Five steps to end-to-end excellence with TG0
Innovation is hard and bringing new products to market can be filled with uncertainty. The only way to optimise the chances of success is to comprehensively plan, check, do, and work to robust processes. Processes that ensure reasoned decision-making, quality control, and a constant, unswerving focus on the needs of the client and their eventual customer.
At TG0, we’ve created a repeatable, five-step development pathway to keep our projects on-time, on-budget, and on-brief. Each step is gated by a no/go decision at the end of each stage to ensure the required parameters are still being met. Here’s our process:
1) Kick off
Typically TG0 projects begin with either a client brief or conversation, but they might also include an internal idea to build a product that will showcase our technology – like, for example, our eteeController.
At this initial stage, we work with our client to look at the broad implications of the project. Is there a strong enough business case? Which areas could we explore for product differentiation? Is a project along these lines technically feasible? What are the key requirements of the project or new product? What else could we do to add value?
Crucially, we also examine motivations — why does the client want to do this? And we factor-in the voice of the customer, via interviews, focus groups and intensive market research.
Once we have achieved clarity, we document everything, including project briefs, project scope, a product requirements document, and a product design specification. The potential market is defined, and financial and other risks noted, with mitigation plans formed.
With this in place, we reach the first of our development gates. If the brief, budget and other considerations are OK for the client and for us, we push onto stage two.
2a) Proof of concept – selection
Otherwise known as the ideation phase, this stage involves the TG0 team developing multiple concepts that could – in theory – meet the outputs defined in the brief, product requirements doc, and product design specification.
The output of this phase is to create a tangible, physical proof of concept (PoC) that works, and/or looks like the final product. This prototype(s) is not a finalised, polished replica of the final product and is unlikely to have a beautiful cosmetic finish. But it will provide a tangible example of what the product could look and work like, and showcase how an end customer might engage with it.
As always, every idea and iteration is documented in the project log, a working document full of notes from each department, and a change log that refers to the product requirements document. We engage in exploratory user tests and prove product desirability (both for our client and for their audience and/or customers). Assuming all parties are happy, the next development gate is breached, with a single concept selected for refinement.
2b) Proof of concept - refinement
Excellence rarely arrives overnight. Instead, it’s developed by the steady refinement of an initial prototype until it’s truly fit for purpose. Stage 2b is an iterative process that adapts and improves the proof of concept until it meets – or exceeds – the initial brief from the client.
Key challenges are identified, and PoCs are developed in turn to overcome these issues, even if it means returning to the drawing table for a more fundamental overhaul. A printed circuit board (PCB) prototype is designed and either hand-assembled or factory-assembled. Eventually, the team develops one design concept that everyone has reasonable confidence is three iterations or less away from a design worthy of mass production.
This stage is also where we begin to involve manufacturers, sending out requests for quotes and asking about technical capabilities. If we can prove the product will function as required, and there’s an active decision to commit manpower and funds to volume production and tooling, we move onto the next stage.
3) Qualification
With a super-strong concept in place, we explore and confirm the feasibility of mass production. What are the cost, time, quality and shipping implications? Which manufacturers offer the best processes and prices, and have the right technical and cultural fit? Do we use one or multiple manufacturing partners? And how can we mitigate any risks, either in production or in the overall supply chain?
We also fine-tune our product so it’s production ready, and create several ready-to-go prototypes in a production pilot. These pilot units are fully functional and testable, made from the same intended materials as the final product. And they are made on the manufacturing lines themselves, typically with TG0 and client representatives there in person to check the process.
This is often referred to as an Engineering Verification (or Validation) Test (EVT). EVTs can take time; it is common for products to go through many more iterations to remove any design flaws or impediments to the mass manufacturing process.
Every unit is also vigorously tested as it emerges from the production line. Additional safeguards and due diligence include checklists, and laboratory analysis such as power, thermal and electromagnetic interference (EMI) tests. But it’s not just hardware that we examine. We’re also robustly testing the software, tweaking the algorithms as necessary at each stage of the design process.
For both software and hardware we ask: is the product designed for manufacturing (DFM)? Is it designed for assembly (DFA)? What is the expected bill of materials (BOM)? What are the sales forecasts? We also consider packaging, and a design failure modes analysis (DFMA), which anticipates every eventuality if something fails.
Assuming our alpha prototype units meet all of the requirements, and manufacturing is possible at the right price point and without compromising on quality, price, safety or sustainability, we move ahead into the next stage.
4) Mass production
By this point we’ve reached the beta prototype phase – which other companies might describe as the minimum viable product (MVP). It’s time for the design validation test (DVT) stage, which is where a product starts to become truly industrialised. This differs from an EVT, which is more about architecture level manufacturing. Instead, the DVT is about meeting the exacting requirements for mass production – hitting the desired production yields, ensuring quality control and adequate testing processes, plus running continuous improvement loops on product manufacturing.
Following this experimentation and optimisation process, we undertake a production validation test (PVT); the final phase before production begins. Hard tooling is fixed, as are all other production methods.
In this phase, we ensure industry and client-specific risk management protocols are all met. These can include a failure, mode, effects and criticality analysis (FMECA), quality assurance and quality control and first article inspection (FAI) on mechanical parts.
Once a production line begins pumping out units, we put these through more tests, such as environmental chamber tests, thermal cycles, vibration tests and chemical resistance. Additional product and industry specific tests are also completed in the laboratory.
Once we and our clients are happy with quality, timings, costs and other factors, mass production will begin.
5) Support & maintenance
We don’t disappear once the finished products start to emerge from production lines. Instead we offer long-term support, which builds trust and continues to improve on the products themselves. This includes two-year guarantees, plus ongoing availability to support with tooling, software updates, intellectual property concerns and product refinement.
++ As you can see our development gate process ensures accountability and quality at every stage. Most new product developers will have a similar process. But TG0 stands apart for two reasons:
The first is speed. Because of our existing partnerships, vast internal skillset and in-house capabilities with 3D printing, electronics and software development, we can typically move through the development gate process much faster than our competitors.
The second reason is simplicity. Other businesses in our space struggle to manage the full end-to-end process, from ideation to post-manufacturing support. Again, the wide skillset of our international team means that we don’t have to outsource these tasks and remain in control at all times.
++ Got an idea for a project? Or have a question about our processes? Get in touch today.
