Additional information
by Elaine Chen (Author)
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 Biography
Elaine is a seasoned product strategist and engineering executive with a unique background spanning product development and product management. She is currently the Founder and Managing Director of ConceptSpring, which provides strategic product development consulting services to executives and leaders of product teams. Elaine has served at the VP level in engineering and product management at several startups, including Rethink Robotics, Zeo, Zeemote and SensAble Technologies. She is also a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she teaches entrepreneurship, primary market research, and leadership development in startup settings.
