Why Prototype with Production in Mind?
Think Production Earlier in your Development Cycle
So you have an idea for a product, and have created a rough mockup, showed it to some potential customers, and generated some excitement. If you are further along, you have a functioning prototype that was created quickly, using off-the-shelf parts, like a general-purpose computer and custom parts developed using rapid prototyping tools, like 3D printers. Sure, your prototype has some quirks, uses duct tape, and you have to do a funny reset every third time you turn it on, but you’re almost there and just need to tweak a couple of things before going to full production.
Prototypes are fundamental to product development, but they take time, effort, and money. Initial prototypes may be good for getting customers engaged and learning customer preferences. If you are thinking of going to production, it may be best to step back and think about a better prototype.
A well-refined pre-production prototype will communicate more effectively to the manufacturer the special details, like color and feel, of the product.
Just because you produced one unit does not mean you can scale and make a million. You need a different prototype for that, one that can actually be made at high volume.
Start your next prototype with production in mind, for these reasons: cost, control, customers and competitors.
COST
You may have a handful of hand-built prototypes. These are expensive. Expense is the tradeoff for fast development times, and this is acceptable in the early stages of development. However, these expenses should not be retained in the final released product and passed on to customers. At production volumes, additional overhead will become a piece-price burden. Even a 1-cent resistor at volumes of 100,000 adds up.
Many prototypes of products that require an embedded microcontroller are developed using the very powerful general-purpose computing boards, like the Raspberry Pi or Arduino. These are wonderful and well-supported devices. Before you decide to go to production with one of these boards, run a simple financial model. If your general-purpose computer costs $50, and 50% of the unused content can be removed by paying $50,000 for a custom board, the payback on this investment is positive after 2,000 units. Volume price breaks will change the result, but you may be surprised at how low the breakeven volume is required. Run a more detailed calculation for your project, then ask if you want to sell more than this.
Designing your product around the existing features of a general computing platform may add unintended costs. Do you use all of the features available? Does your product need all the bells and whistles to function? If it does not, then why pay for them?
If you are thinking that you can save some money by using an off the shelf board or other parts, at least be aware of what you give up: control.
CONTROL
Control is the ability to modify and change your product as you see fit during development, as well as in subsequent product generation releases. Control allows you to ensure product quality and functionality, mitigate sub-component obsolescence issues, protect your IP, and introduce product changes and revisions on your schedule.
When using an off-the-shelf component, or already designed sub-system, such as a general purpose development computer, ask yourself these questions:
· What environment is your product going to exist in? Does the general-purpose computer meet the temperature, humidity and vibration requirements?
· Are you OK with the limitations imposed, such as form factor and un-allowed software changes? How much time and effort do you want to spend designing your product around the existing hardware to make it fit?
· If you find a problem, such as a hardware interface/software compatibility issue, how willing is your supplier to make and test the required changes?
· Is the supply of this generation board going to outlast your products life? Obsolescence in electronic components is a significant problem, which is why longer-term production IC companies have begun to guarantee a minimum product life. Your product is going to be around for a while, and subsequent product releases should be adding value to your product, not chasing the forced changes in your supply chain. The timing of these changes may not be in your best interest.
Using an off-the-shelf general purpose board may limit your choices in the future if your product takes off. You could delay and decide to develop your own board in later generations, but this also brings risk, cost and backward compatibility concerns. When a project gets further along, there is often neither time nor funds to make changes.
Control might be the most important consideration because you need it to make product improvements and add valuable features to satisfy your customers and out-perform your competition.
CUSTOMERS AND COMPETITION
Customers are looking for a clean design. There may be a customer base that does not mind the clumsiness and shortcomings of an early prototype, but your typical customer will expect a more refined product. Customers don’t see the details that go into making a product, but they will almost always know if the cost is in-line with the value. Demonstrate that you spent the time making the product for them.
Competitors are never far behind. This is truer when your product exposes a real market and customer need. A product not designed specifically for the intended market and made of off the shelf components will have other, maybe better, versions along shortly.
Think of production early and often to make your product the best for all customers, and set yourself apart from competition.
CONCLUSION
Prototypes bring your product idea from the world of fiction into a real world application.
Any production level feature that can be prototyped as early as possible will lead to a more efficient product release. Product development builds upon itself. Product changes in the later stages of development are more difficult than earlier ones. A small course correction at the beginning of the program can save a massive investment later in development.
Wade Cunningham is the Program Manager at Glassboard, a hardware focused product development company.
