AES Los Angeles 2014
Product Design Track Event PD7
Friday, October 10, 2:00 pm — 3:30 pm (Room 402 AB)
Product Design: PD7 - Succeeding with External and Internal Partners
Presenter:Bob Chadderdon, Sound Resolution
Abstract:
As audio reproduction hardware becomes increasingly complex and corporate budgets shrink, product development resources become more and more strained. Options like supplier design support, engineering consulting firms, and contract engineers sound intriguing, but can also be “more trouble than they’re worth” if not utilized well. Not so successful example: A company contracted a very qualified project management consultant at the very beginning of a design project. While he was an excellent program manager, the culture in the company needed strong technical leadership while the design architecture was being defined. The team became frustrated and progress was slow. In the end, even though the product was a success, the project was late, over budget, and the company lost some engineers. The team dynamic wasn’t considered in the decisions about outside help. Successful example: A regulatory compliance project was repeatedly re prioritized by management in favor of new product development. The changes needed to be completed before a new standard became effective to continue to sell the product. The contract-manufacturer had in-house engineering, had experience with the product, and was motivated to help since the alternative was to stop production. This previously untapped resource allowed the company to finish the project with little impact to their core engineering team. Striking a balance between internal engineering teams and external resources can optimize the cost to benefit ratio without alienating your core team or compromising your intellectual property. The presenter will present best practices and methods and provide an open forum to discuss the benefits, pitfalls, and process of finding that balance between internal and external resources.
