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 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

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:

  • 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

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!

 


 

 

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