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Software Engineering Advisors provides consulting in all
aspects of product software
development.
Our client companies create and market products that depend on
embedded
computer processors, and they depend on the software running on those
processors. The term product software development is intended
to highlight that
software is a part
of the product being developed rather than the product itself.
While there is much overlap between the
world of embedded software and the world
of desktop and enterprise software,
embedded software presents special challenges
to product developers. We feel that these challenges are not being
adequately
addressed in the industry.
Our markets and our clients are diverse and our engagements
help clients
Establish a productive software group (aimed at new
ventures)
Grow and improve an existing software organization
Refresh a mature software organization to keep it agile
and proactive
Refine a successful software organization to maximize it
ROI in software assets
We have prepared some stories that illustrate how SEA
begins an engagement with
its clients.
There are six stories, each representing one of six archetypal clients.
The companies described in the stories are
fictional product development firms that
incorporate embedded software in their
products. Each story provides some
background
on the client and company, then describes how SEA consultants are
brought in for
a strategic, tactical, or targeted engagement and the plans they
present to the client
for the engagement.
The engagement plans outlined in these stories are typical for the
kind
of client described in each story.
However, every client is different, so every
engagement is
different. SEA consultants always
tailor the engagement to meet the
needs of the client.
The business stakeholder might be a venture
capitalist who has funded an IC startup
and is looking for ways to manage costs
aggressively or who would like to outsource
software development if
possible. It might be a company that
holds a stake
(or is thinking of acquiring a stake) in a company that develops
products that use
embedded software and that needs an independent evaluation of
the capability and
maturity of a potential spin-off or an acquisition target.
The technology startup typically seeks to
develop and license intellectual property
or to become a fabless semiconductor
manufacturer. It might have some new
idea
and a few good technical people, some marketing vision, but a very small
software
group. It might hope to avoid
the cost and hassles of building a large software group
by outsourcing all
development that is not essential to their core technology.
The challenge
here is to help the startup
develop a software architecture that splits
the software
development work into
core pieces done in-house and non-core pieces
that can
be outsourced.
The small IC manufacturer represents
companies with revenues less than
$500 million and an existing IC product line
that relies on embedded software.
These
companies produce their own driver-level software and supporting
frameworks.
But their focus is on the
chip and they frequently are not prepared to undertake or
manage the large software
efforts occasioned by the transitioning industry. These are
the companies that need the most assistance because the
contributions of software
are increasing and the size of their software needs
quickly dominates the size of their
hardware needs, and their hardware mindset can
impair understanding software
in order to manage it effectively.
The large IC manufacturer represents
companies with revenues of at least
$500 million and relatively large and
growing investments in their software development
efforts. Such companies frequently produce multiple
product lines and have large
separate software organizations. These organizations understand engineering
discipline
and strive for maturity. They might be interested in a software
assessment to discover
areas that are underdeveloped or at risk. They might also want to explore the effect
of doing things differently, for example, the risk of IP “leakage” if outsourced
contractors are used.
The systems integrator company integrates
hardware and software to produce
the products it sells. Often it develops proprietary software that
runs on hardware
produced to its specifications. Such companies should have more mature software
processes, but
might need temporary assistance on a project basis to carry out
specific
initiatives. They also might want to
have an independent assessment
of their existing capabilities in order to find
areas to improve productivity
and lower costs.
The physical product manufacturer
is an emerging client market that includes
non-traditional manufacturers of
physical products who are re-engineering their
product lines to take advantage
of the unique features available through
application-specific ICs and embedded
computer technology. Aviation
and
automobile manufacturers were among the first.
They have been joined by appliance
manufacturers,
process and control
industries, even apparel makers. These
companies have no history
with product software development and can greatly
benefit from seasoned consultants
to help them jump-start their re-engineering
efforts.
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