The process detects the most significant theoretical, technical, implementation and applications questions, relates them to one another, and prioritizes them by significance. Then, it analyzes and resolves them in a structured manner.

• A preliminary study of feasibility and market potential for new commercial ideas
• A preliminary product development plan
• Cost/Performance optimization controlled by Process Flow Diagrams (PFD)
  • Single page PFD for guiding, measuring and controlling each major step
  • Problem detection and resolution at an early stage
• Collateral marketing and legal issues dealt with in parallel
• Simultaneous consideration of all facets of product development through multi-discipline teams
• Minimal overhead through use of as-needed technical strengths
• Quality assurance designed in at every step
• An existing base of product ideas seeking venture investor support

This is a very cost-effective means of developing a successful commercial product. Its principal strengths are early identification of significant uncertainties and their relationships, and the correlation and prioritization of tasks for resolving them.

1. PHASE I - Groundwork
   • A preliminary study of production feasibility and market potential
   • Preliminary development plan addressing significant performance and cost factors
2. PHASE II - Creating a Cost Effective Prototype Development Plan
3. PHASE III - Clearing Parallel Issues
4. PHASE IV - Cost-effective planning for a Marketable Product
5. PHASE V - Developing, producing and marketing the product

Preliminary evaluation of product potential

• Wants and Needs study of prospective market
• Desirable performance specifications for successful product
• Physical characteristics
• Primary functional characteristics
• Primary application areas
• Market search for competing products
• Performance analysis of competing products
• Technological analysis of competing products
• Preliminary performance/cost requirements for successful product
• Principal uncertainties in creating superior product
• Principal uncertainties in bringing product to market

Preliminary Development Plan addressing significant performance and cost factors

• From the preliminary evaluation, identify the major technical, production, marketing and cost uncertainties
• Correlate and prioritize the uncertainties
• Incorporate the uncertainties into a Prototype_Development Critical Task Diagram

• Outline the significant design, technology, marketing and patent issues
• Create a Project Development Process Flow Diagram (PFD), with supporting discussions and references, outlining the tasks and process necessary to produce a practical, cost-effective prototype.
  • The PFD is the cornerstone of the Kortegaard Engineering process for optimizing product development. The PFD identifies and prioritizes the most significant development uncertainties, and so permits a product design which minimizes their number and effect. It diagrams an interrelated and prioritized tasking schedule, and so permits early understanding of cost/performance relationships. It correlates tasks and their significance, and so permits optimum design and development flexibility.
  • Essentially, a PFD identifies and minimizes potential show stoppers, and prioritizes procedures for resolving them. This permits minimizing investment and commitment to a specific design until there is reasonable assurance of developing a competitive, cost-effective product.
• Prepare estimates of prototype development costs, and time schedules
• Prepare analyses of marketing, legal, collateral and engineering issues

• Due diligence efforts for addressing collateral issues
• Due diligence efforts for avoiding patent infringement and other legal liability
• Preliminary analysis of costs of producing and marketing the product in various quantities
• Preliminary estimates of sales volumes as a function of price and performance
• Due diligence in determining if a product having similar cost/performance capability is being developed elsewhere.

• Technical, experimental, and other activity necessary to resolve the most significant uncertainties identified in the PFD of Phase II.
  • Essentially, the potential show stoppers are addressed on a prioritized schedule.
  • These difficulties are either resolved, or the product design configuration modified until they can be resolved, or the overall project must be re-evaluated.
• Incorporation of all the previous results into a comprehensive development plan which has a measureably high probability of producing a well defined product, under a well defined cost schedule.
• Identify and estimate the significant factors impacting on the cost and reliability of the product and its performance
• Prepare milestones, quality measures and quality assurance processes
• Prepare detailed PFDs for the product design, prototype development, and production quality model
• Prepare time, manpower and cost estimates for each milestone, PFD completion and deliverable

• The Five Phase approach permits minimizing investment unless and until the product is seen to have a satisfactory probability of successful development and marketing.
  • The output of each Phase is essentially a milestone to be met before proceeding to the next
  • And yet each new Phase provides new information which is incorporated into previous Phases, thereby improving the quality of the subsequent Phase
  • Minimum expense in all phases will occur either if the project development proves to be quite straightforward, or if very significant development uncertainties are discovered.
    • In the latter event, effort is normally shifted to Phase IV until the uncertainties are either resolved or the design reconfigured to eliminate them.
    • If this cannot be done, sufficient information will have been obtained for an informed decision on whether to put the project on hold awaiting future technological developments, or to abort further efforts.
• At all points the objective is the most promising design implementation, the identification of any significant uncertainties involved in producing it, the probability of resolving them, and the optimum cost/time schedule for marketing the product

• A copy of all email, fax and written information will be immediately forwarded back to the sender, together with our acknowledgement of its receipt.
• All information received will be kept in a secure environment, and will be kept absolutely confidential.

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