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In November 2013, ASI’s President and CEO spoke in Saint Paul, MN, at Robotics Alley, an emerging initiative focused on creating a network of robotics business and research professionals. Mel’s session gave attendees a quick look at strategies leading ASI to 13 years of success in a complex vehicle robotics industry. Below are some of the key points Mel shared in his presentation.

Need for Agility

In today’s face-paced engineering environments, agility is simply the nature of doing business.
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Customers are used to getting highly customized products with short lead times as well as providing input to the design process. Development companies must be agile to survive.

In early 2013, ASI implemented the AGILE framework for hardware and software development. AGILE breaks projects into shorter increments called sprints. At the close of each sprint, design teams demo progress to customers or management. The AGILE system helps ASI remain flexible to customer feedback and provides shorter milestones with which to track progress.
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Dealing with System Complexity

Robotics is thought to be the next trillion dollar industry. However, today it is still very much an emerging field. Systems can be incredibly complex. If something goes wrong, technicians often have difficulty telling what happened, what component caused the issue, and why.

ASI uses a variety of methods to simplify robotic systems and diagnose any issues that come up.
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ASI’s automation kit is modular to provide flexibility and easier installation. Technicians can use onsite and remote system diagnostics and stored error logs to quickly locate the source of most issues. ASI is currently working toward new interfaces and software architectures that will simplify and improve the user experience.

Follow Them Home

When it comes to testing, there’s no substitution for getting out of your house and into the field to see your products being used by customers in an actual work environment.
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It sounds like common sense, but it’s surprising how many organizations don’t take the time to watch their end users. Customers often speak in generalities when talking about how they use products, leaving out critical steps and workarounds they also use on a daily basis. You won’t find those things unless you’re out in the field watching them use your product.
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Solid customer feedback of this sort is the key to having the best product in the market.

Over-Communicate

When it comes to customer communications, almost nothing can sour a relationship faster than being unresponsive.
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Establishing a healthy channel of communication between customers and support teams can go a long way to maintain the trust companies have developed over time.

Customer portals, frequent meetings, road map plans with clear milestones, open communication of challenges and delays, and fast support response each provide customers with critical project information and helps cultivate a positive, trusting relationship.
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ASI’s thirteen year track record of success is proof that these keys and others shared by Mel at Robotics Alley are foundational to the success of any robotics company.
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