Embedded Product Development Life Cycle(EDLC)

Decsribes the different phases in the development of an embedded product.

1. Embedded Product Development Life Cycle By A.Usha Rani Department of Physics and Electronics St.Ann’s College for Women

2. Life Cycle of Product development is referred to as model which d efines the various phases involved in the life cycle of an embedded product. It is based on ‘Analysis - Design – Implementation’ problem solving approach . Number of phases involved in the EDLC depends on complexity of the product.

3. Need An embedded product evolves as an output of a ‘Need’. Need can arise from an individual or from public or from company. Based on the need, statement of need or concept proposal is prepared. Concept proposal is reviewed by senior management and funding agency. Then it is sent to product development team .

4. New or custom product development This is the need for product which does not exist in the market or a product as a competitor to an existing product. Product Re-engineering Re-engineering an existing product arises due to Change in business requirements User interface enhancements Technology upgrades

5. Product maintenance Providing technical support to the end user for an existing product in the market. Product maintenance is generally classified into two categories- Corrective maintenance- Making corrective actions following failure or non- functioning of components . Preventive maintenance – To avoid the failure or non functioning of the product.

6. Conceptualisation

7. It is the Product Concept development Phase and begins immediately after Concept proposal approval . D efines the scope of the concept, performs cost benefit analysis and feasibility study and prepares project management and risk management plans . It shapes the need of the end user, whether it is feasible product and how the product can be realized .

8. Analysis and study activities Feasibility Study – Examines the need for the product and suggests solutions to build the Need as product . It analyses technical and financial feasibility of the product . Cost benefit analysis It identifies, reveals and assess the total development cost and the profit expected from the product. Common unit of measurement – All aspects of the product are expressed in terms of common unit.

9. Market choice based benefit measurement – Ensures that the product cost is justifying the Money the end user spends. Targeted end users – Understands the targeted end users of the product and their tastes to give them best product . Product Scope – What is in scope and what is not in scope of the product.

10. Planning activities – Various plans required for the product development Resource Planning – How many resources should work on the project Risk management plans – Technical and other kinds of risks involved in the work. At the end of conceptualisation phase reports on Analysis and Study activities and Planning activities to the project sponsor /client for review and approval.

11. Analysis

12. During this phase the product is defined with respect to inputs, processes, outputs and interfaces at functional Level. It emphasizes on ‘ what functions must be performed by the product’. Analysis and Documentation Various functional aspects and quality attributes of the p roduct are analyzed. A logic model is developed describing the fundamental processes and the data required to support the functionalities.

13. The following requirements are addressed Functional capabilities Operational an non operational quality attributes Product external interface requirements Data requirements User manuals Operational requirements Maintenance requirements General assumptions

14. Interface definition and Documentation Analyses the physical Interface as well as data exchange through these interfaces and documents it. Defining test plan and procedures I dentifies what kind of tests are to be performed to verify the proper functioning of the product. Defines test procedures, test setup and test environment. Documents the scope, methodology, sequence and management of all kinds of tests.

15. The following are the various type of tests that are defined Unit Testing Integration testing System Testing Usability testing Load testing Security testing Scalability testing

16. Sanity testing Smoke testing Performance testing Endurance testing User acceptance testing

17. Design This phase deals with the entire design of the product taking requirements into consideration and focuses on how the required functionalities can be delivered to the product. It starts with Preliminary design which establishes top level architecture for the product, lists out various functional blocks required for the product and defines inputs and outputs for each functional block .

18. It generates detailed architecture, identifies and lists out various components for each block, interconnection among various blocks, control algorithm requirements , etc Since an embedded product is mix of hardware software and enclosure, hardware and software codesign approach is followed in designing the product. Design of operations and maintenance manual and design of training manuals.

19. Development and Testing This phase transforms the design into realizable product. All the specifications generated during the design phase are translated into software and hardware. The development activities can be divided into embedded hardware development, embedded firmware development and product enclosure development. Embedded hardware development – Development of component placement platform using CAD tools and its fabrication using CAM tools.

20. The testing phase consists of independent testing of software and hardware testing of the product after their integration, testing of the whole system on functionality and non functionality. T esting of the product against all acceptance criteria mentioned by client for each functionality. Once the hardware and software are tested they are integrated using firmware integration techniques and the integrated product is tested against required functionalities .

21. Deployment It is the process of launching the first fully functional model of the product in the market or handing over to the Client. The product modifications as per the various integration tests are implemented and the product is made operational .

22. Notification of the product deployment When the product is ready to be launched, the launching ceremony details are communicated to the stake holders and to public(if it is commercial product ).

23. The notifications are sent with following details Deployment schedule Brief description of the product Targeted end users Additional features supported with respect to an existing product Product support information including the support person name, contact number,email id, etc

24. Execution of training plan Proper training is given to the end user to get them acquainted with the product as per the training plan developed during earlier phases. This will reduce the possible damages to the product as well as operating person. Product installation Installation of the product as per the installation document ensures the product is fully functional .

25. Product post implementation review After the launch of the product, post implementation review is conducted to determine the success of the product. This helps in knowing the problems faced during installation and solutions adopted to overcome them which will be a reference for the future product development.

26. Support This phase deals with the operations and maintenance of the product in product environment. Product mal functioning or any unexpected behavior in the products may be observed and reported during operations phase. support is provided to fix the bugs in the product .

27. Set up a dedicated support wing A dedicated support wing is setup to ensure high quality service to the end user. Identify bugs and areas of improvement The end user is given a chance to express their views on product and suggestions in terms of modifications required or feature enhancements.

28. Upgrades This deals with development of new versions of the product. Upgrade results dues to major bug fixes or feature enhancement requirements from the user .

29. Retirement and disposal When the manufacturer realizes that there is another powerful technology or component available in the market which is more suitable for the production of the current product, they will announce current product as obsolete and the new version of the same product is going to be released soon. The disposal of a product is essential due to rapid technology advancement increased user needs

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