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8 Questions You Should Ask When Prototyping a Product

Business

Claire James

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22 April 2020

8 Questions You Should Ask When Prototyping a Product

Prototyping
is the critical step between initial design and mass production. Skipping
prototyping is always a mistake since you risk launching a product that doesn’t
work or fails to meet customer expectations. Delays in prototyping can delay
the release of your product, and poor quality prototypes may lead to incorrect
design decisions. On the other hand, choosing the right prototyping service and
making other good decisions during this process can save your company time and
money during this critical step. Here are eight questions you should ask when
prototyping a product.

How have Previous Solutions Fallen Short of Market
Expectations?

It is far
less painful to learn from another’s mistakes than to make them yourself. So,
before you start, you have to do an honest assessment of the solutions to the
problem you’re trying to solve and try to determine why they failed. Were their
products too expensive for their customers? Was it too difficult to use?
Understand why they fell short of market expectations so that you don’t make
the same mistake.

You’ll
also notice that it’s rarely because the product was delivered ahead of schedule.
For example, the answer might be that the devices they offered were too slow or
inconvenient for the modern consumer. Read customer reviews before you make
assumptions about your product being better. What would keep them from buying
the product, and what makes them regret the purchase they made? These are all
questions that will allow you to refine your product, and give your clients
exactly what they need.

What are Customer’s Behavior Patterns?

A good
rule of thumb is to always make your product fit the customer’s current habits.
If you change how they do things, there better be a very good reason. For
example, people will use more expensive disposable straws before they buy a
reusable straw that has to be purchased and then sterilized.

Understand
how your target audience uses current products to solve their problems. A
product that’s too different will be disregarded in favor of the familiar. This
is why successful wearable devices tend to be more similar to watches.

Understand
the ergonomics of your target user base, and ensure that your products
literally fit them. If the item is too large, heavy or hard to use, they won’t
use it. This knowledge can prevent you from adding features that get in the way
of the product’s core purpose, too.

What is your Turnaround Time?

Once
you’ve finalized your initial design, it is time to find a prototyping service
to make the first prototype. Understand that prototypes are intended to be
rough, disposable, initial versions of the product. It won’t be perfect the
first time, and you’ll probably need several iterations to get a good final
design to hand off to production. This means you’ll want to get each prototype
back as soon as possible for user feedback and product testing. You’ll also
find that the best prototyping services balance speed with quality of work.

What Services do You Offer that can Improve the
Prototyping Service?

You can
find a variety of CNC services online, and they all have a different scope of
service. Some will allow you to send them your design files, and the online CNC
machining service will make it in their shop and ship you a prototype. That
allows startups and small businesses to quickly get a working prototype,
assuming the design is viable.

However, there are CNC prototyping services that will go the extra mile and give you invaluable advice on improving the design and electronics compliance. For example, prototype machining company Rapid Direct has a blog where they discuss design for manufacturability or DfM. They touch on recent tools that have come out online that allow you to upload a CAD file and grade the manufacturability of a part. You could use this information to make changes to the design to make it cheaper and easier to manufacture before you ask them to make it for you.

How do we Communicate Design changes?

Some
prototyping manufacturing services require you to place a brand new order and
pay full price yet again if you ask for a modified version of the original
prototype. Other companies allow you to make modest changes to the design and
order a few more. You want a team that will be as flexible as possible and will
leave you some space for some alterations.

On the
other hand, you also need a process for receiving feedback regarding their
proposed changes to the design during their manufacturing process. You want to
know when they’re having problems 3D printing or injection molding the product.
You can’t maintain your schedule if you don’t know about delays until it is too
late. You should also know what the process is if you want to order an
additional three prototypes for testing.

Do you use Non-Disclosure Agreements?

You don’t
want to hand your design to a prototyping service that won’t respect your
intellectual property rights. You also can’t afford for one of their employees
to discuss your product development with other companies that might steal the
idea. Ensure that they have a non-disclosure agreement they use and enforce so
that your prototype is protected. This is crucial if you
hope to get a patent for the product.

How Much Do You Charge for the Manufacturing of
the Prototype?

Cost is a
factor in the selection of a prototyping service, but it is far from the most
important one. For example, it is worth paying more for a service that can not
only make it according to your plans but gives advice on how to make it faster
and cheaper. You also can’t afford a cheap prototyping service that takes weeks
to send you a working unit.

You should
ask about the materials that are available as well. Some companies offer low
prices because they’ll only make the prototype out of cheaper materials. This
could result in an inferior prototype. Then you waste money on a prototype that
falls apart in the user’s hands or fails during performance testing even though
one made of the same material as the production version would survive.

A good
company will be able to give you advice on which materials would be the best,
and which ones could cause trouble. Some pieces might absolutely need to be
made out of metal, and in some cases, polymers and plastic might work. So, make
sure that you work with a team that will be ready to give you some suggestions,
and look at the suggestions with your development team.

What other Services do You Offer?

3D
printing is commonplace. CNC machining is commonly available, as well. Sheet
metal fabrication isn’t as common. The best prototyping services offer all
three so that they can make every piece of your prototype in house. This
simplifies the manufacturing process and typically speeds it up. It also helps
protect the intellectual property itself since the prototyping service will not
have to share your design information with third parties in order to
manufacture the item.

Conclusion

Take the
time to ask questions during the design and prototyping process. Rushing
through this critical phase can cost you dearly later.

Covid 19: Tips for struggling SMEs during a crisis

Elliot

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21 April 2020

0

Covid 19: Tips for struggling SMEs during a crisis

The coronavirus pandemic has created one of the biggest threats to the British economy since World War II. The country going into lockdown has put an immense amount of pressure on small businesses up and down the country. As such, experts are predicting that the United Kingdom is heading towards another recession. The government has been putting a number of measures in place to support small businesses through this crisis. They have announced the furlough scheme, for instance, which ensures small businesses can retain their employees at a time when they may not have work to do. They have also delayed certain changes, such as the IR35 reforms, in order to help small businesses maintain their stability. However, very few small businesses will find themselves safe from the adverse effects of the Covid-19 crisis, regardless of the efforts by the British government. One in five British firms are warning that they have less than one month’s worth of cash in reserve, whilst just under half saying they have three months’ worth of cash.

The first and most important step that SMEs can take in order to offset some of these effects is to support their staff. A struggling small business will only continue to struggle without productive, happy employees determined to help your company weather this crisis. With most small business’ staff now working from home it is crucial that they have all the necessary equipment and supplies to work at full capacity. Managers should check that their employees have access to wireless internet, laptops and any other technology they would usually have in the workplace. Also ensure that important documents are safely accessible online via a file sharing platform like Google Drive. Furthermore, whilst there must be an element of trust given to staff whilst they work remotely, managers should utilise project management tools to ensure work is being completed. Project management platforms Monday, Asana, Trello and Basecamp are ideal for establishing tasks, assigning team members and setting deadlines.

It is not only important to reflect on the impact coronavirus will have on your staff though; it is also essential to consider how it is going to affect your customers and suppliers. This will allow you to see a clearer picture of how your cash flow might look in the next three to six months, for starters. If there are high paying suppliers that are being heavily impacted by the crisis, you may be able to put precautionary measures in place in case they drop your business before it is too late. Being aware of suppliers’ conditions may also help you to negotiate alternative payment terms and strike deals that are mutually beneficial to both of you. You could offset payments for six months, for example, or put small deposits in place to ensure there is still money coming into the business.

Is Now the Right Time to Move to An Online Brokerage?

Business

Claire James

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20 April 2020

0

Is Now the Right Time to Move to An Online Brokerage?

To prevent the spread of
coronavirus (COVID-19), face-to-face businesses around the world have been
forced to shift to remote operations. This shift has proved to be particularly
difficult for traditional investment brokers, many of which still rely on face-to-face
contact with clients. Fortunately, online brokerages have been able to take on
the additional demand for brokerage services.

Given their growing popularity,
we thought now would be a good time to take a deeper look at online
brokerages and determine whether they’re an effective investment platform
for today’s turbulent economic conditions.

What Are Online Brokerages?

The term “online brokerage”
refers to a class of brokerage firms that use digital interfaces to both host
their services and communicate with clients. Unlike a conventional broker,
investing through an online brokerage does not require face-to-face
consultation. By shifting their services to the web, online brokerages do not
have to maintain or staff brick-and-mortar business fronts.

In comparison to a conventional
brokerage service, online brokerages—which benefit from very low running costs—are
usually far more affordable when it comes to brokerage and account fees. What’s
more, many online brokerages offer additional affordability bonuses. For
instance, top Canadian brokerage Questrade offers zero account keeping fees and
$0 brokerage for exchange-traded fund (ETF) products.

The Economic Impacts of
COVID-19

To combat the spread of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the international community has implemented strict
containment and social distancing policies, shuttering non-essential businesses
and, for all intents and purposes, locking down the global economy. While
unquestionably necessary, there’s no doubt that COVID-19 prevention measures
have wreaked
havoc on global equity markets.

In the U.S. and Canada, dozens of
industries, especially businesses in the tourism and entertainment sector, have
been pushed to the brink by the ongoing wipe-out in earnings. According
to the U.S. Commerce Department, month-to-month retail sales have already
fallen by a staggering 8.7 percent. U.S.
unemployment data is similarly bleak, with slightly more than 10 percent of
the domestic workforce, some 16 million people, losing their jobs over a three
week period. Unfortunately, the economic impacts of COVID-19 are not isolated
to North America., comparably bleak figures have been recorded in the
Indo-Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Although it recently recorded an
encouraging rally, the benchmark S&P 500 index (sitting at 2,783 points as
of April. 16) is still a long way from its record high of 3,386 points on Feb.
19. When you consider that the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, it’s
entirely possible—maybe even likely—that global equity markets will undergo
further falls.

Why It’s Still a Good Time to
Invest

On the surface, you might think
it’s crazy to even consider investing in today’s hyper-volatile geo-economic
environment. However, as anyone who’s seen “The Big Short” would tell you,
financial crises pose unique opportunities to savvy investors.

Broadly speaking, when retail
investors rush to take their money out of the market, they’ll often leave
behind a treasure trove of distressed assets and undervalued stocks. Remember,
looking for opportunities during a market downturn doesn’t mean you should go
out and buy every cheap stock on the market. There are a lot of
under-valued equities on offer right now, but you have to be discerning.

If you’re in a position to
invest, opening an account with an online brokerage will give you access to a
wide range of low-cost stocks, bonds, and commodities. By getting a 20 percent
to 30 percent discount on these assets, your portfolio will be primed for
significant growth when the global economy starts back up and markets
inevitably begin to recover. Encouragingly, there are several factors which
suggest that the global economy might recover sooner than expected.

The first factor is the extraordinary
level of monetary and fiscal stimulus being hurled at the global economy. On
March 26, the collective economies of the G20 announced that they would be injecting
over $5 trillion into the global economy, mostly via central bank monetary
stimulus and liquidity operations. In the U.S, the Federal Reserve has
committed to buying an unlimited amount of Treasury Bonds, corporate debt, and
municipal bonds. These unprecedented measures show that central banks are
willing to do anything to pull the global economy out of recession.

The second key factor is the fact
that the international COVID-19 outlook is slowly improving. While we’re not
out of the woods yet, many countries have experienced a slowdown in the rate of
new cases. For instance, in the U.S., models for the rate of new COVID-19 cases
have begun to resemble a standard growth curve rather than an exponential
growth curve. Meanwhile, in places as far afield as Australia, the daily infection
rate for new COVID-19 cases has dropped from between 25 percent and 30 percent
to 5 percent. The sooner we reach an international inflection point in the
COVID-19 viral curve, the sooner economies around the world can begin reopening
and recovering.

Choosing a Broker with High Leverage

Business

Claire James

-

20 April 2020

0

Regardless of whether you are
a new or experienced forex trader, a term you will find very quickly in the
industry is that of leverage. Leverage is facilitated by margin. This margin is
a loan granted to you by the broker in order to increase your purchasing power
to carry out the operations you want.

In the world of trading,
there are many investment strategies that a trader can take to improve the
profitability of their operations, as with leverage, a tool widely used to
generate the highest profitability based on a small investment. Explore the directory of the best high-leverage forex brokers in the market.

Brokers with higher leverage

Trading in the brokers with
the highest leverage gives the trader the possibility of trading high-value
orders. It also gives traders an attractive position in the market without the
need to have large amounts of their own money, since only with a small amount
when using a greater leverage could carry out high-value
trades.

Of course, this type of high leverage strategy is only available to professional traders, since, according to recent ESMA regulations, maximum leverage is limited for retail traders, between 1:2 and 1:30, when high leverage could occur. Even at 1:1000.

This is because carrying out
strategies with leverage takes study and experience because, just as it could
generate large profits based on a minimum investment of money, it could also
generate significant losses.

Considering that leverage
virtually multiplies the investor’s real funds, a higher leverage of 1:1000
would mean that the trader’s funds would be increased 1000 times to allow him
to carry out trades and issue orders of such value. Of course, the
profitability generated would be measured based on that high amount, but so
would the losses, stressing the importance of having an honest margin and
stop-loss to stop operations at high risk of loss.

It is pertinent to mention
that not all brokers are authorized to issue products with a high leverage
range, just as not all countries allow it. These are some brokers with higher
leverage.

Exness