This guide explains what developing an electronic product looks like from start to finish. It is written for product managers, entrepreneurs and engineers from other fields who want to understand what lies ahead.
Stage 0: before you start
Before designing a board, you need answers to a few basic questions:
- What does the product do? In one sentence.
- Who uses it, and where? An office, an open field, a hospital, a vehicle.
- Where does the power come from? Mains, battery, solar panel.
- What does it talk to? A phone, a server, an existing system, nothing.
- How many units? Ten, a thousand or a hundred thousand. It changes almost every decision.
- When do you need it? An exhibition, a fundraising round, a customer contract.
Today many people reach this stage after a conversation with ChatGPT or another AI tool. That is a great starting point. What to do with the plan the AI wrote.
Stage 1: specification and architecture
The idea becomes measurable requirements: range, power consumption, accuracy, response time, operating temperature. Then the architecture is chosen:
- Processor: STM32, ESP32, Nordic, or a small computer such as a Raspberry Pi.
- Communication: BLE, Wi-Fi, LoRa or cellular. How to choose.
- Power supply: voltages, protection, battery management.
- Sensors and actuators.
The most important part of this stage is identifying risks. If something is not clearly possible, such as measurement accuracy, communication range or battery life, it is tested now, in a small experiment, before investing in everything else.
Deliverable: a specification and architecture document, a risk list, a cost estimate and a schedule. Time: usually a few weeks.
Stage 2: schematic design
Designing the circuit: exact component selection, design calculations, protection. This is where the product's cost and reliability are set. A part that is hard to buy will delay production. Missing protection will burn boards in the field.
Important: components are chosen by availability and life cycle too, not only by price. Every critical part should have an alternate.
Stage 3: PCB layout
Laying out the board. It sounds technical, but the layout decides whether the board passes EMC testing, whether it overheats and whether the factory can build it. Whoever lays out the board should understand the circuit and the code that will run on it.
Stage 4: first boards and bring-up
A few boards are ordered from a PCB and assembly house, and then "brought up": powered on, voltages measured, every component checked. This is where the first problems appear, and that is normal.
Stage 5: firmware
The code running on the processor: drivers, communication, logic, power management, remote updates. This stage should start in parallel with the schematic, not after it. Whoever writes the firmware should influence the choice of pins, timers and DMA channels. That is why it is most efficient when the same engineer does both. Why.
Stage 6: prototype and testing
Hardware and code work together and are tested against the requirements from the specification. Time to here: usually 2–4 months from the end of the specification.
Deliverable: a working prototype you can show to investors, customers and first users.
Stage 7: enclosure and mechanical design
The product needs a home. Mechanical and industrial design run in parallel with the electronics, because the board must fit the enclosure and the connectors must come out in the right place.
Stage 8: pilot
A small batch, a few dozen units, goes into real use. This is where things you can't see on the bench appear: heat, electrical noise, users who operate the product in ways you didn't think of. Fix them before production.
Stage 9: certification
Depending on the product and the market: CE for Europe, FCC for the US, EMC and safety standards, and sometimes regulatory approval, for example for medical devices. Design for certification from the schematic stage, rather than discovering at the end that the product fails.
Stage 10: mass production
A complete manufacturing package, work with the factory, test jigs on the production line, and support for the first batch until acceptance testing. 7 mistakes that make the move to production expensive.
How much does it cost?
It depends a lot on the product. A working electronic prototype, including specification, board and firmware, usually costs around ILS 20,000–30,000 in Israel. A product with an app, a server or several boards will cost more. Full cost breakdown.
Who to work with
You can walk this path with an in-house team, a large company or a small company. For most projects, a small company with a senior engineer who owns both the hardware and the code is the fastest and cheapest way. Comparison · 10 questions to ask a development company.
At ProtoMakers we go through all of these stages with our clients, from the intro call to the first batch. Book a free intro call.
Written by Roman Alperovich, founder and lead engineer at ProtoMakers.