Reviews of all kinds If you have been in product development for any time, you may have been involved in design reviews, walk-throughs, specification reviews, product reviews, audits and other forms. Recently I was a part of a customer presentation.  The presentation was developed to introduce the customer to a new product design that the […]

The Confluence: Configuration Management, Change Management, and Project Management Like Puzzle Pieces Configuration management, change management and project management are all connected.  Missing one or more of these in product development can mean exceeding the project budget and schedule at best, and at worst, the launching of a product that is more like a torpedo […]

By Shawn P Quigley and Jon M Quigley Change Dynamics Change is a function of tension created by the difference between the current condition and the desired state. It can only occur when this tension contains sufficient energy to overcome external forces. These external forces could be something as simple as the current condition being […]

More than one way There is not silver bullet or one way to do most things.  The best approach will depend upon the amount of time, talent, tools available, and potential risks associated with the work and level of risk aversion of those undertaking the effort.  The example below, is typical for developing embedded automotive […]

Mere Scrap of Information – The Route to the Product I am a guy, and grew up in the 70’s.  My dad was a Vietnam Vet serving in the 7th Special Forces Group.  I grew up watching action movies.  My favorite actor of that era was Clint Eastwood, and one of my favorite movies Fist Full […]

The Olden Days by Jon M Quigley I recently had a phone call with a person I met on LinkedIn. Actually, I have been having calls with them over the weeks, to talk about product development, especially the way it was in the olden days.  Over the course of few discussions we began chatting about […]

By Jon M. Quigley I saw a LinkedIn post yesterday about the scope of testing during times of compressed schedule. The position was to test what is new in the software, and of that new, what is the most important, perhaps meaning what if it goes wrong, would be the worst for the client or […]

In preparation for our trip to Eindhoven University of Technology to lecture on Configuration Management, we provide a brief excerpt on the evolution of the horseless cariage. Traditionally new market segments open due to the need to solve a problem. Such problems may be real as in the case of the environmental crisis solved by […]

Today we discuss interchangeability of parts.  This may sound trivial, but you probably would not even consider replacing your food processor blade with your lawnmower blade.  It would be obvious that these are not interchangeable.  However, there are times when a part needs to be replaced or design is reworked altering the composition, that is […]

by: Shawn P. Quigley Whereas we have discussed some of the possible flaws in measurements we can all still agree that they are needed to provide both improvement in processes and the organization. However, other aspects of obtaining data for the production of quantifiable information: trend analysis and process evaluation, is the human factor both […]