The important stuff-what really matters in design

What do you think is the most important issue in designing electronic instruments? Is it optimizing a circuit for low power consumption, minimal cost, or fewer components? Or writing bug-free code quickly? But these issues deal with the “how” of design. They are application-specific techniques. I believe that the “what” of instrument development takes precedence over the how of design. Understanding the what of design and development will give you consistent direction in every project. The what transcends applications and provides a framework for the how of application-specific techniques. What are the whats of instrument development? At least six issues are important: user-centered design, the human interface, packaging, reviews-testing, debugging, inspections, documentation, integrity. I will introduce these subjects in this article and address each in more detail