How our electronic design team collaborates with you – Part One

How our electronic design team collaborates with you – Part One

We recently asked our electronic engineering team about how they work with clients to develop their ideas or prototypes into successful products.

Electronic product design is complex. Some of our clients have technical and engineering backgrounds, others have business management expertise or a product marketing background.

Yes. We’ve worked with unicorns, scale-ups and a diverse range of clients and projects. Every client and project has a unique point of difference. That’s what makes your product ideas so interesting! This is what we thrive on at outerspace.

In this first article of a two-part series, we explain some differences and similarities in the electronic product development journey, depending on a client’s background and their level of experience in product development.

When you have experience collaborating with technical product development teams

Some of our more technically-savvy clients approach us when they have an existing electronic product that’s not optimal. They have some knowledge of what they’re trying to design. They may have a technical background, and they have a product already – in some form. It may be comprised of off-the-shelf electronic parts they are buying and assembling themselves, for example.

A client might have some in-house knowledge of what they want in terms of the end product, but they don’t necessarily have the in-house product design capability from an electronics point-of-view.

Some clients come to us with a concept design, that functions in a basic way, that might be expensive to build; or time consuming to build; and they want us to develop it into a manufacturable product.

electronic engineers in our lab
our electronic engineers working on multiple projects in the lab

Clients have a lot of hope and confidence in their product. They want to see it progress into something they can call their own. Along with electronic development, they may need enclosure design, for example. Our mechanical engineers and industrial designers can help out with this.

We like to provide all the product development services we can to a customer, as opposed to a customer coming to us just wanting a printed circuit board (PCB) or just wanting an enclosure. It’s nice to have that spread where we get the mechanical and industrial design team involved, all under the same roof.

For our clients, it’s very efficient for them if we use a multi-disciplinary approach. It ensures seamless communication between electronics, firmware, mechanical and industrial design teams, in terms of integration of a product. It’s an ideal scenario, but it depends on the available budget and a client’s inhouse capability.

Some of our clients have advanced technical experience and they just want a product update. Others may be operating in a very early stage in their development and just want an initial PCB with no further enclosure requirements.

More technically savvy clients can usually provide an engineering specification on the direction they want to go early in the project, without the need to spend time figuring out what direction they want to go in their development. The electronic Computer Aided Design (eCAD) can then be started immediately in Altium Designer.

understanding engineering trade-offs

We often work with clients who have developed products before. They understand engineering trade-offs, and the complexity of the product development journey.

There are usually peers in their company who are engaged throughout a project as well. This is not-so-much about having an electronic engineering background. It’s someone who has established a successful company and has a good reputation in industry.

 

refining an idea

Sometimes a client requires us to refine their ideas. They come to us with an idea of where they want to go. They know how they want to go to market, but they have some technical questions that still need to be resolved and answered.

These clients don’t just want us to build something for them. They are looking for a lot of technical expertise and design thought upfront, that’s supported by strategic thinking about the engineering solutions we’re providing.

We have to get their product to market fast, but we have to do it in a way that actually solves the problem for them.

Our team works closely with a broad range of clients with varying product development experience to create successful products across many industries and markets. We understand product development needs to be managed on time and on budget.

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