Design Process
Introduction
There are many things a hardware design engineer needs to consider when embarking on a new project. Based on my 25 years of design experience I am creating a series of articles outlining the steps necessary for a design project, beginning with... read more
Requirements
You may be reluctant reading this. There is a good chance you consider the topic of requirements boring as most design Engineers I know want to dive into their design work right away. For many of us that is why we became Engineers in the first place... read more
Architecture
I typically do not start any development work without having at least a combined requirements and architecture document. Hence, I consider having an architecture a crucial stepping stone in product development... read more
Mentoring / Coaching
Habits Getting in Your Way?
Many of the things we do each day are habitual. Usually habits form through repetition over periods of time and they become automatic. We don’t even have to think about it, we just do it. From the time you get up until the time you go to bed, how many habits can you identify? ... read more
Introduction into Beliefs
For clarification, this article is not about spiritual beliefs. It is about beliefs I have about myself. An easy way to express beliefs is by starting with “I am”. I am pretty. I am ugly. I am a bad person. I am wonderful. Some beliefs I have about myself may be true, some are not. As with habits, beliefs form over time. Beliefs are often the result of external influences. ... read more
More on Beliefs
In the intro article on beliefs you may have identified some of the beliefs you have about yourself. This article intends to go a step further and explores what you can do with this newly acquired awareness. As human beings we have been conditioned into our way of being. This conditioning is rooted in the beliefs we have about ourselves and the habitual patterns we created for our survival. ... read more
Assumptions Tripping You Up?
Have you ever worked on developing a product, did what you thought all stakeholders had agreed upon, and then at some point in the development discovered that others had something else in mind? Ooops… read more
Teaching
Tolerances and Margins
I have been designing electronic hardware for most of my 25 years of professional life. One of the things consistently observed is a lack of detailed circuit analysis, especially when it comes to tolerancing and margining the implemented circuits. Why is this? Here some of the (many) possible reasons.... read more
Debugging and Root Cause Analysis
I have been designing electronic hardware for most of my 25 years of professional life including FPGAs, controllers, and processors. Debugging electronic circuits and performing root cause analysis can be a challenge depending on the symptoms of the circuit, the device, or the system. It can feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Where start? ... read more
Improving Productivity
This article is taking a look at why training and knowledge alone may not be enough to apply the skills and tools we learn, whether it be technical, leadership, or any other training. I use productivity training as an example. Find the PDF version of the presentation here as well... read more
check back for more Articles and other Resources
Manufacturing Process and Supply Chain
Working for a small start-up or a large company can be quite different when it comes to process and the availability of specialized resources, but no matter who does the work, it needs to be done by someone and that someone could be you... read more