Bringing a Hardware Product to Market: Navigating the Wild Ride from Concept to Mass Production

Teams developing a software product for the first time can draw on a wealth of free and readily available resources to come up to speed, learn best practices, and get their minimum viable product (MVP) to market very quickly.

Not so for teams working with hardware. The design, development and prototyping process takes longer, and is more costly than its software counterpart. Depending on the complexity of the product, iterations culminating in new physical prototypes can be measured in weeks or months, not days. User testing needs to be tightly planned and coordinated with the prototyping schedule. Business model testing is much harder than software products due to regulatory compliance requirements. There is also much less available information to help new teams navigate these unfamiliar waters and plan for success.

This book levels the playing field for hardware teams by providing a concise and practical roadmap that helps teams navigate the path to bring a hardware product from concept to production. Teams will be able to accelerate product development by building knowledge in the following areas:

• Understand the steps to bring a hardware product with integrated software components to market
• Get practical tips on how to execute each step while saving time and money
• Use primary market research to ensure the right product is built for the right customers
• Manage the transition to manufacturing and operations to produce a quality product
• Build a high performing cross-functional team to speed time to market

Author's note - March, 2020: The world moves at a very rapid pace. The global picture for product development, manufacturing and supply chain management has changed substantially since this book was first published. While the general principles and best practices for hardware development have not changed, hardware innovators now have a vast array of new options that were not available in the past. Examples include the rise of the maker movement and the subsequent widespread availability of makerspaces for rapid prototyping, the rise of Shenzhen as a hub for rapid prototyping for consumer electronics, and the impact of geopolitical and global healthcare trends and events on supply chain management. We encourage you to use this book as the first step in your journey to learn all about new and exciting options as you navigate the process from idea to product launch.