Managing Successful High Tech Product Introduction Book

1	The purpose	1
1.1	Is this book useful?	1
1.2	Why write this book?	2
1.3	Evaluating the material	3
2	Influences: External business pressures for profitability	5
2.1	Introduction	5
2.2	Company model	6
2.3	Variable input: The market	9
2.4	Component: Requirements	11
2.5	Component: Financing	13
2.6	Component: Development	15
2.7	Component: Deployment	17
2.8	All together now	19
2.9	External influences affecting the development effort	20
2.9.1	Pressure to release the product early	20
2.9.2	Pressure to support the product in the field	22
2.9.3	Pressure not to hire more people	23
2.9.4	Pressure to change requirements	24
2.9.5	Pressure to specialize the product	24
2.10	Summary	25
	References	25
3	Influences: Internal development interaction	27
3.1	The myopic view of development	27
3.2	Project paths	29
3.3	Causes for project deviation from the plan	31
3.4	Input	32
3.4.1	Are projects affected by better, more definitive planning?	33
3.4.2	Schedule solutions	34
3.4.3	The importance of proper planning	35
3.4.4	Importance of development strategy	38
3.5	Organizational infrastructure	38
3.6	Taking action and completing product commercialization	41
3.7	The passage of time impacts progress	42
3.8	Internal influences affecting the development effort	42
3.8.1	Estimates are only estimates	43
3.8.2	Organization and leadership	44
3.8.3	Action	44
3.8.4	Time	44
3.9	Summary	45
	References	46
4	Focus: Test as a means of recapturing requirements	49
4.1	Test activity drives project convergence	49
4.2	Success is based upon execution	50
4.3	Project effort optimized	50
4.4	Introduction to the project model	52
4.4.1	Requirements or speculation?	53
4.4.2	Development entropy	54
4.4.3	Implementation	58
4.4.4	Integration	59
4.4.5	System verification testing	60
4.4.6	Interoperability testing	60
4.4.7	Final target	63
4.4.8	Time and effort	64
4.5	The changing terminal targets	65
4.5.1	Early adopter	66
4.5.2	Early market	67
4.5.3	Product acceptance--market leadership	69
4.6	A tale of two companies	70
4.7	Summary	72
	References	73
5	Complexity: An overview of a modern system	75
5.1	Product complexity affects project management techniques	75
5.2	Diverse technology increases complexity	79
5.3	The modern complex system	80
5.3.1	Technical complexity	81
5.3.2	Human complexity	82
5.4	Technology groupings that contribute to complexity	83
5.4.1	Systems on silicon	84
5.4.2	Product composition	86
5.4.3	System components	86
5.4.4	Peripheral development activity--test tools	87
5.5	Integration of diverse technologies	88
5.6	The human factor in product development	90
5.6.1	Mindset differences between technical professionals	90
5.6.2	Communication interface	92
5.7	Summary	93
	References	94
6	Structure of the test component: Integration to product acceptance	97
6.1	Attracting the development effort toward the goal	97
6.2	Project process overview	99
6.3	Criteria for selecting the correct process	103
6.3.1	Organize complexity	104
6.3.2	Assess product quality	105
6.3.3	Customer feedback	105
6.4	The process selected	106
6.4.1	Segregate design and test	106
6.4.2	Overall description	109
6.5	The development process as it affects integration, test, and deployment	114
6.5.1	Product integration or assembling the prototype	114
6.5.2	Meeting product specification requires system verification	116
6.5.3	Integration with other complementary products	117
6.5.4	Tailoring product operation based upon customer feedback	118
6.6	Summary	119
	References	120
7	Workflow: Integration planning and execution	123
7.1	Goal of integration	123
7.2	Role of the project plan	126
7.3	Integration planning is mandatory for aggressive projects	128
7.3.1	Partitioning of support technology and application feature set	128
7.3.2	Software architecture must be considered	128
7.3.3	Defining the integration sequence	129
7.3.4	Test equipment to be identified and defined	129
7.3.5	Detail added to the integration plan completes milestone definition	129
7.4	Integration test plan development	130
7.5	Putting the plan into action	133
7.5.1	Executing without a plan can be hazardous	136
7.5.2	Controlling integration activity	137
7.5.3	Test activity defined	140
7.6	Summary	144
	References	144
8	Workflow: System verification in record time	147
8.1	Goal of system verification	147
8.1.1	Old project assumptions	148
8.1.2	New project assumptions for aggressive development	149
8.1.3	Early adopter: Phase I	151
8.1.4	Vertical market: Phase II	152
8.1.5	Mass deployment: Phase III	153
8.2	Project plan enhancement: Estimating SVT	154
8.3	Planning for verification	155
8.4	Test partitioning	157
8.4.1	Perpetual verification	157
8.4.2	Bounded verification	158
8.5	Test plan development	159
8.6	Starting and ending system verification	162
8.6.1	Entry criteria	163
8.6.2	Exit criteria	165
8.6.3	Test activity	166
8.7	Summary	167
	References	168
9	Workflow: Interoperability testing to complete the whole product	169
9.1	Is interoperability your responsibility?	169
9.2	When are interoperability tests required?	171
9.2.1	Complementary integration	172
9.2.2	Competitive integration	176
9.3	Planning the test session	177
9.3.1	What happens when you relinquish control?	179
9.3.2	Test-plan development	180
9.3.3	Reviewing the plan	183
9.3.4	Sequencing the test activity	184
9.4	Disarming the political machine	185
9.5	Test activity in motion	186
9.5.1	Human nature in action	187
9.5.2	Establishing the playing field	188
9.5.3	Competitive interoperability--protecting intellectual property	190
9.6	Summary	192
	References	192
10	Workflow: Premature deployment and supporting the catastrophe	193
10.1	Successful premature deployment	193
10.2	Unpreparedness results in disaster	194
10.3	Who is the customer?	195
10.4	State of the product	198
10.4.1	Impact of system design	198
10.4.2	Impact of product software during early deployment	199
10.4.3	Impact of manufacturing on the product during early deployment	200
10.5	Customer need	202
10.5.1	Scaling support	202
10.5.2	Underestimating the cost of support	203
10.6	Quality redefined	204
10.7	Workflows defined	206
10.7.1	Preparation	207
10.7.2	Planning	208
10.7.3	Risk mitigation	210
10.8	Recommended infrastructure	213
10.8.1	Technical assistance	213
10.8.2	Field engineering group	214
10.8.3	Too much product support?	215
10.9	Summary	215
	Reference	216
11	Organizational shape for aggressive companies	217
11.1	Two organizations or one	217
11.2	Organization sets the stage for communication	218
11.3	Structuring the development organization for high efficiency	220
11.3.1	Flat core group	221
11.3.2	Hierarchical organization manages emotion	223
11.3.3	Hybrid matrix organization for project efficiency	225
11.3.4	The changing role of project management over time	227
11.4	Employee motivation	229
11.4.1	What not to do	230
11.4.2	Money is a temporary motivation	233
11.5	Company culture is critical for success	237
11.5.1	Culture violated	238
11.5.2	Proper culture creation	238
11.6	Leadership sets the tone of the organization	239
11.7	Summary	241
	References	242
12	Politics of the test manager: Delivering bad news and thriving	243
12.1	Test management: The ultimate challenge	243
12.2	Politics defined	244
12.3	Strategic planning	246
12.3.1	Test team management	246
12.3.2	Not following the rules	248
12.3.3	And now a great company	248
12.4	Test management responsibilities	249
12.4.1	Project participation	250
12.4.2	Emotional management: Trust and integrity	251
12.5	Delivering test results	252
12.6	Thriving	254
12.7	A note on deployment	256
12.8	Summary	257
	References	257
13	Staffing a test organization	259
13.1	Test engineering as a career	259
13.2	Professional road map defined	260
13.3	Unlocking potential	262
13.3.1	Learning technology	263
13.3.2	Development process and project management	263
13.3.3	Understanding the customer	264
13.3.4	Human interaction	264
13.3.5	Leadership	264
13.4	General recruiting principles	265
13.4.1	Excellent management comes first	266
13.4.2	Where to look	266
13.4.3	Personality and cultural fit	267
13.5	Experience from the trenches	268
13.6	Retaining people	270
13.7	Summary	270
	References	271
	Epilogue	273
	List of acronyms	275
	About the author	279
	Index	281