Why Post-Development Plans Are Essential
When Ford set out to revive their iconic Bronco line for 2021, they used a 3D scanner to digitize a 1976 Bronco as the starting point for the retro reboot. This begs the question, “Shouldn’t Ford already have the design files for their own product?”
Increased Project Cost
This is a problem we often see in the product development world. Many customers come to us after a successful product run, wanting to update their design. In some cases, they have a pile of source code and no way to build it. Other times, they have no design files at all. Whether our team spends days trying to recreate the build environment or months reverse-engineering the product to recreate schematics and/or mechanical drawings, the project’s cost inevitably increases.
Mitigating Risk
The best time to mitigate this issue is when you are first engaging a design firm. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of your product, but it’s important to set up versions 2.0 and 3.0 for success as well. When talking to a firm about your product design, make sure to keep the following questions in mind:
- Is the source code and build environment a deliverable?
- Is the schematics, PCB Gerber files, and mechanical fab/assembly drawings a deliverable?
- Will the development be documented well enough to hand off to another team if needed?
One way Up-Rev solves this problem for clients is by using deliverable environments in our development process. For more information about this practice and why it is rapidly growing in the industry, see our post: The Importance of Development Containers