This one’s for the products that are systems – sensors, actuators, controllers, pumps, etc.
How easy is it for you to describe your system’s operation to someone new?
If it’s easy, I bet you’ve got a good system diagram to use as a reference.
If you don’t have one… how many words do you think you would save if you did?
This level of the design record is often overlooked by the inventors, since the design is already in their head. But even if you never have to show it to someone new, you’d be surprised how valuable it can be to have all your high-level functionality laid out in front of you at once.
It might only take an hour or two to create, but I bet it will pay dividends for years to come.
-Brian Schoolcraft