Walks on West Cliff
Community, Product Development and the Evolving Role of AI
Last week, I had the pleasure of a rejuvenating walk on West Cliff with Dan Freeman, Director of Hardware Engineering at Universal Audio, and Daniel Bacon, Strategic Account Executive at Arena by PTC. We shared stories, insights, and perspectives on community, product development, and the evolving role of AI.
Dan Bacon’s Insight: The Power of Community
“It’s inspiring to see the potential when 1,500+ product teams, facing similar challenges (like AI, tariffs, and supply chain risks), connect on a shared platform like PLM. Instead of operating in silos, building a community allows us to move faster and smarter, together.
Just as Universal Audio inspires creative artists, our broader product community has the power to inspire and elevate one another the same way. That’s what excites me!
Dan Freeman’s Insight: Refining Product Development
At Universal Audio, we’ve built a robust product development process, learning a lot along the way. Using PLM software early on was foundational. My recent conversation with Daniel Bacon and Michael Keer, founder of Product Realization Group, highlighted the critical role of a sound development process.
A few key takeaways:
- A strong development process is crucial for success. Focusing solely on cool tech isn’t enough; packaging and selling it profitably is the real challenge.
- Merging Agile software with Waterfall hardware development is possible. Michael’s “Agile Hardware Product Realization (https://lnkd.in/dHczs7MS)” book offers valuable insights for embedded software/hardware products – a must-read for product developers.
- Embrace AI now. It’s rapidly changing “best practices.” We need to accept, embrace, and utilize AI to our advantage, rather than chasing it later
💡What are your thoughts on building community in product development or integrating AI into your processes?
