*Guest post by Annelies Tjebbes Picture this, it’s product verification time. Today you are going to start testing your product. You have put together a plan, thought of everything that could go wrong, and planned for it: you are ready. You read over the first few sections of the Verification Plan to refresh on the […]
A quick survey of available project management tools yields some interesting findings: 1. There are many of them 2. Some are expensive, and not worth the investment 3. Some are free, and still not worth the investment 4. Most are Gantt variants, and Gantt charts don’t tell the whole story Gantt charts are the […]
First principles calculations are the best way to give a design concept a reality check and worthy fluid dynamics books have a wealth of reference information on drag coefficients, major/minor losses, hydraulic diameter calculations, and a trusty Moody diagram. However, sometimes the problem is less intuitive… For example, non-Newtonian fluid flow, actual flow from a fan, […]
During the development of medical and consumer electronic devices there are scheduled design reviews held in order to comply with IEC 60601 and to ensure the best product is realized. These reviews are invaluable; however, a few common pitfalls are worth identification. One tendency is to narrow the audience to a myopic group of […]
Guest post, written by Annelies Tjebbes, Junior Biomedical Engineer at StarFish Medical In the summer of 2012 I had the privilege of working as a co-op student with StarFish Medical. As a UBC student in Electrical Engineering with a Biomedical option this was a fantastic opportunity to apply the skills I had been developing in technical […]
Like Wile E. Coyote’s persistent attempts at catching the Roadrunner, sometimes it takes multiple attempts to get a product through EMC testing. Why? And what can we do to increase the likelihood of passing on the first or second iteration? Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) is unwanted effects in a medical device due to electromagnetic energy present […]
Bjarne and Trevor have both written some compelling perspectives on the use of microcontroller firmware, particularly about how to constrain its scope. Here’s another perspective. Recently we had a discussion about a new product we’re developing and the role of firmware in it. Trevor suggested that the entire functionality could be achieved completely in logic […]
Many of us understand the benefits provided by workflow investigation, procedural observation, literature searches, and contextual research – and another piece of the product development puzzle is hands on exploration. This often requires getting your hands bloody, slimy, or sometimes worse. There are a few avenues to explore – but, when appropriate, my favorite is […]
Communication errors occur in many situations. We may miss hearing a spouse’s request to “buy milk” over the crying of an infant. A phone ringing during your presentation may cause you to stutter. Or a medicine expected to expire on 07-08-12 actually expires on 12-07-08. Here are some reasons for misheard communications: Ambient interference and […]
There are often very good reasons to consider features after the scope has been defined and ratified, but feature additions introduce risks that need to be managed carefully to avoid overruns in cost or schedule, or jeopardize a 60601 submission or FDA audit. A development project has a much greater chance of success if the […]
“Scope Creep” is the (often inadvertent) addition of incremental improvements to a design that are not explicitly identified as project deliverables. Design Engineers are driven to succeed and impress – it’s hard-coded into our DNA, and it fuels our greatest strengths and assets. Our greatest strengths and our greatest weaknesses are often tightly interwoven, however, […]