Don't Sink Your New Product, Kitchen Sink that is...
ThinkSolveDo
When developing a new product most designers have the problem of
"Sinking", kitchen sinking that is. You want to give so much value
and make your design so outstanding that you tend to find it difficult
to know WHEN TO STOP DESIGNING.
It is a normal part of the design process because, as everyone knows, a
single feature might equally be the cause of a product's failure or
success. Working to determine what the exact incarnation of the product
will be takes some time and forces choices. A single product cannot be
everything to everyone all the time.
I am at this tenuous stage of the design with my project right now. I
view this work as a negotiation with myself or maybe the product and
the market it is intended for. There is the need to have an
"outstanding design" and also the need to have a "completed
design". Without a product to ship your ship is sunk. So at some
point you must stop "kitchen sinking" your design, stop adding new
features and creating changes and commit to a specific design. I am
still in this negotiating stage.
I am so early in the design stage that I can select most any element of
the design for "enhancement". But I am also starting to feel the
pressure of time tic-tic-ticking away. I know I am getting near the
deadline for the final design to be set so I am making the serious
decisions pragmatically and with forethought. The choices I make will
be based on negotiating some of the following elements below.
"ease of manufacturing verses expandability"
"part count verses features verses cost"
"materials verses costs verses market perception"
"quality verses disposability verses manufacturing method's cost"
"MSRP verses time to market and target market"
"Looks verses costs verses usability verses manufacturability"
Et cetera
Because I have little time to make choices, as the product's release
is nearing, I will make choices that keep much of the project in my
control. This has many meanings and I will explain them here.
To make sure I can deliver a quality product THAT WORKS I must make
choices based on facts and not fantasy. This means using stock parts
where able, using equipment I have available to me in-house, using only
proven technology, allowing for tolerances and material substitutions
and using, only if needed, reputable contractors who understand
deadlines.
Let's look at each of the elements separately and consider for a
moment how they will affect my design.
Stock Parts: Stock parts can be a life saver because they are already
engineered and perform to specs we know about in advance. You would not
make your own nuts and bolts so why make other parts you might be able
to buy? Stock parts can make your project deliverable.
With that said it is also important to know that while stock parts save
time they also increase cost because their manufacturers' profit is
included in their price. You are trading your product's cost to
manufacturer for an earlier time to market.
In-house (or readily available) Equipment: I have a full CNC shop. This
means I can make small manufacturing runs using only jigs instead of
molds. This decreases my cost to make unit 1 but increases my cost to
make unit xxxx (depends on complexity of part). It is also faster to
make unit one but slower to make unit two. I can begin cutting parts
right from the CAD files because I do not need to make a mold. But once
a mold is made the parts pop off the injection molding machine
sometimes as fast as you can catch them. This increases the cost of
each product but allows me to make small runs with little upfront
expenses and lots of flexibility. So for this product I will design it
to be CNC Machined.
Proven Technology: Your product might be bleeding edge but the
technology you use to bring it to life can be stable dependable
technology. If you need a power source for your amazing product...
think batteries instead of flux capacitors. Use stable products to
create bleeding edge products that work. Don't be fooled into
thinking EVERYTHING in your product must be on the edge. Remember, your
product must work for you to be taken seriously.
Allowing for Tolerances: Leave extra space and allow for variations
that might occur for reasons you to do not know. I learned this a long
time ago and have allowed for this problem ever since. I once designed
a metal and acrylic product accurate to within about 2 thousands of an
inch. The product worked so well we could not stop smiling when we used
it; in Florida. Because when I went to demonstrate it in New York it
did NOT Work. The difference in temperature made some parts expand and
others contract and to my amazement it died in mid demo. Leave room for
the unexpected, you just might need it.
Using Contractors: There is much to be said about working with very
skilled people. I have seen projects brought to life by skilled
individuals and unfortunately I have seen them killed by them too. The
difference between the Professional Consultant and the Amateur
Consultant is sometimes only the quality of the "Apology Card" when
the project fails. If you are depending on outside experts to bring
your project to life then make sure they have everything, including an
interest, in bringing the project to life. If you need to go to their
shop and bring some pizza to make sure your project is completed on
time, then do it. When you are there they notice your commitment and
work, as hard as you do, to meet your deadline.
I strongly recommend you do not simply wait for them to show up at your
office with a final working product. I have never seen it happen like
that. In all my years of doing business I have yet to find someone as
interested in completion of my projects, on-time and on-budget, as I
am. Keep the project going.
With that said I need to get back to work. Time is tic-tic-ticking away
and I have a product to design.
ThinkSolveDo
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