When a customer integration becomes a product change

Editorial draft · Sample article for design review

Begin with the effect on the product

A customer request may sound like an interface change while introducing a different signal source, a new workflow, or a change in how results are used.

Review the assumptions

Bring the proposed change, intended use, existing evidence, and affected documentation together. Identify which assumptions in the current product definition would no longer hold.

Use the assessment to guide the work

The outcome should explain what needs to be evaluated, implemented, documented, and verified. That makes the assessment useful to both the engineering and quality teams.