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The DACI Framework: A Tool for Better Decision Making

We had the pleasure of welcoming accomplished and exceptional leader Kate Purmal to Fictiv to lead us in a workshop on teamwork. Kate launched her career as a member of the founding management team at Palm and has since worked in CEO, CFO, and COO roles at multiple startups and as a strategic consultant for Hewlett-Packard, […]

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Best Posts of 2015

Hellooo 2016! Is it seriously February already? Well, in the spirit of nostalgia, we’re takin’ a drive down memory lane, looking back at our most popular posts from 2015. 1.  Ultimate Guide to Surface Finishing 3D Printed Parts First up: our popular Ultimate Guide to Surface Finishing 3D Printed Parts. The guide covers different finishing […]

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How to Work with Community and Come Out with a Product That’s Better, Not Worse

Steve Jobs once said, “You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.” Apple makes beautifully functional—and functionally beautiful—products that people are passionate about and cannot seem to live without. The company would famously keep all of […]

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4 Essential Tools for Successful DfA

This article is written by: Jake Felser – Mechanical engineer and project manager at Cooper Perkins.  Background in startups, manufacturing, and hardware design. Chris McCaslin – Mechanical engineer and project manager at Cooper Perkins.  Fifteen years of experience bringing consumer goods and new technology to market. Developing hard goods involves many disparate and potentially overwhelming aspects, all […]

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A Closer Look: 3D Printing Materials Comparison

The most popular question we get at Fictiv is around 3D printing material choice: “Which material is best for my project?” Each material has its own benefits and drawbacks, and it can be hard to make a decision without holding and seeing the material for yourself. You’re always welcome to come by the Fictiv office […]

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Hardware Weekly | Vol 91

The week’s top hardware news. January 27th, 2016. Products Like FitBit for Food This product is for those cooks who can take advice in their own kitchen. It’s the “world’s first smart cooking pan,” the $200 SmartyPans. What can it do? It measures weight, temperature and ingredients, integrates with nutrition and fitness apps and guides […]

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5 Essential Tips for User Testing Your Hardware Project

Most hardware-focused startups have only one chance to build a product that users will value, enjoy using, and adopt into their lives. If a user has difficulty using a new device or isn’t able to seamlessly integrate it into her life, chances are it will end up in the home ‘electronics graveyard’, banished to the closet or basement to […]

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The Core Principles for Building an MVP

If you’re developing a product, you’ve probably come across the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) approach, which seeks to create a product with the highest return on investment and the lowest risk. The idea was popularized in Eric Ries’ book The Lean Startup. Ries focuses on software development for startups, but many of the principles can be […]

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Hardware Weekly | Vol 90

The week’s top hardware news. January 20, 2016. Products The Most Normal-Looking Smart Glasses Another product that stirred some wonderment at CES was a pair of seemingly regular prescription glasses from Zeiss. They look normal, but perform as fully functional smart lenses. Who knew smart glasses didn’t have to look creepy? + further improvements on […]

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Hardware Weekly | Vol 89

The week’s top hardware news. January 14th, 2016 Products Programmable Drone There are so many gadgets that teach people how to code these days, it’s a miracle if there’s anyone left uninitiated. Robolink uses a drone, though. That’s new! CoDrone is the first drone that can be programmed to do whatever tricks you want. Like […]