Finishing on time

Every project has it's own set of objects; different deliverables, schedules, and deadlines.  Often, there are many unknowns in regards to all of these items upon starting a project.  An important aspect of doing great work is hitting deadlines consistently, and with quality solutions.  To do this, we manage our time by focusing on priorities, and consistently review the status of all our projects.

At any giving time we will have multiple projects on the table.  Some projects in the heat of development, a few on hold, and others that may be less of a priority or have longer deadlines.  Before kicking-off each of these projects, we define a schedule based on the tentative layout of project deliverables.  Regardless of whether these dates are set-in-stone or just rough estimates, we will always create this schedule and see how it fits with our current work load.

Evaluating the best way to allocate our time with a current project list is something we do as a team, and ensures that we all know what's going on at any given point.  Sometimes deadlines shift forward suddenly, and priorities change.  We are used to this, and handle sudden changes of deadlines quite a bit.  Although it doesn't happen much, working late nights or even through the night is something we'll do to make sure we finish on time.  Whatever it takes to meet a deadline, we strive to make sure clients are happy and satisfied.

Visualization with Modo

Over the past month we have been integrating Luxology's Modo into our design process.  Modo 701 is a modeling, rendering, and animation platform that offers realistic visualization of our product ideas and their functions.  We will be using it strictly for product design communication, but the program is capable of doing Hollywood level special effects.  Studios Pixar and ILM use Modo for their productions.


S4 Case with Mount

An important aspect of product development is effectively communicating our ideas of shape, form, color, texture, and graphics.  There are a number of different ways we do this, and Modo is going to be a big help showcasing realism and function (through animation).  Creating a realistic visualization of a product is something clients always enjoy.  They get to 'see' their product and can review different color and texture options before going to final production.  We've used PhotoView 360 previously as our go-to rendering platform, but Modo offers much, much more in terms of realism and animation.

 

The rendering and animation are of the Samsung GALAXY S4 Juggernaut.Case, a Juggernaut Defense project.  For more details, check out www.Juggernautcase.com

Rugged Product DNA

When we design equipment for the Defense market the ruggedization requirements are typically well understood and specified at the onset of a new development project.  When designing products for other markets; consumer, business equipment, medical....the ruggedization requirements are often not as obvious and can be an afterthought.  Our experience is that durability and ruggedization are  key design considerations in almost every product.  To help our clients bring the conversation of durability to the early stages of the design process, we have developed a design tool, the Juggernaut Ruggedization Scale.  The exercise of  completing the scale highlights challenges and guides decisions throughout the development process.

A couple of examples of products that you wouldn't necessarily consider 'Rugged':

POS Terminals -   We have been involved in the development of many POS devices.  As a piece of 'public' business equipment, these terminals need to withstand an highly abusive environment. Items on the ruggedization scale that can effect design decisions include; button life cycle and graphics wear, material selection and typical wall thickness, sealing for spill resistance and cleaning, changeable touch screen protectors.




Medical Equipment - In researching the daily use scenarios of an expensive surgical x-ray device ,we observed that the equipment took a beating in transporting from room to room and especially in the 'equipment corral' where it was stored with other expensive devices.  This observation lead us to a design solution where the device protects itself in the stowed transport position within a footprint surrounded by bumpers.

Kit Bashing

The term "kit bashing" means to destroy a perfectly good and working product in attempts to create another product - typically a mockup or idea. Its a fun and creative exercise we do from time to time during the initial phases of the product design process.

Extensive development costs (man hours and purchasing costs) can be spent reaching a point to prove an idea. But in some cases the idea or action were trying to prove already exists but in a completely different platform/product category.

Not only does this exercise save time but it is very effective in manipulating existing technology or action or as simple as highlighting a shape, material or color.

Unique Material Application

This past week I have been researching some pretty interesting materials.

At our studio we are currently working on a project that requires finding a material that does all of the following - solid (but free-flowing), clear visibility, self healing, and non-sticky.  Believe me, there are not many materials in the world that fit this bill.

Completely solid materials were too limiting, so I began searching in the non-Newtonian fluid realm.  I was directed towards objects such as Oobleck, Floam, and Silly Putty...but transparency was still an issue.  Eventually I came across an amazing product called Crystal Clear Thinking Putty which I found on Puttyworld.com.  This material is completely clear, forms back into itself after being stretched and pressed, is only slightly tacky, and never dries out.

We've done initial tests with this material, and so far it has met everything we are looking for.  Very amazing stuff, and a lot of fun to work with.  This is a great example of a material application that is quite unique.  Often times it takes an unexpected direction to find a solution for a project!



Clear Thinking Putty (also shown with small acrylic balls mixed in)

Its finally here... The Refresher FS2

A few entries back, I shared my experiences while attending the 2013 PGA show launching the Refresher 1200 with Flex Serve technology. After a couple of months of engineering modifications and vehicle platform changes it's ready for taking orders.

Just shy of a year, we teamed with 19th Hole Marketing on this massive project with just an idea -how can we leapfrog the current cart vending paradigm? It has been a fun ride with the creative team from 19th Hole and we look forward to other large scale projects with them.

With all of the buzz I saw over the Refresher 1200 prototype at the PGA show I know this will be a hit out on the golf course.
More importantly this will be an exciting year for 19th Hole Marketing - start the punch presses!

Being A Service Leader

When it comes to evaluating service performance, we're in a unique position.  We're both a service provider and a service recipient.  When we're the recipient, our experience ranges from frustrating to exceeding our expectations.  In either case, our experience causes me to reflect on the service that we are delivering.

The New Service Paradigm - there are some companies that we deal with that are what I consider 'Wired' (taken from Wired, one of my favorite magazines, meaning dialed in and an innovation leader).  These companies have reinvented how service is provided in their industry and have raised the standard for everyone else.  Examples include Protomold, McMasterCarr, Rapid Sheetmetal and UPS.  These Wired companies have streamlined their operational processes through careful attention to every interaction and consistent performance.   They have invested in being an expert in the area that they service.  

Higher expectations created by Wired companies highlight service providers that are not.  Common frustrations include:

• Not presenting a clear process: How do I work with you?
• Getting to the price
• Getting answers related to schedule and status
• Inconsistent performance and results

This topic has spurred many discussions and actions here at the Juggernaut studio to be Wired. I'll admit that this is a moving target and we're continually working to improve.  Even though product development is a complex and not always straight line activity, we strive to:

• Help our clients define and understand the project
• Provide consistent processes that deliver consistent results
• Discuss costs early and providerealistic budgets up front
• Collaborate - providing frequent reviews and updates
• Be easy to contact

I can't stress the last point enough; the act of simply making myself available to our client has a tremendous impact.