Hardware development outsourcing: How to win with a small outsourced agile team – Andivi Slovenia

The strategy behind developing a preliminary IoT product is to develop the electronics and develop the enclosure (casing). There are several stages involved in a product development lifecycle. 

An outsourced  electronic hardware development team can be involved in the stages below as deep as expertise is needed:

• Ideation – Brainstorm, Empathise, Define, Market research,
• Concept – Component selection, Block Diagram, Enclosure rough sketch,
• Design – Schematics capture, Simulation, PCB layout, Create 3D model, PCB mounting, Packing design, Design review, BOM creation,
• Prototyping – Rapid 3D plastic prototype, Component ordering, PCB prototype, PCB prototype assembly, Evaluate enclosure, Testing & Debugging, Packing,
• Manufacturing – Design for Manufacturability & Testing, BOM cost optimization, Die making, Find Injection mould Manufacturer, Find PCB manufacturer, Find PCB assembly Line, Documentation, Product packing, Certification.

We believe it’s really important for every company to have at least a basic understanding of all the functions you are outsourcing and at which stages you need expert help. 

Hence a shared plan with an understanding of involvement is needed before the project kicks off so both teams understand the level of involvement, the trust points that need to be established, and the required skill set to fulfill the outsourced project.

Hardware development outsourcing with small teams has become popular not only with startups and IoT companies but also with large multinational corporations that have given their part of R&D business to highly-skilled small hardware teams. 

The objectives are clear: 

• Lean practices with faster development cycles and better time-to-market, 
• Complete product ownership by highly skilled individuals,
• 360°care for cost optimization in each development phase reducing your BoM (Bill of Materials) to the minimum,
• Hardware electronic products build with a development vision in mind – building in a way the product is ready for the next iteration. 

Professionals may assume large teams lead to greater productivity because several team members can complete tasks, but large teams may have a higher risk for miscommunication and disorganization. Team size is critical and a smaller more efficient team could yield better results for your next hardware development project

These are 5 benefits of small hardware development outsourcing teams that we have noticed over the years:

1. Efficient communication: smaller teams have fewer members, so they may find it easier to communicate effectively with each other about the progress of the project and resolve concerns before they become bigger issues. Fewer updates, less management, and lower cost.
2. Deeper engagement: When there are fewer members and each has useful knowledge and skills to contribute, engagement often occurs naturally. This allows team members to work together organically to solve problems and reach project goals.
3. Higher productivity: fewer members, less noise. When team members complete their assigned duties efficiently the team can increase its productivity. This can help the team stay on schedule and complete each phase of the project efficiently.
4. Easier collaboration: Large teams often split naturally into small groups for collaboration, because working in smaller teams makes it easier to work together. By creating small teams immediately instead of a larger one, managers can facilitate collaboration by allowing each team member to provide input, discuss their ideas and work together.
   
5. Efficient innovation: fewer people on a team means better opportunities to understand and encourage each other’s strengths and skills. This can foster innovation, as team members may feel empowered to create new strategies for reaching project goals.

Core fields, where we help customers:

• Design schematic circuit diagram for the electronics,
• Generate the optimal version of the Bill of Materials (BOM) for the electronics – based on coste and stock availability, 
• Design the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) for the electronics,
• Develop the electronics firmware and software,
• Design a 3D computer model for the product’s enclosure, 
• Market “Test” with neutral design reviews for electronics & enclosure,
• Get the pre-production prototype of the PCB // “batch zero” of PCBs for testing and improvement, 
• Create a prototype of your product’s enclosure // “batch zero” of enclosures for testing and improvement, 
• Revision and improvement of the PCB prototypes,
• Revision and improvement of the enclosure prototypes,
• Help with required certifications.
• Planning for pre-production,
• Planning for production,
• Creating a testing device.

We are are strict advocates of DFMA (Design for Manufacturing and Assembly) – a process of designing products for ease of manufacturing with an end goal of making a better product at a lower cost with no supply-chain friction. This is done by simplifying, optimizing and refining the product design, understanding the life-cycle dynamics of components and future states of technologies.

In addition to developing the product, the outsourced electronic hardware Andivi team can also help you to oversee manufacturing. 

But first of all, we will help you think in terms of market demand for solutions to problems. We 

What is the current status of your electronic hardware project? 

• We have an idea,
• We have an idea with detailed product feature specifications,
• We have started early-stage prototyping (with off-the-shelf components, and HW kits),
• We have started late-stage prototyping using custom components, 
• We have a “dirty prototype”,
• We have a prototype!

Feel free to contact us at any stage of the above and let’s discuss how we can help you!