ProductTank Hamburg

What can software and hardware product teams learn from each other?
Hardware product management comes with its own set of unique challenges — longer lead times, supply chain risks, firmware–software interplay, complex prototyping cycles, regulatory constraints, and the constant need to balance short-term improvements with the long lifespan of physical devices.
These realities make it difficult to fully adopt software paradigms like empowered product teams and continuous discovery.
We’re excited to welcome two experts on stage who’ll share their insights and lessons learned from working on the hard stuff. We’re sure there’s something to take away for everyone — whether you work in hardware or software.

First Talk by Lisa Sandleben:
Bridging Bytes and Bolts - Integrating Software and Hardware Development Lifecycles
In a fast-paced market, it’s crucial to integrate hardware and software development lifecycles closely, paving the way for a more efficient process, improved collaboration and seamless integration. We can achieve this through collaborative tooling and with an adapted and iterative version of the V-Model to build viable, resilient, and innovative products that our customers love. In this talk we’ll explore 5 means to enhance efficiency, collaboration and integration from a coach’s perspective.

Second Talk by Kai Stevens:
The hard in hardware - how to apply continuous product discovery with hardware products
How continuous was the discovery process that Kai and his team at tado° applied? Wasn't it just an old fashioned waterfall given the nature of hardware product development? In this talk Kai will take you along his learnings from developing the next generation tado° smart thermostats from the ground up with his team. He will share tangible tips and tricks to find the right approach for product discovery in a hardware environment, or in any other environment where decisions are often irreversible and highly consequential.