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Product Development With The Customer In Mind From Day 1

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

The Leardon Solutions Logo Represents Innovation And Quality From Medical Devices To Consumer Goods

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.

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How To Find A Great Electrical Engineer For Product Development

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

Joe Donoghue, San Diego Prototyping, Patents & Prototypes, Live Web Show, Product Development, Engineering Services, Manufacturing, Entrepreneurial Product DevelopmentIf 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.

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Fix A Supply Chain Disaster

January 8 2013  |   Cliff  |  All Posts, Business Tips, Supplier Management  |  Comment

Joe Donoghue, San Diego Prototyping, Patents & Prototypes, Live Web Show, Product Development, Engineering Services, Manufacturing, Entrepreneurial Product DevelopmentFix A Supply Chain Disaster

When it comes to product development, there are a lot of areas where things can go wrong quickly. Most of these problems pale in comparison to supply chain issues that can impact revenue streams and cash flow.

Properly managing the supply chain is key to delivering a product that has the quality, cost, and innovation that a proprietor set out to accomplish from the beginning. If the supply chain management is off kilter by any degree, one or more of these objectives now becomes prone to failure, possibly affecting all other areas of the supply chain and remaining product development lifecycle.

When a supply chain becomes corrupt, it is time for an intervention to correct issues quickly. At Leardon Solutions, when we are called in to fix a supply chain problem, the most common areas of failure are the following:

1) Communication


The Problem: Communication between teams and individuals is absolutely critical to a supply chain. Often, most supply chain issues stem from a communication breakdown between parties. Identifying a communication issue is first and foremost because with poor communication all other problems cannot be rectified.

Our Advice: If project/program management is not your core competency, attempting to fix supply chain issues could cause more harm than good by introducing even more confusion. Find a competent individual or team that has experience with supply chain management to help work the kinks out. This is especially true with overseas management. Someone familiar with the culture, business ethics and customs of your suppliers area will have a tremendous advantage.

2) Quality


The Problem: Shipments of product are showing up at your front door on time and at the right cost, but quality of the product is sub-par and customers are sending the item back after a short time. You can’t figure out if it’s your design, materials, factory or a combination of all three causing the issues

Our Advice: Collect data on what parts are failing and when, revisit the design with your engineering team to find the root cause of the failure and find a resolution, then look to your supply chain vendors to implement the fix. It may be necessary send a qualified engineer / manager to the vendors location to examine factory issues and propose resolutions. Remember that most manufacturers and factories do not have engineering as their core competency (though they may try to sell it that way).  Talk to your local team about performing a factory or vendor audit since they know your product best.

3) Cost


The Problem: You have selected suppliers and vendors, you are ready for product, all tooling has been built and paid for but your cost per unit is still far above what you expected and what the market will bare. You have no transparency with your vendors so you are not exactly sure what you are paying for other than the unit price itself.

Our Advice: If we had a penny for every time we have seen this problem, well……….

You need to pierce the black curtain and see what’s really going on behind the scenes with your vendors. Request a B.O.M. (bill of materials) to get an idea of what they are paying for parts and labor. It’s ok for the vendor / supplier to reasonably markup items because they need to make money as well, but to not provide a B.O.M. is unacceptable and a sure sign that you do not have a relationship that is scalable with your business and product needs.

4) Time


The Problem: Every time you place an order for more product with your vendors / suppliers, it’s a process of deciphering their excuses to uncover what the delivery date of that product order will actually be.

Our Advice: Help eliminate some of the guess work by keeping an eye on the supply chain and looking for trouble spots where slow downs may occur. These could be problems such as factory labor shortages, low global supply of core components, poor communications between the factory and component suppliers, shipping delays, regional holidays. The right experienced person on your team can address any of these issues.

For more information about how to fix a supply chain disaster, please contact us with questions.

 

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Start 2013 With Your Innovative Product Idea

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

Joe Donoghue, San Diego Prototyping, Patents & Prototypes, Live Web Show, Product Development, Engineering Services, Manufacturing, Entrepreneurial Product DevelopmentThe 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. 

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I Have Found a Manufacturer for My Product Idea. Now What? Part 1 of 3

June 5 2012  |   leardonsolutions  |  All Posts, Business Tips, Manufacturing, Manufacturing Tips, Product Development, Supplier Management  |  1 Comment

Leardon Solutions Product DevelopmentHow to Select a Manufacturer

One of the most common questions I receive from entrepreneurs, innovators, and start-up companies is about the manufacturer of their product. The question is typically something like “I found a great overseas manufacturer that says that they can manufacture my product for me. What do I do now?” or “How do I find a manufacturer that can make my product idea?” or “My manufacturer isn’t communicating well with me so what should I do?” Regardless of the exact question, the general topic of manufacturer management and procurement is a very important one to understand prior to venturing off into the world of product development and manufacturing. In this three-part blog series, we will discuss the steps required to ensure that you deliver a quality product to your customers and minimize the number of headaches along the way: (1) How to Select a Manufacturer; (2) How to Qualify the Product; (3) How to Manage Production Quality.

Here we focus on selecting the most capable manufacturer from the list of those identified as potential manufacturing candidates. It is expected at this point that initial communications have been made with the manufacturer and they have shown some interest in manufacturing your product. Before moving too far with one of the manufacturers, it is necessary to do some initial qualification of their capabilities to be sure they are the right fit to manufacture your product. It is also necessary to determine if they have similar working behaviors that fit well with your company’s culture and style.  Below are three recommended steps to determine if the manufacturer is the right one.

How to do a preliminary manufacturer evaluation

The list of potential manufacturers for your product could be very long or short, depending on the amount of prior research. Either way, it is necessary to perform a thorough manufacturing supplier evaluation process to be sure that the manufacturer is the best for you and your product. The overall evaluation involves a preliminary evaluation and an in-depth evaluation. The reason for doing a preliminary evaluation is to quickly weed out those candidates that aren’t capable of manufacturing your product or aren’t a good fit for your company. Based on years of experience, here is a tried and true checklist to use for a preliminary manufacturer evaluation:

  • Ask the supplier to provide the number of employees, machines, and annual product output of the manufacturer. (This helps determine if the manufacturer is willing to provide company information. If the supplier is unwilling to provide this information or any of the data seems to conflict to anything found on the web, then consider removing the supplier from the preliminary list.)
  • Ask the sales representative how long they have been with the company. (This helps you determine if the representative knows much about the company and if employee turnover is high. If the company turnover is high, you should consider eliminating the supplier from the preliminary list of manufacturers since you might be working with too many people over the span of your product life cycle.)
  • Ask the supplier to communicate their manufacturing capabilities and specialties. (This will help you understand if the supplier excels at the manufacturing processes you need to manufacture your product. If the supplier specializes in processes different than those you require, you should eliminate them from the preliminary list of suppliers.)
  • Ask the supplier if they make any products similar to yours. (This will help you understand if they specialize in making products like yours. If the manufacturer doesn’t make similar products, then it is still acceptable to keep them on the preliminary supplier list but be sure to be diligent moving forward.)
  • Ask the supplier to send you samples of products they currently have in production (This will help you understand if the product quality level matches your expectations. If any of the products you receive are of poor quality or don’t function properly, eliminate the manufacturer from the list of suppliers.)
  • Visit the manufacturing facility if possible and eliminate any manufacturers from the list if they don’t allow you to visit their factory (Manufacturers typically put their best foot forward on these first visits, so take everything you see and hear with a grain of salt.)

How to get references for each manufacturer

It is always very difficult to properly do due diligence on suppliers, especially overseas manufacturers.  Therefore, the best place to start is to ask the manufacturer to supply a list of customer references from companies who have used their services in the past to make custom products.  Be sure to get a list of at least five references and check that the references are currently working with the manufacturer, are companies similar to yours in size, and have produced similar production quantities as you are planning.  For example, it would not be appropriate to use a multi-billion dollar company producing hundreds of millions of parts as a reference for your start-up company that is expecting to make ten thousand parts in the first year.  This wouldn’t be a valid reference since chances are high that this multi-billions dollar company is being treated very well.   Ask each reference to provide insight into their experience working with the manufacturer.  Be sure to ask the references to tell you both the good characteristics and the bad characteristics of the manufacturer.  If the reference does not have anything bad to say about the manufacturer, then eliminate this reference from your list. Any customer who has worked with the manufacturer for an extended time will have some negative things to say about a supplier.

How to perform an in-depth manufacturing supplier evaluation

After the first two steps of manufacturing supplier selection have been completed, only two or three manufacturing suppliers should remain on the list. If a large number suppliers are still on the list, then go back and get more references to interview.

The final step in selecting the best manufacturer is to do an in-depth supplier evaluation. Large multinational companies have large internal teams to perform this task and some companies use consulting firms to do this final evaluation. If you don’t find it necessary to bring in external people to help you make the final supplier selection, follow the list of questions below to be sure that you address all potential issues and concerns prior to making the selection. Once each of these questions are answered for each of the remaining suppliers, it should be obvious which supplier should be selected as the final manufacturer.

  • Where will the products be manufactured? The place of manufacture will impact the costs of shipping and potentially import duties.
  • Ask the supplier to provide you with all the documentation that is followed for their internal quality processes. How do they ensure that the product is manufactured to specification?
  • How are the manufactured parts shipped? Boat, air, land? Does the manufacturer have strategic relationships with logistics companies to ensure products get through customs without any issues? What happens if the parts get stuck in customs somewhere in the world?
  • Does the manufacturer provide certifications of conformance of the products shipped including product measurement data, performance data, and raw material supplier information? Ask the manufacturer to provide certifications for products in manufacturing.
  • Does the manufacturer outsource any of the work to a third part? If so, what processes are outsourced and how is the quality managed?

Can the supplier provide any examples of product quality plans for products produced in the factory? This includes incoming inspections, quality inspections on all parts fabricated, assembly process checks, finished product testing, audits, and outgoing inspections.

  • What engineering documentation is required for the supplier to properly make the product? Typically this is a 2D dimensioned drawing done by a professional as well as a 3D CAD (computer aided design) file. Do not expect to get accurate quotations without these documents.
  • Ask the supplier to provide you with cost quotations for the product based on the engineering 2D and 3D files. Make sure the supplier quotes the quantity you require as well as multiple ranges of quantities above and below your expected production volumes. Be sure to get all costs including non-recurring expenses such as production tooling and variable costs such as the part costs.
  • What are the lead times for manufacturing the required quantities of your product?

This list provides the most important questions that should be asked when performing an in-depth manufacturing supplier evaluation. If the supplier selection process provided above does not result in a clear answer of the best supplier, then it might be best to bring in a professional who has years experience evaluating and selecting supplier.

Need more information on new product development or the manufacturing process? Please contact us with any questions or contact me directly at joseph.donoghue ( at ) leardon.com

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Prototype or Crowdfunding. Which Comes First?

April 10 2012  |   leardonsolutions  |  All Posts, Business Tips, Product Development, Prototyping  |  Comment

With the recent passage of the JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act, we have had an increased number of questions from people asking how to best get funding from crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter and IndieGogo. Many of the discussions revolve around the basic question: Which comes first, the prototype or the crowdfunding? Basically, entrepreneurs with good product ideas are wondering if they should go out and seek crowdfunding with their idea sketched onto a sheet of paper or if they should develop a decent prototype to communicate their product idea. The simple answer is that entrepreneurs need a prototype to maximize their changes of getting crowdfunding.

A PROTOTYPE SHOWS YOU ARE WILLING TO PUT SKIN IN THE GAME
If you truly believe in the product idea, you will inevitably put “skin in the game”, meaning that you will use your own money to get as far as possible prior to receiving outside funding. Funders need to know you are committed to the project and spending your own money on a prototype will help convince them of that.

Nothing is better than showing off your product idea with an aesthetically pleasing and functional prototype. One way to keep the prototyping costs as low as possible is to build a minimum viable prototype. A minimum viable prototype is similar to a minimum viable product. The idea behind the minimum viable prototype is to only develop and prototype those important product functions and features that allow you to demonstrate what the product does on your project video. In a minimum viable prototype, there is no need to focus on the corner cases of functionality which will take most of the product development focus. Keep the crowdfunding prototype simple, otherwise you will spend more money than necessary and risk confusing the people who might fund your project.

YOUR PROTOTYPE IS AN EXTENSION OF YOU AND YOUR COMPANY
Interestingly, a prototype is an extension of you, your company, and the values of your company. In other words, the quality of your prototype gives potential funders a first impression of you and your efforts. Give them your best first impression by having a great prototype.

When people see your prototype, they will immediately know if you have thought through only the simple aspects of your product idea or if you have dug deep into the critical aspects of the product such as the user and human interface, the detailed design, the interactions with other products, and the manufacturing or assembly issues. Also, the prototype will show if you have a true innovation, an improvement over an existing product, or a trivial reinvention. Create your prototype so that is demonstrates the important functions of the product and looks good.

Producing prototypes is one of the first challenges of product development. Based on the quality, functionality, and overall look of the prototype, people can easily gauge how prepared you are to take on the challenges ahead. Show them that you are prepared for the future challenges of product qualification, production, and manufacturing scale-up by demonstrating your prototype is the best possible embodiment of your product idea.

DON’T TAKE MONEY UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO EXECUTE
Once you receive funding from the crowdfunding sites, you will be required to fulfill the promises stated in your crowdfunding project. If you have demonstrated a functioning prototype in your project video, you will be best prepared to step into production and manufacturing and will not have taken people’s money without a clear vision for the funding.

Developing products that meet the quality and functionality goals isn’t always easy so work with a respectable engineering and manufacturing team that understands the needs of entrepreneurs. This team should be capable of providing end-to-end product development, from the initial prototype development through production and manufacturing fulfillment.

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

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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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Do not Ignore the Balloon Effect: Tip #2

February 7 2012  |   leardonsolutions  |  All Posts, Engineering, Insider's Perspective TIps, Manufacturing, Manufacturing Tips, Product Development  |  Comment

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

Tip #2: Do Not Ignore The Balloon Effect

An analogy that best describes the constraints of the product development process is one of a balloon. If a balloon is pressed or squeezed in one place, the fixed volume of air is just displaced and the balloon deforms. Here is how this analogy relates to product development. A program manager or engineer might attempt to squeeze cost or time out of the product development process only to find that there are counter effects to these efforts. These counter effects could be increased schedule, lower quality, or mismatch of customer performance requirements. The product development process is the air in the balloon and the program constraints are the balloon holding the air. If the balloon is pressed too much, expect the balloon to pop! There are no free rides in product development.

The Product Development Balloon EffectHere are some of the mistakes made and product development constraints ignored in the product development process.

  1. There is always a tradeoff between product cost, program schedule, and product features/scope that cannot be ignored without consequences. One objective cannot be changed with affecting the others. This is sometimes referred to as the Project Management Triangle in product development circles. The concept is that cost, schedule, and features are all program objectives that are connected and should be prioritized in a properly managed product development process. Sounds very familiar to the the balloon analogy, doesn’t it? The program objective that has the highest priority must not be compromised. The second program objective must be optimized based on the results of the highest program objective. Finally, the team has no control over the last program objective and it lands where it lands. Here is an example. If a team is developing a product that requires the lowest market price, then it is obvious that product cost is the highest priority objective. If the team requires a faster schedule, then either the cost must go up or product features must be dropped from the plan. In this case, the team would choose to drop product features since the product cost is the highest priority.
  2. Proper product development is a process that must be followed with the main objective of shipping products to customers and achieving “first customership.” The best product development teams follow this process to the letter and don’t attempt to skip steps in order to save money or speed up the schedule. This will only result in failure and a popped balloon.
  3. The cost of a part or product is driven by the complexity as well as the quantity produced. Some people ignore economies of scale and believe that pure negotiation or playing one supplier off of another will result in a part cost that is below market price. Economies of Scale is the economic principle that the cost of something will decrease as the purchased quantity increases. This makes sense in manufacturing since efficiency increases and raw material prices decrease as higher quantities are produced. The best process to follow to get the best price for a product or part is to get multiple quotations from suppliers in the same country. When these quotations are received, have a meeting to work through the details of the quotation and break out costs that are bucketed together in one number. Don’t try to use quotations or prices from other countries to negotiate as this is like comparing apples to oranges. Also remember that if you are able to negotiate what you believe is a “below market” price for your part or product, changes are high that this lower cost will be the result of skipped steps resulting in lower quality.
  4. The relationship between fabrication tooling cost and part cost is an interesting tradeoff that is typically overlooked. When determining the cost of a part, it is important to consider the cost of the tooling required to make the part. If a very low part cost is required, it is necessary not only to order a high quantity but also to invest in high-volume tooling to bring the cost of the product down. Here is the rule of thumb. If you need low tooling costs, then the part cost will be higher. If you need low part cost, then the tooling cost will be higher. Here is an example. If you only needed ten pieces of a part, it is very unlikely that a production tool would be made. If you needed ten thousand pieces of this part, there is no doubt that a production tool would be required. It would cost more per part to make ten pieces versus ten thousand but the tooling cost would be higher for ten thousand. Remember that if you push hard on the part price, changes are high that it will bulge out in the price of the production tooling.

Smart product development teams don’t ignore the balloon effect and understand that there are constraints that mandate that nothing comes for free.

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

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Avoid Design Changes When Possible: Tip #1

January 30 2012  |   leardonsolutions  |  All Posts, Insider's Perspective TIps, Manufacturing Tips, Product Design, Product Development  |  Comment

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

At Leardon Solutions, we are starting a new blog series to help provide more information on the product development process. Our new series is called “The Insider’s Perspective” and will focus on tips and teaching that we have learned along the way that we want to share with you. It is our hope that these tid bits of valuable product development knowledge will help you succeed as you begin your journey into the product development lifecycle. If you have a suggestion for one of these blog posts, please contact us, We would love to hear from you.

Tip #1: Avoid Design Changes When Possible

Product development is a creative team process. Engineers and designers take on the difficult task of creating a product that meets all the customer’s needs and wants. The team typically strives for product perfection but unfortunately perfection can never be achieved due to time and money constraints. Therefore, in order to get the product shipped and into the hands of customers, it is important to prevent unnecessary product design changes so the team can go out and manufacture the product for sale.

Product design change is sometimes seen as the enemy of an efficient and cost effective product development process. Of course, change is inevitable and necessary but minimizing unnecessary product change is important to keep the project on schedule and within budget while continuing to meet all the product specifications. Here is the insider’s perspective on why a product development team should avoid design changes when possible.

  1. The objective of the product development team is to deliver a product to a target customer. If change isn’t managed properly, the team members will each make “required” changes based on their own opinions and needs. This will result in change chaos.

    2.  

  2. In order to validate that the product design meets the customer’s quality requirements, the product must be tested. If changes are continually being made in the background, there will never be a stable design that can be formally qualified.

    3.  

  3. If engineers and designers were allowed to continuously change the product design, it would be almost impossible to know what design was qualified and which to manufacture.

    4.  

  4. Changes should only be made if product defects and issue arise. A defect or issue can be raised by anybody on the product development team and the program manager can determine if it is worthy of making a change based on change management rules. Why change if there isn’t a defect?

    5.  

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

    6.  

  6. Changes cost money and take time. When a change is made, the product development team must make the modifications to the product and qualify the change. This sometimes requires that fabrication tools are scrapped or test data is retaken. This can take significant time and delay the product sale.

Avoid making unnecessary changes to be part of a successful product development team.

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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