Services
At Berkshire Technology Management, we focus on bridging business goals to engineering performance. Improving product delivery performance, reducing development cost, and increasing product margins are essential to unleashing the strategic value of your product development team and gaining a competitive market advantage.
Our substantial experience in R&D, engineering development, and product delivery encompasses all engineering disciplines, including hardware development, software/firmware, ASIC/FPGA, mechanical, system testing, product realization, and factory handoff.
When your engineering team falls short of achieving their potential, it's usually for one of the reasons below. Berkshire Technology Management will work with you to identify root causes, recommend appropriate solutions consistent with your business priorities, then work with you to oversee, track, and monitor implementation.
Chronically late projects or R&D budget overruns…
Blown schedules, missed windows for critical customer deliverables, constantly in catch-up mode. Project delays are expensive in direct cost, lost business, and dissatisfied customers. These delays can be caused by poor communication, incomplete project plans, or sometimes a manager who's in over his or her head. We can show you where the problem is and guide you to a solution that works within your real-world constraints.
Outsourcing should lower development cost, but doesn't always…
Whether you off-shore an entire business unit, engage a small outside team to supplement your development department, or something in between, there is no guarantee you'll see an expense savings. It takes a well designed strategy with clear goals, proper planning and organization, and direct, on-going management and monitoring. We can help guide you around the pitfalls.
Engineering leadership is needed during a temporary transition period…
Your business can't afford to drop any balls currently in the air. Mergers, spin-outs, acquisitions, resignations, and terminations can lead to temporary organizational upheaval. If your engineering organization is in transition and in need of temporary leadership for up to six months, we can bridge the gap, and even help you find a permanent replacement.
The project is critical, and it needs a strong project leader who can deliver it…
Is time-to-market paramount? Or maybe minimizing development cost? Or highest quality? Or technology reuse? Of course, the answer is "all of the above." But how each of the constraints affecting the project is addressed will make the difference between success and failure. We can lead your project and make the necessary trade-offs, or we can work along side your current team/leader, providing advice and support based on our proven track record of delivering complex technical solutions on time and within budget.
Product quality problems are jeopardizing customer good will…
For good business reasons, your development and deployment schedules were aggressive. But now your product is shipping and new releases are scheduled, but your customers are dissatisfied with product quality or performance. Future sales could be in jeopardy. Your engineers have moved on to the next project. How do you get the problems resolved, regain your customers' confidence, yet keep new development work on track? We've helped companies turn these crisis situations into reference accounts.
Product cost is too high, margins are too small…
Price erosion, margin squeeze, competitive pressure—with all of these factors at work, product cost reduction is not an option, it's mandatory for your business success. Launching a one-time, crash program is not a strategic solution. Let us show you how to set up a sustainable program that encompasses Product Development, Manufacturing, Procurement, and Finance. Our methodologies yield substantial ROI, recovering many times the investment.
Engineering leaders lack some key tools to handle the job…
Your engineering manager is an acclaimed expert on your company's critical technology, but the new product just isn't coming together. Often new managers, or those who have moved up in the organization quickly, have the talent, but not the experience, to lead diverse teams of engineers. They often can resolve the most complex technical issues, but don't know how to approach complicated project issues, deal with people problems, or resolve conflicting engineering priorities consistent with corporate business goals. By taking advantage of our experience, you bring an added dimension to the solution space.
Team building, attitude surveys, moving cheese—nothing seems to help…
Before you send your team off for a week of white-water rafting as a team-building exercise, make sure you understand the causes of your teamwork issues. Trendy management techniques sometimes help, but are not the panaceas they may appear to be. Who are the influencers and bad apples, what are the internal issues that might be inhibiting trust or good communication? We can help you identify the underlying problems and chart a path to fixing them.
A special, unique, or one-off project needs a quick solution…
We can help you set up a tiger team to tackle a one-time, critical project—either internally or outside. Or perhaps you are about to gain a development team via acquisition, or you would like to tap into another job market and set up a remote development center. You may prefer to fully integrate the team into your current organization, or maybe a more arms-length, entrepreneurial relationship fits your goals. We can plan, organize, and support the launch.