Thanks, Walt. I really enjoyed your account. I appreciate your taking the time and effort to set it down. It has me inspired to one day do the same. So many people contributed in so many ways to the body of knowledge and practice that we all benefit from today!
Well I have to say I was always happy doing it. There is a special feeling when you start an experiment that you can be fairly certain has never been done before, and the outcome wholly unknown.
well i never, what an interesting article with so many twists to the story of its development and hiding with in it the struggles you had a long the journey of conception to development and the hint at what is yet to come. Well done, i wish i had enjoyed a chemistry teacher as much as you obviously inspired your student. Life in the old dog yet....china needs a wine industry, come on Walt there is another opportunity just waiting in the wings. Cheers, Norma
There are so many aspects of your story that deserve note. I am a student of the creative aspects of product development. There are a number of factors that greatly influence the rapidity and sure-footed progress through the product development process, and some of those factors are:
a. Breadth of awareness and understanding of the tools, components, materials and techniques of the "problem space". In your story here, those included the physics of fuel cells, deposition techniques, electronics (resistance test .vs. current test), microprocessors and related software and electrical components, plastics (their properties and their fabrication techniques), test equipment (like the spectral analyzers). Think about the range of things you and your team needed to be aware of, competent with in order to make the product
b. Clear product requirements. While you didn't speak to this (much) in your story, somewhere there needed to be a concise set of "the product has to be and do thus" in order to provide the target your R & D process is shooting at. The fuzzier that is "target" is, the tougher it is to hit.
c. A market. There was a wide-open space in the market for your product when you started, and it was a big market with plenty of economic value. That provided the impetus to keep you and your competitors' teams very interested in this work over a period of decades
d. Core product creates corollary products. The baseline product - the fuel cell and associated interpretation circuitry - had many potential derivative products - like all those other sensors. Mastery of the one core product gave rise to several other baseline technologies and derivative applications. The core product - to a substantial degree - opened the door for an industry
Let's drill down a little on item a) above - that is, the wide range of knowledge and competencies required to solve the problem. Big companies with long R&D histories amass the tools (test gear, for ex) and competencies necessary within their own gradually-built up staff. What about the little guys? How do they form a team with requisite skills? Well, that's a fine question, and I hope that over time we'll discuss that a bit more.
I think it's highly worthwhile, for a number of reasons, for we humans to get _way_ better at product development, and get _way_ more people involved than is currently the case.
And that's why I'm so delighted you took time to write this terrific report; it's a great case study, touches on most of the major issues, and provides a great platform for subsequent dialog.
Keep up the good work, Walt. You're a public service.
It'll certainly get my attention. What I'm most interested to see, Walt, is the "how many other live wires - people with awareness, capacity and motivation - are there in Internet land?"
My guess is "very few" and the corollary question is "how to find and engage with that few?". I hope we make some progress attracting the ready-willing-and-able types.
I further hope they comment and respond to your good works. What you're doing with your blog is some high-quality work, and richly deserves commentary.
That was a most interesting and enjoyable article. I have a background in both chemistry and electronics which helped in understanding the problems you faced. Many thanks!
Thanks, Walt. I really enjoyed your account. I appreciate your taking the time and effort to set it down. It has me inspired to one day do the same. So many people contributed in so many ways to the body of knowledge and practice that we all benefit from today!
Well I have to say I was always happy doing it. There is a special feeling when you start an experiment that you can be fairly certain has never been done before, and the outcome wholly unknown.
well i never, what an interesting article with so many twists to the story of its development and hiding with in it the struggles you had a long the journey of conception to development and the hint at what is yet to come. Well done, i wish i had enjoyed a chemistry teacher as much as you obviously inspired your student. Life in the old dog yet....china needs a wine industry, come on Walt there is another opportunity just waiting in the wings. Cheers, Norma
Hi Norma, glad you enjoyed it.
Walt:
There are so many aspects of your story that deserve note. I am a student of the creative aspects of product development. There are a number of factors that greatly influence the rapidity and sure-footed progress through the product development process, and some of those factors are:
a. Breadth of awareness and understanding of the tools, components, materials and techniques of the "problem space". In your story here, those included the physics of fuel cells, deposition techniques, electronics (resistance test .vs. current test), microprocessors and related software and electrical components, plastics (their properties and their fabrication techniques), test equipment (like the spectral analyzers). Think about the range of things you and your team needed to be aware of, competent with in order to make the product
b. Clear product requirements. While you didn't speak to this (much) in your story, somewhere there needed to be a concise set of "the product has to be and do thus" in order to provide the target your R & D process is shooting at. The fuzzier that is "target" is, the tougher it is to hit.
c. A market. There was a wide-open space in the market for your product when you started, and it was a big market with plenty of economic value. That provided the impetus to keep you and your competitors' teams very interested in this work over a period of decades
d. Core product creates corollary products. The baseline product - the fuel cell and associated interpretation circuitry - had many potential derivative products - like all those other sensors. Mastery of the one core product gave rise to several other baseline technologies and derivative applications. The core product - to a substantial degree - opened the door for an industry
Let's drill down a little on item a) above - that is, the wide range of knowledge and competencies required to solve the problem. Big companies with long R&D histories amass the tools (test gear, for ex) and competencies necessary within their own gradually-built up staff. What about the little guys? How do they form a team with requisite skills? Well, that's a fine question, and I hope that over time we'll discuss that a bit more.
I think it's highly worthwhile, for a number of reasons, for we humans to get _way_ better at product development, and get _way_ more people involved than is currently the case.
And that's why I'm so delighted you took time to write this terrific report; it's a great case study, touches on most of the major issues, and provides a great platform for subsequent dialog.
Keep up the good work, Walt. You're a public service.
Thanks for your comment, very apposite. I have not had a lot of feedback yet but the views built up quickly. Early days.
Saving the Planet finally goes up next Wednesday. I hope it grabs some attention.
It'll certainly get my attention. What I'm most interested to see, Walt, is the "how many other live wires - people with awareness, capacity and motivation - are there in Internet land?"
My guess is "very few" and the corollary question is "how to find and engage with that few?". I hope we make some progress attracting the ready-willing-and-able types.
I further hope they comment and respond to your good works. What you're doing with your blog is some high-quality work, and richly deserves commentary.
Dear Walt,
That was a most interesting and enjoyable article. I have a background in both chemistry and electronics which helped in understanding the problems you faced. Many thanks!
John
Thanks!. It's good to connect with a few engineers and chemists out there for a change!
Walt…. You are a gifted writer. Seriously.
I guess I have to say I liked your comment!
Well I'm glad you enjoyed it anyway.