| name | scope-a-hardware-design |
| description | Turn a product idea into a hardware architecture: decide module/dev-board vs custom PCB (via the decision tree), name requirements before parts, sketch the power tree, the interface plan, and an EMC/pre-compliance posture — against a cost/power/size/volume/schedule budget. Reach for this at the START of any board project. Driven by hardware-systems-architect. |
Skill: Scope a Hardware Design
Build-vs-buy is the highest-leverage hardware decision. This skill produces the
architecture before any schematic. Driven by hardware-systems-architect.
Step 1 — Name the requirements before any part
Function, compute/peripherals, power envelope & battery, size/enclosure, operating
environment (temp/humidity/vibration), interfaces/connectivity, volume, schedule, and
certification needs. The MCU and parts are conclusions of these — not the starting point.
Step 2 — Decide module vs custom PCB
Traverse ../../knowledge/module-vs-custom-pcb-decision-tree.md:
volume × cost × size × certification × time-to-market. Special-case wireless — a
pre-certified radio module reuses its FCC/CE approval; a discrete radio means your own
intentional-radiator certification. State the crossover conditions.
Step 3 — Sketch the power tree
Rails and their loads; LDO vs switching regulator per rail (noise vs efficiency vs
size); a power budget; sequencing and protection; battery/thermal. Power decided here
is cheap; power found at bring-up is expensive.
Step 4 — Interface & connectivity plan
Digital buses (I2C/SPI/UART/USB), analog front-end needs, and wireless (module vs
discrete, with the certification caveat). Name connectors and protection.
Step 5 — EMC / pre-compliance posture
Identify the likely regulatory regime (FCC/CE, etc. — dated, [verify-at-use]) and the
design-for-EMC choices to bank now (grounding, filtering, clock management, shielding).
Note that certification is a test-lab verdict, not something asserted here.
Step 6 — Output
An architecture brief: build-vs-buy verdict + requirements + MCU/component direction +
power tree + interface plan + pre-compliance posture + the flip conditions. Hand
component detail to select-components-and-bom,
then schematic + layout to pcb-design-engineer.
