Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.
Product requirements document for the first device
Hardware punishes vague requirements far harder than software, because a missed requirement found after tooling means cutting steel again. A short requirements document that fixes size, weight, battery life, operating temperature, ingress rating, target markets and target cost gives every engineer, supplier and test lab the same numbers to work to.
First tasks
- List every number a customer would notice: size, weight, runtime, price
- Tag each requirement as must, should or could
- Write the list of countries you intend to sell into first
- Hold a one-hour sign-off meeting and record the agreed version number
Looks-like and works-like prototype split
Trying to make the first prototype both look finished and work fully usually produces a device that does neither. Splitting early work into a looks-like model for customer and investor feedback and a works-like rig for proving the electronics and mechanics lets both move at full speed, then merge once each has answered its own questions.
First tasks
- Write the five questions customers will ask about how the device looks and feels
- Write the five technical questions the electronics must prove
- Order printed parts for the looks-like model from a print bureau
- Wire up the works-like rig on development boards and record its first power reading
First costed bill of materials
Founders routinely underestimate unit cost by half because the first BOM lists the chips and forgets the screws, gaskets, labels, cables, packaging and assembly labour. A costed BOM with every line, a quantity break and a source shows early whether the product can ever hit its price, while changing it is still cheap.
First tasks
- Export the parts list from the schematic and the CAD assembly
- Add every mechanical, packaging and labelling line by hand
- Look up prices at three volumes on two distributor sites
- Total the unit cost and set it beside the target cost
