Factors to consider in developing a schedule
When planning how long product realization will take, the team will need to assess the timing of all activities on the critical path and set a target schedule. While some activities cannot be compressed (e.g., cutting tooling), others might be influenced by the target ship date. For example, a tight schedule might limit the maximum number of pilot runs a team can deploy.
Product design package and specifications questions
- How long to get to a mature design package?
- Is the specifications document complete? If not, how long will any modifications take?
- If some or all of the design is being outsourced, how long to get a completed design?
Manufacturing relationship questions
- If the team is using a contract manufacturer ( CM ), is the relationship already formalized?
- If you don’t yet know where the product is going to be manufactured, how long to finalize the production partners?
- How long will it take your production partner to review your design package?
Tooling design and production questions
- How manufacturable are the parts and how much redesign is needed?
- How long will it take to design the tooling?
- How long will it take to build the tooling?
- What fixtures are required, and when are they needed for each pilot?
- When are tools needed for each pilot and where can prototype tooling be substituted to get the tool off the critical path?
Material readiness questions
- What materials are needed, and from which suppliers?
- How long will it take to get the materials from each supplier?
- Are you having any custom parts designed by outside suppliers that will require testing and iteration?
Pilot process questions
- How mature are the product and manufacturing processes?
- Is there limited piloting capacity (i.e., do schedule or budget constraints limit the number of pilots that can be run)?
- How much redesign is expected after each pilot? Is it an update of an existing product with slightly modified aesthetics, or is it a completely new and untested product type?
- Are you running pilots to test new manufacturing processes? Can these be done in parallel or do they need to be done in sequence?
- Are you using an existing production line or are you waiting for the production line to be built?
- Is there a dedicated pilot facility?
Certification questions
- What certifications are needed, and how long will they take to acquire them?
- How early can the certification process start?
- Can you start certification during EVT or DVT, or do you need to wait until PVT ?
Order fulfillment questions
- What shipment method will you use to get your product from the manufacturer to the retailers/consumers, and how long will
that take? - How are you fulfilling orders? Are you shipping directly to the consumer from the factory, or are you shipping from a distribution center?