Paragon Innovations Blog
Engineering, business, and startup topics
- Patenting a product or idea is expensive
- Inventors and companies need to be prepared for the ramifications of a party violating patents.
- Patenting is time-intensive and the approval process is difficult
- Customer service strategy – how will you address/resolve customer concerns and/or negative feedback?
- Distribution concerns – Is your current distribution strategy cost-effective?
- Product development improvements and cost reductions- Do they make sense given the capital situation?
- RMA (Return Material Authoriztion) process – What is your product return strategy? Has the return shipping cost been accounted for in your profit margin?
- Have you established your fulfillment partner or CM partner?
- Basic Support
- Advanced Support
- Customer service strategy – how will you address/resolve customer concerns and/or negative feedback?
- Distribution concerns – Is your current distribution strategy cost-effective?
- Product development improvements and cost reductions- Do they make sense given the capital situation?
- RMA (Return Material Authoriztion) process – What is your product return strategy? Has the return shipping cost been accounted for in your profit margin?
- Have you established your fulfillment partner or CM partner?
- Basic Support
- Advanced Support
- Changes may need to be made in production surrounding a obsolete parts. It’s a good idea to have a second contract manufacturer that can begin producing units with required updates as soon as possible.
- A second contract manufacturer in a different location expands a product’s footprint. Having a manufacturer in a second location allows for ease in supply chain and logistics.
- Incorporating a second contract manufacturer is cost-effective in that developers can have options if manufacturing rates are changed or increased.
- Why does your product exist?
- Why do customers want/need your product?
- What value does your product provide your customers?
- Are there competitive alternatives already on the market?
- Tradeshows/events
- Email marketing
- Traditional mailers
- Social media
- Networking in groups or individually
- Develop a list of referral sources
- Co-marketing opportunities
- UL
- FCC
- CSA
- CE
- PTCRB
- TUV
- SKUs
- Model Numbers
- Fulfillment
- Distribution
- Supply chain
- Preorder long lead components
- Domestic and international shipping taxes and requirements
- Schematic and mechanical CAD file changes/updates
- Resolve manufacturing issues
- Design change requests
- Early concepts / 3D screen models
- 3D printed concepts
- Paper design
- Determine CM and include them in Design Reviews
- Incorporate Pre-DFM issues to save a step.
- Prototypes made (PCB, 3D model, hand machined parts)
- Design package updated and EIN/EOD produced
- The size and shape of your product
- The power source of your product
- The overall project cost of your product
- Features that consumers desire
- The intended purchase price of the product
- Software Design
- Select software tools
- Software development
- Software debug
- Mechanical Design
- Mechanical 3D modeling
- Rapid prototype development (SLA, SLS, FDM, machining, etc.)
- Electronic Design
- Schematic capture
- PCB layout
- Component sourcing and purchasing
- PCB production
- PCB assembly
- Provide accurate estimates in relation to the costs, design, and functionality of a product.
- Include the source of the requirement like customers or engineering teams.
- Allow for feasibility in that requirements may be implemented within the constraints and perimeters of a project.
- List all necessary requirements that customers, engineers, or external influences will actually need.
- Include a spectrum of prioritization. Statements within a requirements document should be categorized as high, medium, or low-level priorities.
- Refrain from using technical, marketing, or industry jargon. Language within a requirements document must be simple and straightforward.
- Include verifiable facts through test results and sources of information.
- Be consistent in their message.
- Allow for modification with revisable requirement specifications.
- All
- Never
- Common
- Industry-standard
Phase 12: Intellectual Property
Paragon Innovations’ Series:
12-Stage Product Development Process
From Start to Success
In Stage 11 of Paragon Innovation’s 12-Phase Product Development Course, developers were provided with key insights on what needs to be addressed in post-production. In Phase 12, the final stage of a product’s development, Paragon is joined by Joel Justiss to provide inventors with everything they need to know about establishing intellectual property (IP). As a partner at Parker Justiss Intellectual Property Law Firm, Joel is uniquely positioned to offer developers key insights on how they can protect their inventions.
What is Intellectual Property?
A large portion of the research phase is identifying the intellectual property of your product design. “There’s different types of intellectual property that you can use to protect your invention or idea,” says Joel. In the scope of product development, intellectual property surrounds Patents, Copyrights, Trade Secrets, and Trade Dress. Trade secrets are defined as information that is kept internally within your company that is never to be released as public knowledge. In other words, trade secrets are secret formula for your spaghetti sauce.
Patents:
Joel clarifies that there are two main types of patents; utility patents and design patents. Utility patents protect the functionality of your product. Design patents protect what your design visually looks like. “The cost for patents can range greatly depending on what type of patent you are getting,” says Joel. “In the United States, you can get a provisional patent which essentially preserves your date with the patent office. Now, obtaining a provisional patent costs less money than obtaining a non-provisional patent.” Joel also advises that costs may significantly increase if developers plan on filing overseas or in other countries.
Additionally, developers should be advised that establishing a non-provisional patent is a two to four year process. If you plan on patenting your product design, you must disclose this information to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Regardless if your submission is approved or denied, the application is made public on uspto.com, google, and many other patent sites. It’s extremely difficult to keep trade secrets classified while patenting an idea. It’s important to note that:
While items like trademarking and patenting happen further into a product’s development process, an important aspect of the research phase is to identify what your project’s intellectual property is and what you intend to do with it.
Trademarks:
Trademarking a product or service is a relatively simple process. Technically, anything can be trademarked by adding a TM or SM symbol. However, in order to receive the full protection of trademarking, inventors must register with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Upon applying for trademark registration, inventors will be required to provide proof of use through a published source like a magazine or product literature.
Trade Secrets:
Depending on the type of product you have, keeping a trade secret may be advantageous route of establishing intellectual property rights. Inventors do not have to file anything with patent or copyright offices, but they still get to protect their product. “One of the best examples of trade secret is Coca-Cola,” say Joel. “They did not patent their formula and they’ve protected [it] all these years. In comparison, if they patented their formula they would have to publicly disclose it.”
Copyrights:
The cost for copyrighting an invention is much lower than patenting a product. “The cost for copyrights is roughly thirty to fifity dollars for the filing fee,” Joel says. Inventors can file the copyright application themselves or have an IP attorney assist with the application. Both options are still much more cost-effective than the patent process and copyrights still provide your product with some level of protection.
How Do I Establish My Invention’s Intellectual Property?
The road to protecting your invention through establishing intellectual property can seem daunting. Establishing IP will take time, money, and resources. The cost of establishing IP fluctuates depending on a product’s complexity. “For a non-provisional patent application, you could easily be looking at a cosr from five thousand to ten thousand dollars depending on the complexity,” advises Joel.
Luckily, Paragon Innovations is here to assist you through the IP phase of your product’s development. Paragon has the expertise and the network required to guide developers through IP’s confusing path. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with establishing the intellectual property behind your invention, contact Paragon Innovations today!
Phase 11: Post-Production
Paragon Innovations’ Series:
12-Stage Product Development Process
From Start to Success
Phase 10 of our 12-Stage Product Development Course focused on how developers can ensure success in the final production stage of their product. This next phase, stage 11, centers on everything developers need to consider in the post-production of their product.
What Should Developers Be Concerned with Post-Production?
Now that your product has been made, it’s time to address post-production concerns. Many of the considerations in the post-production phase were errors or issues identified during production, but it is critical that they are resolved in post-production. Mike Wilkinson, Founder and General Manager of Paragon Innovations, says that post-production concerns are often overlooked. Most post-production concerns include “customer returns, distribution issues, [and] warranties,” says Mike. Additionally, Mike advises that developers think about post-production concerns even earlier than the post-production phase. “Even in the design phase, we need to be adding in features or LED indicators or error codes or something that we can [use] to identify when [a] product might have problems.”
Developers should consider the following concerns during the post-production phase:
How Your Customers Can Help with Post-Production Considerations
If developers integrate post-production concerns in earlier in a product’s design, as Mike advises, then customers can provide developers with crucial data surrounding product issues. “If [customers] call in, they can give us that data – you know, blinking LED three times or something.” Customer feedback is an essential feature of a successful post-production phase.
Warranty issues and customer calls help developers determine the best next steps for their product. “Maybe there [are] feature improvements, maybe there’s another model lite version that needs to happen,” says Mike. Learning from customers during the post-production phase prepares developers for next-generation and subsequent products.
Why Should Developers Focus on Enhanced Customer Support?
Customer feedback is a critical element of the post-production process, so a focus on comprehensive customer service is also essential. Having a team of employees to address customer concerns and make them feel heard is of utmost importance. There are two levels of customer support:
It’s important that companies focus on both levels of service personnel to provide their customer with best-in-class support. “An alternative to staffing up your own customer service group is to outsource that to a group that manages lots of products,” suggests Mike. Outsourcing customer support is often an ideal way to provide enhanced service without expending valuable resources.
Often overlooked, the post-production phase of a product development process is just as important as a product’s overall design. If you found this phase of Paragon Innovations’ 12-Stage Product Development Process useful, stay tuned for Phase 12 to learn about establishing the intellectual property of your design.
Phase 11: Post-Production
Paragon Innovations’ Series:
12-Stage Product Development Process
From Start to Success
Phase 10 of our 12-Stage Product Development Course focused on how developers can ensure success in the final production stage of their product. This next phase, stage 11, centers on everything developers need to consider in the post-production of their product.
What Should Developers Be Concerned with Post-Production?
Now that your product has been made, it’s time to address post-production concerns. Many of the considerations in the post-production phase were errors or issues identified during production, but it is critical that they are resolved in post-production. Mike Wilkinson, Founder and General Manager of Paragon Innovations, says that post-production concerns are often overlooked. Most post-production concerns include “customer returns, distribution issues, [and] warranties,” says Mike. Additionally, Mike advises that developers think about post-production concerns even earlier than the post-production phase. “Even in the design phase, we need to be adding in features or LED indicators or error codes or something that we can [use] to identify when [a] product might have problems.”
Developers should consider the following concerns during the post-production phase:
How Your Customers Can Help with Post-Production Considerations
If developers integrate post-production concerns in earlier in a product’s design, as Mike advises, then customers can provide developers with crucial data surrounding product issues. “If [customers] call in, they can give us that data – you know, blinking LED three times or something.” Customer feedback is an essential feature of a successful post-production phase.
Warranty issues and customer calls help developers determine the best next steps for their product. “Maybe there [are] feature improvements, maybe there’s another model lite version that needs to happen,” says Mike. Learning from customers during the post-production phase prepares developers for next-generation and subsequent products.
Why Should Developers Focus on Enhanced Customer Support?
Customer feedback is a critical element of the post-production process, so a focus on comprehensive customer service is also essential. Having a team of employees to address customer concerns and make them feel heard is of utmost importance. There are two levels of customer support:
It’s important that companies focus on both levels of service personnel to provide their customer with best-in-class support. “An alternative to staffing up your own customer service group is to outsource that to a group that manages lots of products,” suggests Mike. Outsourcing customer support is often an ideal way to provide enhanced service without expending valuable resources.
Often overlooked, the post-production phase of a product development process is just as important as a product’s overall design. If you found this phase of Paragon Innovations’ 12-Stage Product Development Process useful, stay tuned for Phase 12 to learn about establishing the intellectual property of your design.
Phase 10: Production
Paragon Innovations’ Series:
12-Stage Product Development Process
From Start to Success
In Phase 9, Paragon Innovation’s 12-Stage Product Development Course provided everything developers need to know about successfully marketing their product. In the next stage, Phase 10, developers have entered into final production processes. The production phase may seem straightforward but ensuring production success depends on the sturdy framework you have built throughout your product development process.
Beginning a Production Run
In this phase, developers will have previously addressed any electrical, mechanical, software, and manufacturing issues to produce a fully working unit. In order to begin a production run, developers need to have their finalized computer-aided design (CAD) files. According to Paragon Innovation’s General Manager and Founder, Mike Wilkinson, a CAD file involves “every aspect of [your] product. That’s the schematic. That’s the layout. That’s the solidworks.” A CAD file includes all the mechanical files, source code, and everything a contract manufacturer needs to produce a device.
Once developers have entered into their production phase, they are producing units, shipping units, and maneuvering the supply chain. As customers begin receiving units, it is more important than ever that developers focus on providing excellent customer service. One bad review can make or break a product’s rate of success.
What is a Contract Manufacturer?
Developers can utilize the help of a contract manufacturer for the production of their units. A contract manufacturer is a way of outsourcing manufacturing to a third party that is set up for volume manufacturing. There are many different types of contract manufacturers that produce items like commuter rail lines, rubber products, heavy machinery, plastic injection molding, industrial electronics, and much more.
Mike at Paragon Innovations suggests that developers involve at least two contract manufacturers as their production volume increases. There are a number of reasons why developers might add a second contract manufacturer:
Paragon Innovation’s Documentation Offerings
As an experienced and reputable design engineering services firm, Paragon Innovation’s supplies their clients with an all-in-one documentation package that includes finalized software, CAD drawings, and all of the tools developers need to digitally capture their product. In Mike’s words, “We believe [that] he who pays owns.” Developers will benefit from Paragon Innovation’s expert engineering design services.
As production begins, inventors may tend to think that their work is done. While their product’s design process is winding down, there’s still more that needs to be accomplished. Stay tuned for Paragon Innovation’s next phase in there 12-Stage Product Development Course where they the inner workings of post-production!
Phase 9: Sales and Marketing
Paragon Innovations’ Series:
12-Stage Product Development Process
From Start to Success
Phase 8 of Paragon Innovation’s 12-Stage Product Development Course focused on the importance of passing various regulations and why achieving certain certifications can make or break a product. Phase 9 centers on how a product’s successful marketing strategy can lead to sales.
Developing A Product’s Marketing Strategy
In Phase 9, President of The TranSynergy Group, Donna Hegdahl, makes a guest appearance to support developers in their product’s sales and marketing strategy. “Marketing is an important part of new product development,” says Donna. She advises that developers start thinking about how their product is going to be marketed from a product’s inception. Additionally, Donna advises that developers design their marketing strategy by asking important questions like:
Developing Your Brand
Many believe that a brand is sequestered to a name, logo, or color that makes consumers think about your product. “What a brand really is your brand promise,” Donna clarifies. Your brand is what you will be known for. When your brand promise has been established, it is time to examine your WIIFM.
W – What’s
I – In
I – It
F – For
M – Me
A product’s WIIFM does not involve the key features and technical aspects of your product. Your product’s WIIFM sums up the key value that your product offers to customers. Examples of key values that a product can possess include time savings, money savings, or other enhancements.
Establishing Your Target Market
Once you have a brand promise and the key value of your product set in place, Donna advises that it is time to define your target market. With new product launches, developers should stick to one or two specific audiences to target. Defining a target market should include groups that will have the “easiest” sales rates. Keeping a fixed target market allows developers to remain focused on the specific people that are purchasing their product. Donna reminds developers that “Over time, you can add other target markets. Eventually, you can have as many as you can afford to market to.”
Launching Your Product
“You have a name, a logo, a marketing message,” says Donna. “Now you are ready to launch!” Prior to picking your launch date, your brand needs to have a comprehensive, user-friendly website that is easily accessible to your customers and has e-commerce capabilities. “You need to develop a professional website that has all of your [product’s] benefits spelled out, as well as your [product’s] features,” recommends Donna. Once a website is live, a brand can build out its social media presence.
A great opportunity to promote your product’s launch is an already established tradeshow or event that provides a pre-built audience. Developers can utilize events to conveniently disseminate their marketing message. Developers should limit their focus to five strategies to promote their marketing message. Ways to promote your product include:
Advertising is another great option to promote your product, but Donna is wary to suggest it as an avenue of promotion right off the bat. “People don’t buy the first time they hear something,” warns Donna. “Advertising is very expensive. You want to make sure you have a good plan and that you’re going to invest in dollars six or more times in a year so that [potential customers] see [the advertisement] enough times.”
Maintaining Your Marketing Plan
One of the most important things regarding a marketing plan is maintaining consistency in it. Once established, developers will need to be disciplined in their outreach methods. “You can’t do it once and hope it works,” says Donna. “You need to be there on an ongoing basis.” The sales aspect of your product can be directly attributed to the marketing actions developers take to convince a customer of a product’s usefulness and validity. “You do all of these things and you’ll have a dynamite product,” concludes Donna.
If you have found Phase 9 of Paragon Innovation’s 12-Stage Product Development Course helpful with your marketing and sales strategy, stay tuned for Phase 10 where Paragon provides a comprehensive outlook at Production.
Phase 8: Regulatory
Paragon Innovations’ Series:
12-Stage Product Development Process
From Start to Success
Phase 7 of Paragon Innovation’s 12-Stage Product Development Course centered on how developers should focus on the fine details of pre-production. In the next stage, Phase 8, Paragon Innovations explains what developers need to focus on during the regulatory processes of a product’s development.
The regulatory stage encompasses everything a product requires to meet specific government or industry testing standards. Testing standards are regulations and requirements put into place to ensure the safety, usage, and performance of a device. Paragon Innovations CEO and founder, Mike Wilkinson, says that the regulatory phase is important “because it’s required by most governments around the world to have your product tested so that it’s safe for people to use and operate.”
There are a variety of regulatory testing standards throughout the world. Major testing standards used in North America include, but are not limited to:
Different certifications test for different standards. For example, UL certification ensures the overall safety of electronic devices, whereas FCC certification focuses on ensuring safe radiation levels within electronic devices . “It’s important to know which regulatory agencies you need to get through for your product,” comments Mike. During a product’s development process, there are a number of simulations made to ensure that a device will pass certain testing standards. However, you can never be too certain. “Simulations never completely take away from doing real testing in a real lab,” notes Mike.
Having your device pass specific regulations testing is also an expensive and time-consuming process. If a device requires cellular PTCRB testing, developers can expect a time frame of as little as a few weeks to nine months. Luckily, rules around regulations testing are always evolving. “Paragon can add value to our customers because we can now do self-certification for LTE [and] CATM1 cellular radios right here in our facility.” Developers can save time and resources during their product development process by utilizing Paragon Innovations as their chosen engineering design services firm.
Passing regulations is a crucial step to achieving a successful product release. If you have found this phase of Paragon Innovation’s 12-Stage Product Development Course informative to your process, don’t miss Phase 9 where Donna Hegdahl, President & CEO of The TransSynergy Group, explains the importance of a product’s comprehensive sales and marketing strategy.
Phase 7: Pre-Production
Paragon Innovations’ Series:
12-Stage Product Development Process
From Start to Success
Now that you have successfully completed the tangible construction of your prototype in Phase 6 of our 12-Stage Product Development Course, it is time to begin pre-production of your product. The pre-production phase focuses on identifying and eliminating errors before a product enters the final manufacturing stages. Pre-production units aid developers in debugging small cosmetic issues, updating packaging requirements, finalizing marketing collateral, organizing logistics, and more.
Considerations In Pre-Production:
Our founder and CEO, Mike Wilkinson, comments that developers “need to start thinking about product packaging and how that is going to look” during the pre-production phase. It is important to consider how users will experience the packaging in which they receive a device and if the intended packaging will protect the device during shipping, stocking, etc. Inventors need to determine packaging requirements before entering the final production of their product.
The pre-production phase is also the stage where logistics must be organized. Developers should keep the following logistics consideration in mind during preproduction:
“If your product contains a lithium battery, that is something you need to be concerned about very quickly and take very seriously,” Mike advises. Lithium battery regulations change daily and shipping requirements surrounding lithium products can significantly affect the successful distribution of your product. To mitigate delay Mike advises developers to “make sure your contract manufacturer is up to date on all the regulations so that you can safely ship products with lithium batteries.”
The Final Details
This phase also incorporates all required changes from prototyping to enable success in pre-production units. Any last minute changes or errors will be corrected on the next spin of the PCBE. Possible changes found in the prototyping stage of a product’s development process include:
Once pre-production units are built, shipping requirements have been met, lithium product handling requirements have been addressed, and beta customers are testing units, it’s time to begin the next process in Paragon Innovation’s 12-Stage Product Development Course: Production.
Phase 6: Prototype Construction
Paragon Innovations’ Series:
12-Stage Product Development Process
From Start to Success
As we reach the halfway point in Paragon’s 12-Stage Product Development Process, developers should be prepared with the preliminary research they have conducted as the ‘foundation’ of their product. This includes a critical design review, a thorough requirements document, adequate fundraising, and more. Phase 6 focuses on building a successful prototype and our founder and VP, Mike Wilkinson, says it best, “We’re going to get cracking on construction!”
The prototype construction phase of a product development process is where design work and documentation are verified. A prototype is a functional model that is very similar to the desired product and demonstrates the feasibility of all major design issues. The most convenient way to get a prototype constructed is to utilize a contract manufacturer. Prototype construction is advantageous to the overall product development process in that you can create a better final product through user feedback. It’s important to communicate to the user that this is not the final product.
Prototype Development Cycle:
As with an entire product development cycle, prototype construction is best addressed as a piece-by-piece process. Similar to building a multi-story home, it pays to go step-by-step in the prototype construction phase. The prototype development cycle includes:
If you are collaborating with Paragon Innovations on developing a product, you are leveraging their decades’ worth of engineering design experience and industry connections. “Our lab is complete with all soldering gear, a wet lab, and all the equipment necessary to test [your] device,” says Mike. A comprehensive lab is essential for prototype testability. Testability refers to design features that are added/subtracted from prototype models to ensure manufacturability.
One of the most important steps within the prototype construction phase is record-keeping. Any change or correction within a prototype must be documented to ensure the success of a final product. A successful prototype construction benefits each phase of the last half of our 12-Stage Product Development Course. If you found the prototype construction phase helpful, stay tuned for Stage 7: Pre-Production!
Phase 5: Detailed Design
Paragon Innovations’ Series:
12-Stage Product Development Process
From Start to Success
“At Paragon Innovations, we focus on the detail design of your next-generation product,” says CEO and Founder of Paragon Innovations, Mike Wilkinson, in Phase 5 of their 12-Stage Product Development Process. Phase 4 of their series is centered around generating a comprehensive requirements document. Phase 5 involves an in-depth look into detailed design.
If you were building a home, the design phase would be the work of the architect. “In this phase, we make all kinds of decisions about which components to use,” continues Mike. “This is a big portion of [your] overall project.” When looking at the technical and business aspects of the detailed design phase, developers should consider:
The detailed design phase covers many aspects of industrial design. Described as the “touchy-feely stuff of design elements, industrial design applies to aesthetics, ergonomics, functionality, and/or usability of a product. It can be helpful to reexamine the Initial Human Factors Evaluation results from the first phase of your product development process when determining the industrial design elements of your product.
Designing a product involves many different details. All of the decisions come from different departments, such as Business or Engineering. The technical aspects of the detail design phase include:
After the details of your design have been finalized, a Critical Design Review will take place. The CDR is arguably the most important piece of the detail design. Mike explains that a CDR “is when we all come together [to] review this detail design, and we go over every last detail.” A CDR marks the moment where last revisions can be made before final approval. Any changes made down the line are costly and time-consuming. Mike urges developers to “pay close attention, get the documents in advance, go over them, and ask any question you can think of to make sure that you get everything answered so that when you move into the prototype phase, everything goes smoothly.”
If you found Phase 5: Detailed Design of Paragon Academy’s 12-Stage Product Development Process
From Start to Success, check out the next Phase 6 where Paragon talks all about prototyping!
Phase 4: Architecture and Requirements Gathering
Paragon Innovations’ Series:
12-Stage Product Development Process
From Start to Success
Paragon Innovation’s third module focused on essential tips around raising funds for your product development process. The series’ fourth stage revolves around developing an effective, organized requirements document. Founder and Vice President of Paragon Innovations, Mike Wilkinson, defines a requirements document as a file that “describes your product idea in detail with a very specific list of requirements.” Requirement documents are an integral portion of the product development process as they help developers clearly communicate with internal and external engineering teams of exact specifications of their product.
The specifications within a requirements document must be concise, consistent, and accurate. “Additionally, there is a difference between marketing requirements and system requirements,” says Mike. “Marketing requirements are things that need to be included to reach the market. A system requirement is a requirement for making sure [a] unit operates properly.” It is critical that developers avoid ambiguities in marketing and system specifications within a requirements document. Mike advises including buzz words in a requirements document like “should, must, maybe, [and] shall not” to further outline the perimeters of a product.
A requirements document should:
Just as there are recommended words to include within a requirements document, there are also words that developers should stay clear of. Words that should not be used within a requirements document are:
In addition, it’s advised that developers refrain from providing prior knowledge of suppliers or any information that would imply impertinence within supplier relations. The requirements document of a project development process should focus on the project without supplier complexities. If you have found this phase of Paragon Innovations’ 12-Stage Product Development Process useful for your product development strategy, stay tuned for the next step where we examine the detailed design phase.
