Outsourced projects plan

[steamedhams]

Hi,   

I am going to pay to have three projects designed by various outsourced people.
I idea is to write more about these projects in detail with requirements...etc and send them everything in one gone.
I will find people on Fiverr and similar websites to make the following projects.

They will be the following:
1) mp3 player with SDcard as memory, stm32 based, buttons to change music, audio jack, speakers..etc
2) FPGA test board with breakouts on all major pins. (Characterization board for power consumption)
3) led neopixel matrix board 32x32 controlled by stm32 and with breakout pins for the stm32 to connected to for other projects.

My intention is not to actually have these boards made but rather to gauge the skills coming from these sources for future projects.
I wouldn't be able to get anything made at the moment anyways. 

I'll be looking at how much input they require from me after the document has been sent.
I'd like to see the quality of their work and of course.. the hidden extra costs that will likely come through this experiment.
I will try and diversity my selection of the people I pick.

Would anyone be interested in following this process on youtube or twitch? If so, I'll track it and upload the videos online so we can all learn something.

Any keen?

[AndyC_772]

I'm not sure what you hope to learn, if the exercise is essentially an academic one with no physical end product.

For example, if you asked me to develop any of these projects, we'd spend quite a bit of time upfront exploring the project requirements in detail - things like the end user's expectations, commercial volume and product lifecycle, regulatory requirements, costs, and so on. All these things help ensure that the end product is actually fit for its ultimate purpose, not merely a thing designed to a specification. It's a two way process that's valuable to both parties, and not really something that can be substituted with a written spec unless you're working with someone who is already familiar with you and your market.

Without physical hardware you'll be missing out on the embedded firmware, and the ability to test usability, functionality and reliability.

Finally, you're also missing out on the main thing which (IMHO) differentiates between a good design partner and a bad one - support. Will you get a set of CAD data which is essentially 'orphaned' as soon as it's delivered? Or are you able to call up the developer some time later to ask questions, help with production, deal with any issues raised by customers, or make changes?