Frequenty Asked Questions
Outsourcing, Engineering and Services
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The Company
Outsourcing, Engineering and Services
Why should I outsource my engineering design efforts?
- Typically, most companies have more engineering projects than engineers and face the pressure to deliver right away. By outsourcing, companies gain third-party perspective, vision and experience, increased project accountability and a way to design and deliver a project right away. And with Paragon Innovations, companies gain a 15+-year on-time, on-budget performance record.
In choosing an outsourced engineering provider, what should I look for?
- It is paramount to review the proposed outsourcing partner's written engineering process standards. You should also review samples of project documentation from projects completed by the provider. Additionally, you should meet with the staff that might be assigned to your project and determine how they typically communicate their progress. Does the provider have formal status reporting, email, and videophone capability? It is easy for a provider to answer yes to all of these questions, the question is - can they prove it?
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What is typically included in the term, "outsourced engineering"? What services?
- Typically, outsourced engineering includes the entire product development process from initial product concepts and early feature set identification to a complete documentation package ready for manufacturing. Outsourced engineering is not limited to schematic capture and software development. It is a much broader collection of services. To receive the maximum benefit of your outsourced partner, involve them in the very early steps described above.
If I outsource a design project, how many engineers typically work on a project?
- At Paragon, you get the benefit of every engineer's expertise and advise, particularly during a project's design reviews. Every customer is assigned a Project Navigator. This individual has access to the entire engineering staff for assistance. Typically, one to five engineers are assigned to perform most of the work on the project.
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How long does a typical project take?
- It varies, depending on customer needs, project scope, time-to-market requirements and other variables. We've found that a typical project requires 12 to 26 weeks, but we've also completed projects requiring enhancements to prior client projects in 1-4 weeks and other large projects are over 2 years long.
What kind of employees does Paragon have, and are they mostly engineers?
- Every employee at Paragon offering technical expertise is an engineer. Our only non-technical employees are in sales and administration.
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Are Paragon Engineers degreed as Electrical Engineers (EE)?
- All are experienced in hardware and software development and most of Paragon's engineers are degreed EEs.
What processors does Paragon have experience with?
- Since starting in 1990, Paragon Innovations has expanded its experience with virtually every type of processor, from low-power, low-cost processors such as the Renesas and MSP430, to high-performance PowerPC, MIPS, and ARM-based processors. For a complete list, please email us at info@paragoninnovations.com.
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What operating systems does Paragon have experience with?
- We have experience with a multitude of operating systems, from uCOS, ThreadX, Nucleus, pSOS, VxWorks, and RTXC to VRTX, and PalmOS, among others. For a complete list, please email us at info@paragoninnovations.com.
Does Paragon provide Industrial Design services?
- Industrial design isn't our specialty; however, we work closely with two excellent industrial design firms. If a larger project includes industrial design, Paragon is equipped to do the work and outsource the industrial design elements. One of our two partners maintains a satellite office at our facility.
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Does Paragon provide Mechanical Design?
- Mechanical design isn't our specialty; however, we work closely with two mechanical design firms. If a larger project includes mechanical design, Paragon is equipped to do the work and outsource the mechanical design elements. One of our two partners maintains a satellite office at our facility.
Does Paragon provide manufacturing services?
- Yes. We offer manufacturing services - usually on a short-run basis - through relationships with quality manufacturers that specialize in product type, complexity and volume. For prototypes, we prefer local short-run manufacturers because we initiate rigorous, pre-run Quality Assurance tests. We can also add manuals, cables and other components to each product and ship them directly to our customer's customers.
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Can I use Paragon as a one-stop shop for design/manufacturing?
- Absolutely. We offer turnkey services, from concept to completion. This is just one of the reasons to outsource your next project to Paragon.
Does Paragon provide Layout services?
- Yes. Printed Circuit Board Layout is one of our services. We work with a partner to provide this service.
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Will Paragon accept just a PCB Layout project?
- This isn't what we typically accept. Our approach is to determine how we can add value to your project.
Does Paragon provide PCB Fabrication services?
- Yes. Like virtually every provider today, we outsource PCB Fabrication. We have several partners depending on the volume, complexity and availability.
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Does Paragon provide Assembly services?
- Yes. Like virtually every provider today, we outsource PCB Assembly. We have several partners depending on the volume, complexity and availability. We provide final assembly, testing, burn-in and packaging services at Paragon.
What providers perform the Layout, FAB and Assembly services?
- We have several to choose from. We match the best provider to specific customer needs, based on experience and specialty. For example, not every contract manufacturer can process BGA or µBGA components. These shops are normally set up for volume builds and don't produce quick-turn prototypes.
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How long does Layout, FAB and Assembly usually take?
- PCB layout, fabrication and assembly takes about six weeks total (two weeks per step). It can take as little as seven or eight days in total, but this adds significant rush charges from suppliers. We work with our customers during this process to make sure components are available and not on allocation before having the customer decide on accelerating this stage of development.
When you say, "significant rush charges," what does that mean?
- Generally, the cost of PCB layout, fabrication, and/or assembly doubles each time the time window is cut in half.
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When Paragon designs a prototype, do I get one or more prototypes?
- We typically produce at least 10 prototype units and deliver them all to you. We also keep a spare blank FAB for observation and trace measurements and maintain one working unit for display.
Who owns the intellectual property (IP) from the design efforts?
- You do. As the customer, you gain all IP rights. Paragon not only provides the IP in terms of the product developed, but also offers step-by-step documentation so the IP never walks away, even if project leaders or team members do. At Paragon, client-owned IP is a fundamental requirement.
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Will Paragon design and develop software-only projects?
- Yes, we often design and implement software on a customer's hardware. Our Hardware Abstraction Layer software and documentation has been well received by customers to define the line between hardware functionality and application layer software. Plus, Paragon's engineers are all "bilingual," meaning they are experienced in hardware and software.
How much does a typical project cost?
- The variables of a "typical" project are vast, meaning there really is no typical project. We estimate a "typical" project will range in cost, from $80,000 to $500,000. Cost is also contingent on whether Paragon is designing and manufacturing the product.
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What does Paragon charge for its services?
- Our hourly hardware and software rate is $135, but the typical project includes a Request for Proposal process that concludes with either a fixed price bid or a Time and Materials estimate based on defined parameters and processes. Unlike many service providers, we don't typically charge for ancillary costs, such as management reviews, facsimiles and photocopies.
Do you charge extra for Management involvement?
- No, management time is not charged except when the manager (also an engineer) is actually contributing to the project (e.g. schematic capture, documentation, writing code or design reviews).
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What does Paragon charge for materials?
- We charge the cost of materials plus 10% handling. Example materials consist of electronic components, PCB fabrication, PCB assembly and more.
Does Paragon provide tiered billing or is it all the same rate?
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Does Paragon specialize in specific markets?
- We specialize in embedded systems, a vast and growing market that touches a number of different niches, including medical devices, video products, and wireless devices. We have designed other devices such as consumer electronics, Internet-enabled systems, handheld systems and reference platforms. We have developed a number of health-care-related systems, which furthered our commitment to quality in technical design and documentation. These systems demand such standards because of U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements.
What software packages does Paragon use for Schematic Capture?
- We use a number of tools in order to best serve our customers. OrCad is the most commonly used tools, but we also use Accel Tango, Protel, and Viewlogic.
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What software packages does Paragon use for PCB Board Layout?
- Cadence Allegro is the most commonly used tool.
What software packages does Paragon use for Documentation?
- Microsoft Word is the most commonly used tool, but we also use Adobe FrameMaker, Timing Designer, Excel, AutoCad, and Visio software. Our goal is to create superior, step-by-step documentation that effectively communicates to customers.
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Does Paragon use software specified by its customers?
- We have many times. Other times, we have not. Paragon works with every customer to ensure quality and standardization, including software tools.
How much time does Paragon spend on documentation for a project?
- This depends on the project and complexity of the design. Typically, we spend 25 percent to 50 percent of our total project time developing definitive documentation. Why?... to provide every customer with a published roadmap to the project at hand, from concepts and specs to components and schematics.
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Will Paragon sign Non-Discolure Agreements (NDAs)?
- Yes. In fact, we sign NDAs with most of our clients.
Does Paragon provide through-hole TH technology?
- Yes, although we are designing most things with SMT technology to reduce manufacturing costs.
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Do you do SMT?
- Yes, we design using SMT components. We still use through-hole technology when appropriate. We also have complete hot-air rework equipment for SMT components.
Do you do BGA or µBGA?
- Yes, microprocessors and other components are becoming more prevalent. Our contract manufacturers provide us with X-ray analysis to verify proper placement and soldering profiles.
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Can you quote a fixed price project or only Time & Materials?
- Yes, we can quote a fixed price, if the scope is very well defined. Otherwise, it is more cost effective to quote Time & Materials.
What are your payment policies? How much down?
- We offer several payment plans. Typically, 30% is required in advance. A 5% or 10% discount (depending on job size) is applied if 90% is paid in advance. We generate invoices every 2 weeks and payment is due net 10.
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Does Paragon barter services with customers?
- Not typically, but we have, on occasion, accepted public stock or stock options as partial payment for services.
How are changes/revisions handled?
- We have an entire policy for handling changes and revisions. It is included in the Outsourcing Guide. Additionally, the Source Code Control and Revision document from Paragon illustrates how development revisions are managed.
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What constitutes a change/revision vs. a fix?
- Most projects involve some amount of change. Determining the difference between a design change and a bug fix can sometimes be difficult. At Paragon, changes are defined as anything not completely specified in the requirements specification and proposal. Ambiguity often requires the requirements specification to be amended.
What is Paragon's most attractive trait?
- We have a steadfast commitment to doing the job right so that our customers can - long term - have the resources to replicate and review their engineering projects with ease. By documenting every step, every change and every component, customers have a go-to guide at their fingertips.
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What is Paragon's least attractive trait?
- Good question. When we identify a negative trait, we act with corrective action using our MPT system.
The Company
How many employees does Paragon Innovations have?
- Twenty plus and growing. Unlike most organizations, our top priority isn't growth. It's quality. We've managed our growth over the last decade to retain our personal relationships with customers and ensure quality, on-time, on-budget projects.
All of the engineers are bilingual...they speak hardware and software which also increases their productivity and quality of work.
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How long has Paragon been in business?
- The company was founded in 1990.
Is Paragon privately or publicly owned?
- We're privately held, with four shareholders / employees and no owners that aren't employees.
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