Comments for BetterNPD http://silverstreakpartners.com/BetterNPD Product development blog by Silver Streak Partners LLC Mon, 02 May 2011 22:40:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 Comment on Dear John, Oh, how I hate to write. by Preston Smith http://silverstreakpartners.com/BetterNPD/?p=124#comment-209 Preston Smith Mon, 02 May 2011 22:40:04 +0000 http://silverstreakpartners.com/BetterNPD/?p=124#comment-209 I'd be very pleased to think that some of the tools and approaches in <i>Flexible Product Development</i> might help more marriages to stay together. I’d be very pleased to think that some of the tools and approaches in Flexible Product Development might help more marriages to stay together.

]]> Comment on Designs change. Deal with it! by John Farnbach http://silverstreakpartners.com/BetterNPD/?p=110#comment-202 John Farnbach Wed, 27 Apr 2011 21:23:53 +0000 http://silverstreakpartners.com/BetterNPD/?p=110#comment-202 In private emails, a senior electronics designer commented on the article, saying that, despite statements to the contrary, Agile Software practices can be applied to hardware design by using programmable components, such as FPGA, DSP, or SoS chips. Such components easily tolerate late changes without adding any significant cost. This remark is quite right. When cost and performance goals permit their use, programmable components are a good way to “fence in” uncertainties that might otherwise drive costly change late in a project. However, most hardware products include important elements that can’t be realized with programmable chips. These may be mechanical components or elements that require performance not available in a programmable chip. In these cases, the techniques described in the article can be used to deal with mid-project design changes. In private emails, a senior electronics designer commented on the article, saying that, despite statements to the contrary, Agile Software practices can be applied to hardware design by using programmable components, such as FPGA, DSP, or SoS chips. Such components easily tolerate late changes without adding any significant cost.

This remark is quite right. When cost and performance goals permit their use, programmable components are a good way to “fence in” uncertainties that might otherwise drive costly change late in a project.

However, most hardware products include important elements that can’t be realized with programmable chips. These may be mechanical components or elements that require performance not available in a programmable chip. In these cases, the techniques described in the article can be used to deal with mid-project design changes.

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