Whether you have a burning product idea that you’re wanting to develop into a Proof of Concept or you’re ready to commercialise your product for market-entry, there are some key questions you’ll need to ask your tech provider before signing any dotted lines.
Here are just six of those questions you’ll want to arm yourself with when considering your next development project.
1. Is this just tech for tech’s sake?
This is something we hope you’ve asked yourself before you approach a technology provider.
Don’t fall for the glossy marketing collateral claiming your business must become a ‘disrupter’ with ‘intelligent technologies’. Judging from what we’ve seen in the industry, some of the least intelligent business decisions have involved a superfluous inclusion of technology that isn’t fit for purpose.
Before you walk into that crucial consultation meeting, make sure you do your research and are focused on the problem you’re solving, rather than the technology you’re using.
Hot tip: If your provider uses phrases like ‘future-proof’, ‘IoT-class’, and ‘future of tech’ to describe what they can develop for you, chances are they a) assume you don’t have much technical understanding or, more concerningly, b) they don’t understand what technology is suited for your project’s product development needs.
2. Does my product need IoT?
Again, we suggest you consider what your definition of the Internet of Things is and how this technology can make sense to your product’s needs before a tech provider potentially puts words in your mouth — and expensive internet-connected devices in your product.
We firmly recommend you assess the market and see what IoT products are making a genuine impact within your industry. Our Medium blog is a great hub of resources to get you equipped with what businesses are doing locally and globally when their projects have a little bit of IoT on their side. We particularly recommend you read this article our Head of Technology penned exploring the confusion created by the affordability of sensor technology — spoiler: cheap hardware is great for prototyping, not industry-grade product development.
Hot tip: If you’re in Newcastle, listen and direct your burning questions to Australian entrepreneurs and businesses who have employed IoT into their products and services at the monthly Newcastle IoT Pioneers meetup. Ryan Poole from Hunter Water will be spilling all about the applications acoustic monitoring has made in the company’s installation risk and environmental impact assessment measures.
Sometimes, less is more. Understand what your product needs before you’re potentially up-sold.
3. Does my idea make technical sense?
If so, can it be done?
This is a biggie.
If you’re willing to spend the time — and likely the consultation fee — to discuss electronic product development, it’s safe to assume your gut feels good about the product you have in your sights. That being said, we’d be remiss if we weren’t to firmly advise that you try not to become too wedded to your initial vision to the very last detail.
The nature of product development, particularly when commencing from the early ideation stage, is that things emerge that weren’t expected — for worse and for better. No matter how detailed your product engineer’s schematics are, the unforeseen will undoubtedly emerge. How your provider responds to these events is what is perhaps most crucial across the project’s execution.
Yes, unexpected changes can equate to timeframes being pushed back and potential cost increases but this sort of disruption in the development cycle can open opportunities for greater process efficiencies and subsequently, innovations in the overall project output.
Hot tip: Don’t let your initial idea baby be completely removed from the project but don’t cradle it too closely as well, particularly mid-stage in the product’s development.
Coming to terms with this will be made a whole lot easier if a good, communicative relationship between your team and your tech provider is firmly established from the beginning. We say this a lot because it really can’t be stressed enough, communication is key in any product development project.
4. Will custom technology development ensure my business can claim the R&D Tax Incentive?
Now you’re asking the hard questions!
Despite the challenges businesses have faced — particularly those centrally involved in software — applying for the R&D Tax Incentive (RDTI) benefit over the past year, neither we nor our clients have been blindsided by rejection.
Although the RDTI’s eligibility guidelines use a lot of science-centric language (core R&D activities are firmly described as ‘experiments’ requiring recorded ‘hypotheses’ at every stage of the project), from our experience accessing the benefit, our well-established understanding of what’s happening within industry has ensured our processes have the point of difference which ticks the Australian government’s perceived innovation boxes.
Although our clients don’t typically employ our services with the core goal of accessing the RDTI, we do offer support for them in their attempts in accessing the benefit. We care about communicating all of our business’ project goals from the get-go. If the R&D Tax Incentive is something you feel your project will require, we will endeavour to assist you as best we can in accessing all support channels you may need.
Hot tip: If you’re looking to make a RDTI claim, ensure your provider are well placed to make the contemporaneous records that will be required when it comes time to write the claim. Whilst both we and our customers have been successful in accessing the tax benefit, nothing can be guaranteed, particularly where changes to Federal spending and the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science’s eligibility definitions are concerned.
5. How much should my product’s tech development cost?
This is another pointy question which we’re unable to represent the entire market in answering.
What we can suggest is that you gain an understanding of everything your technology provider can offer in your initial consultations.
Are you wanting some commercialisation work or are you just after some professional eyes to look at what you’ve developed thus far? Both services will have a price but it’s important for you to understand what those investments could mean for getting your product to where you need it to be.
What is also important to consider is the preferred method of quoting that your provider operates within. Most product development firms will either charge based on the project’s overall sum or based on a ’do-and-charge’ model (charging per the hours their engineers have committed to the development project).
It’s hard to determine which costing model will allow more bang for your buck but what’s certain is that knowing which model they operate under will prepare you for how you can expect to get the development ball rolling from the outset.
Hot tip: Get into your potential technology provider’s shoes — what pricing model will make sense to you, your project and the product developers tasked in getting it to where you need it to be? At the conversation stage of the project’s development, it’s important — albeit challenging — to recognise if a trusted relationship is being established.
Just as your gut worked in gauging how you felt about your product idea during the early stages, your gut may need to be in play when deciding if your technology provider is the right one to invite along for the entire project journey ahead.
From our experience as a consultancy-based service provider, referrals have typically shown to ease the nerves of customers when meeting our team to discuss their project. Keep your ears to the ground so you know who’s out there and who of your contacts might just swear by the service they’ve provided.
If a provider’s key selling proposal is based on their affordability, their technical skills — and their project equipment — should be firmly questioned before you bring them on board for the long haul.
6. What if my technology provider won’t quote me upfront?
It’s uncommon that a technology provider will be willing to offer you a quote early in the consultation process. Quoting a development project is a lot of labour in itself as it involves rigorous technical specification planning and market research.
Again, our best advice here is to arm yourself with the research and understanding of both your project’s needs and your provider’s product development service capabilities. Chances are if they’re communicative and transparent about what they can bring to the project early in the consultation phase, it’s unlikely that they will quote unfairly.
Alternatively, if a provider’s key selling proposal is based on their affordability, their technical skills should be firmly questioned before you bring them on board for the long haul.
Ultimately, this isn’t an easy endeavour for either you or your potential provider. Developing a sense of shared responsibility will undoubtedly give both parties the confidence to take the project by the horns going forward.
No project is like the last, and that’s why we love what we do.
What we commit to repeating in each project is our dedication towards rapid, high-quality development.
Paired with our core value in keeping our customers in hands reach across the entire development process, the value found in robust and rapid technology development is universal.
If you’re interested in having bespoke technology developed for your next project, whatever stage of the development you’re at, we’re keen to speak to you.
