TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS

Have you ever been part of a product development team -and in the end, the product failed to meet initial expectations or failed completely? You probably have a good idea why that happened...

Many businesses rely on a structured process for developing new products. Unfortunately, 95 percent of new products fail, according to Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen. Addressing the cause of failure in a structured and process-oriented development environment is difficult because most development processes are based on total quality management, not success. Adding more structure can make it worse.

So how do we make it better?  We make it better by improving collaboration within the development team, resulting in improved communication to support a successful outcome. Agile methods already exist for providing feedback during the development process. 

Addressing Product Development Failures is a short white paper describing Agile methods can be used in conjunction with a structured development process. The paper is not proposing that you switch to a complete Agile  product development process, rather it illustrates existing Agile methods that can supplement an existing process to improve communication, collaboration, and decision making, resulting in reduced development risk.

No matter what you do to 'on-shore' manufacturing, PC boards use components that are dependent on global supply conditions. The Covid-19 pandemic has stressed the supply chain to the breaking point. The Electronic Design and the Post-Pandemic Supply Chain article and presentation provide a case study, using a robotics Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) to explain the state of the electronics supply chain and important checks for design and manufacturing for this year and years to come.

Internet of Things (IOT) is big... everyone wants to have remote connections to their products, that may not be as easy as you think. Radio Frequency Emissions (RFI) testing is a requirement throughout the world and can be difficult for manufacturers that didn't consider emissions requirements before system design.  3 Ways to Fail an RFI Emissions Test is a short list of emissions considerations for product design. The examples are from real-world products that failed the first time.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates RF devices in the United States, requiring that all radios be approved for use. As radios such as cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth, Zigbee and RFID become increasingly common in modern equipment, manufacturers must adhere to a complicated radio testing and approval process which can add time and cost to product development. To streamline this process an option is available known as FCC Modular Approvals. This certification allows a radio device to be used in specific product applications without having to certify the entire product; thus saving both time and money during development stages of production. 

If you are interested in learning more about Modular Approvals, Streamline Equipment Development With Modular Approvals provides advice on using off-the-shelf radios as well as an introduction into the approval process itself so that you can make informed decisions when considering your options for developing new equipment products containing radio devices.

FCC system approval is the traditional method for authorizing a system containing radio transmitters. This method is limiting because the entire system must be submitted for authorization and the radios cannot be transferred to any other system. 

FCC modular approval provides a method to authorize the radio module, independent of the host system. The radio module can then be used inside a variety  of host systems without additional radio certification. 

Modular approval provides significant advantage to product design, however the approval process can be quite confusing, requiring the coordination of multiple external entities and dozens of documents. 

After guiding multiple customers through the United States and Canada modular approval processes, Striper Solutions has designed the Modular Compliance Checklist. The checklist provides a means for managing the process and providing communication between the involved entities. 

ISO 9001 is an internationally recognized standard that establishes standards for quality management systems. These requirements apply to all aspects of an organization's operations, including product development. The product development process described in ISO 9001 is intended to reinforce a development system that is customer focused and quality based -and can be utilized by companies of all sizes.

Every company has a different culture and will need to develop a process that works best in their environment. There are, however, a basic set of checks and balances to ensure that products are developed consistently and with a quality outcome. The Product Development Flowchart summarizes  these steps in a set of flowcharts that can be used as the basis for a 9001:2015 product development process.