was meant to do and did it well. In order to achieve this quality, multiple rounds of prototypes were necessary. He knew that he had to build prototypes and test them in the hands of actual customers. First, Randy built a Proof-of-Concept Prototype that proved his idea actually functioned properly. While this prototype wasn’t pretty or refined, it proved that his idea was feasible. Next Randy worked with Leardon Solutions to develop a Form/Fit/Function Prototype that not only functioned properly but also met his cosmetic and aesthetic goals. Randy was able to test this product in actual fishing conditions and fine-tuned the design to meet his needs. As Randy started production, he had a design that he knew would function properly across all operating conditions.

(2) Develop a trusted network of suppliers and professionals: Many inventors are worried that their product idea will be stolen if they discuss the invention with potential suppliers and professional service companies. As such, the worried inventor will try to do everything themselves, ranging from the engineering, prototyping, intellectual property, business planning, marketing, and website development. Fortunately for the inventor, most service companies are more interested in helping the inventors than in stealing their idea. The sooner the inventor realizes that there are trusted companies that can help them, the sooner they will be successful.

Randy new his limitations and began to develop a trusted network of suppliers that could help get his product developed and his company formed. Since Randy was new to the world of product development, he hired Leardon Solutions to perform the prototyping, product qualification, and manufacturing. Randy also understood that he had no knowledge in the areas of intellectual property and therefore hired Intercontinental IP to develop his intellectual property filings. These two professional services companies were only a small part of the trusted network that was developed throughout the process of creating the RokLees and EcoLeeser.

(3) Proper use of intellectual property: If an inventor is actually going to move forward and create a company around their product invention, it is important to protect their intellectual property. Many inventors feel that filing provisional patents, utility patents, design patents, or trademarks are a waste of money. When the intellectual property isn’t filed, what happens after the company invests time and money to develop a market for their product only to find that another company is selling a very similar product? All that effort developing the market has gone to waste and this other company can easily leverage the market development work already done. Intellectual property is a critical way to prevent this situation.

Randy filed a provisional patent application which provided patent pending protection for one year and two trademark applications, both of which have been approved by United States Patent and Trademark Office and are in the “publication” phase. As the expiration date for the provisional patent approaches, Randy will need to decide if it is important to file a utility patent in order to extend his invention protection. This will depend on the success of the RokLees product in the marketplace.

In summary, inventors with good product ideas should implement these three simple success factors into their operations to improve their changes of success.

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Product Cost, Scope, Schedule: Prioritize or Fail

August 4 2011  |   leardonsolutions  |  All Posts, Program Management  |  Comment

Joe Donoghue, San Diego Prototyping, Patents & Prototypes, Live Web Show, Product Development, Engineering Services, Manufacturing, Entrepreneurial Product DevelopmentProduct development and commercialization can be summarized as a balancing act between the competing constraints of product cost, scope, and schedule. Thousands of decisions are made while a product is under development and the end result is typically a sub-optimal result of these decisions. A consistent theme exists as a team moves through the process of bringing a product to the customer: it is virtually impossible to optimize all the requirements of the program/product.

Since optimization is impossible, it is necessary to prioritize the objectives of the project in order to ensure success. Without prioritization, the individuals working on programs will be pulled in opposing directions and will be continually redirected during the project, resulting in failure. Proper prioritization of product cost, scope, and schedule will result in success.

The three objectives of a program are product cost, product scope, and program schedule.

Product Cost refers to the many financial metrics, including total budget, cost of goods sold, gross margins, or any other financial metrics used on the project.

Product Scope refers to the product features that will be designed into in the final product.

Program Schedule refers to the amount of time available to complete the project.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to change one of these objectives without affecting the others. The cost, scope, and schedule each act as constraints and therefore movement of one affects the others. This is typically referred to as the project management triangle by program managers.

How do you manage a project knowing that everything cannot be optimized? The management team at Leardon Solutions has managed hundreds of programs using a simple method of prioritization which requires that the team takes away the constraints that will cause failure. This method requires thinking of the cost, scope, and schedule in terms of three levels of priority.

a) Determine which of the three program objectives is the most important. This chosen objective will be the first program priority that must be constrained and cannot change under any circumstance. For example, if the product being developed is for the snowboard market and must be available two months prior to the skiing season, the program schedule should be chosen as the highest priority. The team must make changes to the product scope or product cost in order to meet the program schedule.

b) Choose one of the two remaining program objectives that can change but must be held within a range. After the top program priority that cannot change under any circumstance is chosen, there are only two objectives left. The second priority should be thought of as an objective that can be modified but should always be kept as close to the goal as possible. In the snowboard example, program schedule is the top priority and everything else must adapt to meet the program schedule. If all similar products in this snowboard product category have a retail price around US$50, this product might also need to be close to this retail price. It might not be possible to hit this price exactly because of the rigid schedule constraint, but the product cost should be optimized by minimizing the product manufacturing cost or modifying the gross margins.

c) The outcome of the last program objectives will be accepted as is. Unfortunately, since the first program priority was constrained and the second program priority was optimized, there is no ability to control the third program priority. The program manager must accept whatever results from the actions of constraining and optimizing. For the snowboard product example, the product scope is considered the third program priority. The product designer might have wanted to include a small injection molded plastic toe bumper on the front of the product to improve the looks of the product and prevent wear of the toe. But due to the schedule constraint (injection molding tool has a six week lead time) and the product cost optimization (this additional part adds cost), the design engineer should not include the toe bumper in the design.

Some hard tradeoffs need to be made when prioritizing the program cost, scope, and schedule. By performing this exercise and communicating the priorities, the product development team will be given very clear objectives that allow the members to make their own tradeoffs knowing the overall program priorities. This will result in successful programs for both large and small projects at companies of all sizes.

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How to Properly Define Your Product

July 28 2011  |   leardonsolutions  |  All Posts, Program Management  |  1 Comment

Joe Donoghue, San Diego Prototyping, Patents & Prototypes, Live Web Show, Product Development, Engineering Services, Manufacturing, Entrepreneurial Product DevelopmentWhen an inventor, entrepreneur, or company has a great product idea, they typically start out by constructing a prototype to prove the idea is feasible.

While this might seem like the logical first step, it should actually be the second step taken. The first step should be to document the product features and functionality so that there are product goals for the team to pursue. Without first defining and communicating the product features, the product team will be moving forward blindly while wasting time and money.

Leardon Solutions follows a rigorous Product Development Lifecycle and commercialization process shown in the figure below to ensure all products achieve their product development goals and objectives. The first phase of this process, the Definition Phase, is sometimes thought to be the most important phase because it sets the stage for the success of the product. Without properly completing this phase, the team will be working without any objectives or goals for the product. A detailed list of the activities and deliverables that should be accomplished in the Definition Phase can be found in the Product Development Lifecycle presentation.

Leardon Solutions Product Development Lifecycle

Leardon Solutions Product Development Lifecycle. Copyright 2011 Leardon Solutions

To summarize, the goal in the Definition Phase is to do exactly what the title states: define the product thoroughly. An organization’s worst enemy in product development is vagueness and ambiguity. The engineers and designers need specifications and guidelines to properly complete their objectives and this phase provides the list of clear, concise, and measureable specifications. The two most important documents, the Product Requirements and Engineering Specifications, are described below.

Product Requirements: The Product Requirements, also known as Product Data Sheet or User Needs, is a list of performance, functional, and interface requirements that are focused on the customer’s point of view.  One way to compile a complete list of these requirements is to get the cross-functional product team together for a meeting and answer the following questions:

How will the product perform and what are the functional characteristics?

Will the product interface with other products outside of your control?

What are the industrial design requirements (the look of the product)?

What are the human factors requirements (the feel and human interaction of the product)?

Are there any installation, support, service, and maintenance requirements?

What type of qualification, regulatory, safety, and standards compliances are required?

Should the product be compatible with other products and if so what are these requirements?

What are the packaging, shipping, and labeling requirements?

This is just a short list of all the questions that will arise when compiling the Product Requirements document.  Of course, compilation of this document requires ample time and research but if it is done properly, it will be one of the most useful documents of the product development process.

Engineering Specifications: The Product Requirements document provided earlier is the first step in specifying the product with respect to the customer’s point of view. While this is very helpful for the product team, it does not typically provide an engineering team with enough detail to begin designing. Therefore, the engineering team needs to take these Product Requirements and translate them into Engineering Specifications. The engineers will use this document as they move through their design and development stages.

The simple example below demonstrates how to construct the Product Requirements and Engineering Specifications.

Leardon Solutions example product requirements

Leardon Solutions Product Requirements and Engineering Specifications Example

The effort required to generate the Product Requirements and Engineering Specifications might seem too detailed for such an early stage of product development. These documents are valuable resources that will be used throughout the product development lifecycle and will save the team valuable time and money by focusing the team on the proper goals and objectives. This is definitely a step that should not be skipped.

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