Martin Kessler, founder of Phonejoy, discussed common mistakes made in hardware product development and lessons learned. He recommends doing thorough customer research and business model testing before starting development. Use project management tools like Gantt charts and Kanban boards to plan and track progress. Beware of adding complexity that can increase costs and delays. Factor in potential delays when budgeting and manage outsourcing carefully. The key takeaways are to plan thoroughly, use project tracking tools, limit complexity, and manage risks from delays and outsourcing.

1. @kesslerhk
Founder Institute: Hong Kong
Product Management Class
August 4, 2014
Martin Kessler,
Founder & Former CEO/MD Phonejoy
martin@kessler.hk | @kesslerhk

2. @kesslerhk
Six Development Mistakes We Made
1. Did not understand the true cost of manufacturing
and selling.
2. Didn’t completely lay out the entire hardware
development process from concept to product.
3. Didn’t use a good planning & project tracking tools.
4. We didn’t factor in complexity cost.
5. Failure to budget for potential delays.
6. Didn’t manage outsourcing well.

3. @kesslerhk
Do Your Homework First
Test your basic hypothesis about your business
model (customers, channel, pricing, etc.)

4. @kesslerhk
Gantt Charts

5. @kesslerhk
Use Kanban Boards
/ Scrum to track progress.

6. @kesslerhk
Beware of Complexity Cost
1. Every piece you add to your product adds complexity
2. Increases development time and risk for delays
3. Often ends up slowing down your product’s performance
or in our particular case the manufacturing speed
4. Increases QA time and customer support
5. Makes your product harder to use

7. @kesslerhk
Developments Delays
1. Unrealistic schedule
2. Unpredictability of tasks
3. Bad time/project management
(no hard deadlines or penalties)
4. Changes to Scope of Work

8. @kesslerhk
Outsourcing Done Right
• Don’t outsource key tasks
• Start with small projects
• Clear description of scope of work (milestones, deadlines,
expectations)
• Don’t go for the lowest bid
• Evaluate bid (ratings/reviews/portfolio/github)
• Have a technical interview & make sure you or someone in
your team can relay technical requirements and judge code/
work
• Time zone difference can lead to difficulties.
• Use a good project management and communication tool.
For larger projects use scrum. (ex. Trello, Wrike, Basecamp,
Mavenlink etc)
• Schedule at least weekly talks (depends on project size)

9. @kesslerhk
7 Key Takeaways
1. Do your homework first. Before you even start with your project. Make a plan,
create a Business Model Canvas, talk to customers, etc.
2. Gantt charts allow you to map out your project and identify dependencies. They
rarely allow you to be flexible to change and new features however.
3. Split up tasks into subtasks that can be handled by 1 person in less than a day.
Hold daily standup meetings to discuss progress and impediments. Allows for
more agile project management that can be measured more easily.
4. Use the right tools to track progress (ex. Asana, Trello, Wrike, physical Kanban
boards are all great).
5. Beware of adding too many features at once. Create first an MVP, and later run
sprints that allow you to build-measure-learn.
6. Especially in hardware development factor in delays in your budget.
7. Outsource wisely (no core tasks, review contractors carefully, be concise in your
scope of work, discuss & setup project management process before you start)

10. @kesslerhk
Thank you.
Check out:
http://www.slideshare.net/
MartinKessler1/
www.kessler.hk