Our product design process
A proven electronic and software development approach.
We work with SMEs and national companies alike. Although every project has unique requirements, we’ve developed a robust yet flexible approach that considers compliance at every stage.
Throughout the entire electronic product design process, we’ll schedule regular check-ins and provide detailed progress reports to ensure you’re satisfied with how the project is taking shape.
Our process can be broken down into the following 5 stages:
1. Discover
Communication is key to developing electronic products that work as you envision. That’s why we take the time to understand your requirements and discuss the nuances of your project.
As a dynamic consultancy, we can become involved in your project anytime. We can design compliant electronic products from scratch, or we can support you with standalone support in the form of design reviews and feasibility studies.
We typically start with a telephone or video call to discuss your requirements in more detail.
2. Define
At this stage, we’ll clarify your project, define your priorities, and propose project milestones. With a well-defined design brief (see the blog for details), we can provide you with a quote for the project, including a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM)bill of materials (BOM) costing, so you’ll know how much the work will cost upfront.
We’ll arrange another meeting to discuss the project’s technical specifications in more detail, and we’ll create a documented brief, outlining the scope of work.
Once the project brief has been agreed, upon and the quote has been accepted, we can proceed with a formal proposal.
3. Design
After capturing your requirements and documenting the technical specifications for the design, we’ll select key hardware and software components, and create a proposed design architecture.
If you need to upgrade components in the future, our considered selections will ensure that the rest of the embedded system won’t be impacted. We’ll then use schematic capture and PCB Layout to turn the architecture into a complete electronics design.
We’ll deliver block diagrams of the top-level design alongside a detailed project plan for the product development. We consider compliance on every project so that your product has the best chance of meeting ElectroMagnetic Compatibility (EMC) and other electronics regulations.
4. Develop
We’ll develop a flexible top-level architecture that’s easy to maintain and update over time. We’ll start developing the core software features first, so you’ll have a fully working minimum viable product (MVP) to provide feedback on.
We’ll then develop the additional software features and manufacture a small number of prototype boards. We’ll perform electrical tests to make sure they work as intended, and we’ll perform verification to ensure the prototype meets your original specifications.
To ensure the highest quality code, we use a blend of static analysis, unit testing, sub-system, and system testing. We can also create custom procedures that comply with your internal quality requirements.
5. Deliver
Once the design is complete the prototypes are tested and meet your requirements, we can advise on preparing your design for mass manufacture.
This includes full compliance testing for your target territories where we work with an accredited test lab. We’ll also prepare a manufacturing data pack to send to your manufacturer of choice.
And if you require manufacturing or compliance support in a niche sector, we have a network of specialists who can provide additional guidance.