Here's how you can navigate the initiation phase of a consumer electronics project as a project manager.

In consumer electronics product development, it is best to first do a very thorough and all inclusive requirements analysis first, assuming the marketing/product requirements document (MRD/PRD) and the engineering requirements specificaton (ERS) have already been well documented & released under revision control. This analysis enables the team to document all assumptions and validate them against the PRD/MRD and ERS criteria (and if necessary, modify that criteria), and helps the team to group & prioritize different product features to determine which may need further design & analysis before final program/project scope can be determined. This early investigative exercise is key in determining overall scope & creating trustworthy plans.

Einstein said “If I had 100 hours to solve a problem I’d use 99 hours to understand the problem and 1 hour to solve it.” If you aren’t solving a problem that consumers share, then you don’t have a viable product. When initiating an electronics product you have to know what problem and related problems you are solving for and like Einstein says, what is the nature of the problem? In other words: Who are the stakeholders? Who is already in the market trying to solve the same or related problem? What is the context of the problem? Will the product you are thinking of deliver a viable, desirable and feasible solution for consumers? The list goes on. My point is, if I have the time, I use it to define the problem with the team.

There are three essential components to a team. 1. Internal Actors: these are members of my organization that have the skills, experience and intangibles that will drive the work forward. They mange our internal process and know what it takes to go from idea to product. 2. Experts: These are people from outside the organization that have specific and deep understanding on the context where our product will find a market. They could be a scientist, sociologist, author, etc. Basically, someone that has expert and practical knowledge of the landscape our product will find a home in. Finally, I want end users as part of the team. Who are we designing for? There are multiple seats on the team for end users.

In full transparency, In the beginning of the process, I don’t like to engage the team in thinking about risk. I like to start the design process without limitations. What are the possibilities? Dream Big. And then once we are freed from shackles of fear we then enter a research phase to understand the current market. We’ll look at data, read the latest reports and research, interview people already in the space and analyze what we find to understand what we will be dealing with. We are talking about innovation here. There is no way to innovate if we start from a place of risk, fear and limitations. We want to do something that no one has done before. It’s called a BREAK through because we are going to have to break something.

Budget planning is a triangulation process for me. At the top of the triangle are the funders and the available funds. What do the funders want to see? What does success mean for the funders, both from a profit standpoint and product design and utilization. The more aligned we are to the funder’s expectations, the more money will keep flowing. Then I go to my teams and ask them who needs what and why? I need to get their perspective on how they see their role in developing, building, and selling the product. I ask them for a Christmas wishlist. In a world of unlimited resources what would you want to complete this project? Finally, I look at our plan and get clear view of reality. This allows me to prioritize and refine their asks.