Prototype to Product: A Practical Guide for Getting to Market

by Alan Cohen

Overview

Product development is the magic that turns circuitry, software, and materials into a product, but moving efficiently from concept to manufactured product is a complex process with many potential pitfalls. This practical guide pulls back the curtain to reveal what happens—or should happen—when you take a product from prototype to production.

For makers looking to go pro or product development team members keen to understand the process, author Alan Cohen tracks the development of an intelligent electronic device to explain the strategies and tactics necessary to transform an abstract idea into a successful product that people want to use.

• Learn 11 deadly sins that kill product development projects
• Get an overview of how electronic products are manufactured
• Determine whether your idea has a good chance of being profitable
• Narrow down the product’s functionality and associated costs
• Generate requirements that describe the final product’s details
• Select your processor, operating system, and power sources
• Learn how to comply with safety regulations and standards
• Dive into development—from rapid prototyping to manufacturing

Alan Cohen, a veteran systems and software engineering manager and lifelong technophile, specializes in leading the development of medical devices and other high-reliability products. His passion is to work with engineers and other stakeholders to forge innovative technologies into successful products.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781449362294
Publisher:	O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
Publication date:	09/05/2015
Pages:	435
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Al is a software and systems engineer/manager and lifelong technophile who’s been engaged in developing medical devices and other high-reliability products. His passion is in working with fellow engineers and diverse stakeholders to forge innovative technologies into products that fill a need and that people like to use.



He’s the author of a successful textbook on computer communications, numerous articles (most recently on the topics of developing home telemonitoring systems and using Android as an OS for medical devices). Al lives with his wife Marian and son Ben in Newton MA.

Table of Contents

Preface xi

1 The 11 Deadly Sins of Product Development 1

The Fundamental Principle of Product Development 2

The Vice of Laziness 5

Deadly Sin #1 Putting Off "Serious" Testing Until the End of Development 5

The Vice of Assumption 6

Deadly Sin #2 Assuming That We Know What Users Want in a Product 7

Deadly Sin #3 Assuming That Users Know What They Want in a Product 8

The Vice of Fuzziness 9

Deadly Sin #4 Lack of Comprehensive Requirements 10

Deadly Sin #5 Lack of a Good Project Plan 11

Deadly Sin #6 Not Assigning Responsibility 12

The Vice of Cluelessness 13

Deadly Sin #7 Not Addressing Regulations 14

The Vice of Perfectionism 15

Deadly Sin #8 The Sin of New-Feature-Itis 16

Deadly Sin #9 Not Knowing When to Quit Polishing 17

The Vice of Hubris 18

Deadly Sin #10 Not Planning to Fail 18

The Vice of Ego 19

Deadly Sin #11 Developing Technology Rather Than Developing Products 19

Final thoughts 20

Resources 21

2 Development Process Overview 23

Don't Panic! 24

Product Development life Cycle Overview 24

A Great Idea 25

Preliminary Planning: Does This Make Sense? 26

Ballparking 27

Setting Stakeholder Ground Rules 28

First Reality Check 29

Detailed Product Definition, a.k.a. Surprise Management 31

Product Design 33

Technical Risk Reduction 34

Second Reality Check: Go or No Go? 35

Detailed Development 37

Prototyping 38

Testing 40

Purchasing 42

Manufacturing 43

Factory New Product Introduction 43

Pilot Production 44

Ongoing Production 45

Final Thoughts 46

Resources 46

3 How Electronic Products Are Manufactured 47

Manufacturing Overvie 49

Supply Chain 50

Building Circuits: PCB Assembly 52

PCB Assembly: Solder Paste Application 54

PCB Assembly: Placing Components 56

PCB Assembly: Reflow 61

PCB Assembly: Optical Inspection 63

PCB Assembly: Hand Soldering and Assembly 68

PCB Assembly: Cleaning 70

PCB Assembly: Depaneling 71

Test 73

In-Circuit Test (ICT) 74

Functional Test 76

Burn-in testing 77

Final Assembly 78

Final Functional Test 79

Packaging 80

More, and Less 80

How Many? 80

Higher-Volume Production 81

Lower-Volume Production 82

The People Stuff: Factory Culture 86

Final Thoughts 87

Resources 87

Factory Automation 88

Factoryless (e.g., DIY) Manufacturing 89

4 Preliminary Planning: Can This Be a Success? 91

Introducing MicroPed 92

Why Does the World Need MicroPed? 92

Marketing Requirements 94

Target Markets 95

Can It Make Money? 96

A Quick Look at the Money Stuff 96

Income Projections 98

Cost of Goods Sold 104

Gross Margin 108

Can We Develop It? 110

Identifying Unobtanium 111

Go? No Go? 112

5 Detailed Product Definition 115

Phase Overview 115

Iteration 117

The Road Ahead: An Overview 120

So, What Will It Do? Specifying Our Product 121

User Stories 123

Use Cases 123

Requirements 126

From What, to How and Who 129

Architecture Basics 130

Top-Level MicroPed System Architecture 134

More Architectures, and Design 136

Technical Risk Reduction 150

Updated COGS Estimate 156

Go/No Go: Redux 158

Resources 159

6 Detailed Development 163

Detailed Development Process 165

Software and Electronics: Chicken and Egg 166

Electronics 168

Software 176

Mechanicals (Enclosures) 183

System Integration 200

Testing 201

Verification Testing 202

Requirements Traceability 206

Manufacturing Testing (and Device Programming) 207

Connections and Fixturing 211

Moving into Manufacturing 217

Final Thoughts 219

Resources 221

Electronics 221

Software 222

Injection Molding 223

DFM & DFA 223

Rapid Mechanical Prototyping 224

Testing 225

Moving into Manufacturing 225

7 Smart Platforms: Processors 227

Low-End Microcontrollers 228

8051 Class 230

AVR 230

PIC 231

MSP430 231

Middling Microcontrollers/Processors 231

Cortex-M: Microcontroller Profile 232

Cortex-R: Real-Time Profile 233

Cortex-A: Application Profile 233

Big Iron: Desktop- and Server-Class Processors 235

Other Hardware Platforms 236

Systems on Modules (SOMs) 236

Single-Board Computers (SBCs) 240

DSP chips 242

Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs) 242

Final Thoughts 245

Resources 246

8 Smart Platforms: Operating Systems 249

Board Support Packages (BSPs) 250

RTOSes 251

Predictability 251

RTOS licensing 252

Middleweight OSes 253

Embedded Linux 253

Android 258

Windows Embedded 262

Boot Loaders 263

Heavyweight OSes 264

Advantages 264

Disadvantages 265

Final Thoughts 267

Resources 269

9 Powering Our Product 271

Batteries 275

General Battery Characteristics 276

Battery Chemistries 279

Lithium Ion (Li-ion and LiPo) 288

Wall Outlets: AC-to-DC Power Conversion 304

DC-DC Power Conversion 309

Linears and Switchers 310

System-Level Power Design 313

Supplying the Necessary Juice 313

Minimizing Power Consumption 315

Minimizing Cost and Complexity 319

Final Thoughts 322

Resources 323

10 Staying Safe: Regulations, Standards, Etc 325

Regulatory Fundamentals 326

Process Overview 327

Do these apply to little manufacturers like me? 327

Laws, Regulations, Standards, and Other Regulatory Words 328

Location 333

Categories of Regulations 334

Ambiguity in Regulations 335

Conformance Testing and Certification 336

Navigating US Regulations 337

CPSC 338

FCC 340

European Regulations 342

CE marking 342

US Versus EU 345

Finding the EU Regulations That Apply to Us 347

Cradle to Grave: Safe Disposal 348

Batteries at 35,000 Feet 350

ITAR 350

Quality Systems and ISO 9001 352

Final Thoughts 355

Resources 355

Voluntary Certifications 355

EU Regulatory Framework 356

ISO 9001 356

11 Writing Requirements That Work 357

Requirements Versus Goals Versus Specifications 358

Why Requirements? 359

The Case Against Requirements 362

Customers don't really know what they want until they actually have it 364

Getting more-accurate information from users 364

Technologists build what we ask them to build, not necessarily what we meant for them to build 364

We gain important insights as the project progresses 365

The world around us keeps changing 366

Writing Good Requirements 367

Careful: Requirements Are Design Constraints 367

Requirements Should Be Testable 368

Requirements Are Interface-Centric 369

Positive Requirements Versus Lurking Requirements 371

A Lurking Requirements Checklist 372

Communicating Requirements 374

Making Requirements Clearer 376

Great Requirements Come from Great Participation 378

Maintaining Requirements 379

Requirements Management Software 380

Final Thoughts 381

Resources 382

12 Meta-Stuff: Project Planning and Infrastructure 383

Project Planning 384

Effort-Driven Project Planning 388

Project Management 393

Issue Tracking 394

Document Control 397

Change Management 401

Final Thoughts 402

Resources 403

Index 405