PM-Professional Switzerland - Programs and Projects for Innovation

In the ever-evolving landscape of electronics hardware development, effective resource management stands as a linchpin for delivering top-notch products within budgetary constraints. This process isn't merely a routine task; it's a pivotal element that determines the success and quality of projects for global organizations. Here, we delve into the essence of resource management in this domain and offer recommendations for setting up an efficient process within global companies. **Understanding the Significance of Resource Management** Resource management in electronics hardware development involves the strategic allocation and utilization of human capital, financial assets, time, and technology to ensure streamlined operations and the achievement of project objectives. It serves as a compass guiding the way through complex projects, ensuring optimal utilization of available resources while maintaining product quality and adhering to timelines. **Key Aspects for Effective Resour...

Img. source pixaby   In an era where the term "Industry 4.0" reverberates across boardrooms and strategic plans, it's essential to delve deeper into its essence rather than merely scratching the surface. Companies proudly boast of their industry 4.0 initiatives, often limited to digitizing paperwork or implementing isolated digital tools. However, the true revolution lies beyond these incremental steps—it lies in seamlessly connecting disparate functions to elevate productivity, efficiency, and innovation. At its core, Industry 4.0 transcends the digitalization of paperwork; it's about harnessing interconnectedness to revolutionize how businesses operate. The real transformation emerges when sales, supply chain, and production machines converge into an integrated ecosystem, creating a symphony of data that fuels informed decision-making. Imagine a scenario where every aspect of the production cycle is intertwined, where data flows seamlessly from customer demand to pr...

  Managing requirements throughout the lifecycle of a project is critical to ensuring that the final product or service meets the expectations of the customer. Here are best practices for each stage of requirements management to help assure customer satisfaction: Requirements Elicitation : Stakeholder Involvement : Involve all relevant stakeholders, including customers, end-users, business analysts, and subject matter experts, to gather a comprehensive set of requirements. Use Multiple Techniques : Utilize various techniques such as interviews, surveys, workshops, and observation to capture requirements from different perspectives. Document Thoroughly : Create clear and concise documentation to record requirements, including functional and non-functional requirements. Requirements Analysis : Prioritize Requirements : Use techniques like MoSCoW (Must have, Should have, Could have, Won't have) to prioritize requirements based on their importance and impact. Validate Requirements : En...

[Image by  Alexa  from  Pixabay ] When encountering resistance from an employee who shows no interest and only offers excuses without objective arguments, it's important to approach the situation with empathy, patience, and a focus on understanding their perspective. Here are some steps you can take as a leader: Active listening : Take the time to actively listen to the employee's concerns and objections. Create a safe space where they feel comfortable expressing their thoughts and emotions. Be attentive and show genuine interest in understanding their perspective. Seek to understand the underlying reasons : Ask open-ended questions to dig deeper into their resistance. Try to uncover any underlying fears, insecurities, or personal circumstances that may be contributing to their resistance. By understanding their concerns, you can address them more effectively. Provide clear information and rationale : Share the reasons behind the change program in a transparent and clear ...

  Source: "artificially made by AI language model created by Microsoft": Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most exciting and influential fields of technology today. It can potentially transform many aspects of our lives, from health care and education to entertainment and business. However, AI is not a magic bullet that can solve all our problems and challenges. In fact, AI has its own limitations and risks that need to be carefully considered and addressed. One of the limitations of AI is that it is often dependent on data. Data is the fuel that powers AI systems, enabling them to learn from patterns and make predictions. However, data can also be biased, incomplete, inaccurate, or outdated, which can affect the performance and reliability of AI systems. For example, if an AI system is trained on data that reflects historical or social biases, such as racism or sexism, it may end up reproducing or amplifying those biases in its decisions or recommendations. Similarl...

Often we come across products that are difficult to use, which provide many features, more than what we need, but are still complicated to use. This situation mostly happens when engineers drive strategy in the company rather than people from marketing and sales. The last ones know the market and what makes value for the customers. We can take the example of the endless discussion between Android and iOS. The first one leaves the user with the choice to "twist" the system, sometimes changing settings which are hard to understand, while iOS focus on easy and ready use and does not leave too much freedom. That means it makes life easy for the one who wants a mobile phone that works without too much thinking. The question is how to setup the processes and the responsibilities to maximize the profit for technology "driven" companies. A simple answer would sound like this: R&D is responsible for driving innovation into the products under the "business cases...

Today's businesses and people have a very high interest in A.I. and how is progressing research in this field. A big noise is made by OpenAI and one of its applications chatGPT, but what about others. Hence, I wanted to test it and ask this question, here is the answer.  

By using natural language in the caption, OPEN AI engine can create images and paintings. It is a fun example of using technology to be creative. However, Open AI provides the API for "programmers" to convert natural language into source code, therefore, instead of using a keyboard and "programming", OPEN AI Codex, for example, let the programmers focus on "what" the SW shall do.

  source pixaby A common scenario for a company is a startup phase, ramp up and then a maturity phase when its products and or services are well recognized. Unfortunately, here the initial innovation is over, and the mindset of "we have always done like this, we do not need to change" is established. This mindset is the most dangerous, and it is when many companies and individuals stop learning and exploring. Soon they become obsolete. Hence, change and improvement are opportunities to stay competitive, and off-course they require effort and hard work. In some companies, this means removing roadblocks and hiring new blood that can bring new ideas. Looking at best practices from top market leaders, or going for solutions that change the game, should help the process.

  First was the Covid, then the war and the political crisis between USA and China have contributed heavily to highlighting the weak strategy in supply chain management for the majority of the companies worldwide. Usually, we hope the "quality is inbuilt" into the product we buy, but this is not. Quality also means meeting the expectation of the customers in terms of lead time and "serviceability" of the product: being out of stock with spare parts or not being able to deliver because of the "global" situation should not be an option. If we look at the root causes, some of them are in the engineering and designing of the product. Companies do not consider double sourcing for several reasons:  Poor risk management R&D budget Shortened design cycle  Sometimes lack knowledge and experience in the new generation of engineers.  I remember that 20 years ago, the double "choices" at the components level also for semiconductors were just part of our ...