A Better Approach For Developing Cyber-Physical Products
The Meaning of
Product Velocity
What makes one organization move faster than another?
Product Velocity is a new discipline for increasing the speed at which organizations learn, decide and deliver.
Some companies build better products faster. Not just a bit, a lot.
BYD[1] develops new vehicles in 18 months, while traditional manufacturers need years. SpaceX transformed launch economics through rapid iteration[2]. Even startups like Ameru[3] answered their key technical questions on weekends and reached the market in less than a year.
These organizations have little in common except one thing: they optimize how they learn, decide and coordinate. Software development has evolved in this direction for decades. The same principles apply to cyber-physical products.
I call this way of thinking Product Velocity. It is not another methodology. It is a discipline for understanding why some organizations consistently outperform others in developing complex products.
The four principles[4] and the Velocity Loop[5] provide a practical model for identifying bottlenecks, improving value flow and accelerating learning. Like DevOps changed software development, Product Velocity aims to change how we build complex products.
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I Wrote a Science Fiction Novel
It isn't really about space. It's about why products ship late.
Fall 2026 Webinars
I talk to CEOs, industry leaders, and systems engineering experts
Case Studies in Product Velocity
Reorganizing Around Customer Journeys
Using the Inverse Conway Maneuver to Align Teams with Product Architecture
Continuous Validation of Safety-Critical Airbag Software
Dainese transformed MotoGP telemetry and simulation into a continuous verification platform for faster and safer embedded software development.
Flow Architecture Accelerates Development
BYD compresses automotive development from four years to eighteen months by an architecture that accelerates flow.
Modular Teams for Modular Rockets
By establishing modular teams, SpaceX aligned the organization structure with the rocket architecture.
Industrial lithium-ion battery recycling
Industrial lithium-ion battery recycling as a business priority with proactive systematic structuring show long-term Product Velocity.
EF Mount as a Stable Interface Across Hardware Generations
The EF mount for lenses created confidence in lens investments proven by decades of use across technological change.
Hardware Modularity For Manufacturing
Hardware modularity aligned with the assembly line gave BMW the flexibility to accelerate electric car production on demand.
Faster Electric Oil Pump Development with Model-Based Verification
Validated simulation reduced late-stage testing and cut development cycles from weeks to days.
Smart Bin Value Framework
A value framework connects stakeholder value to product capabilities, helping the organization to align.
Learning from flight: developing reusable Falcon boosters
By using production boosters, SpaceX could cheaply make them reusable by developing self-landing capabilities.
Shifting from Selling Engines to Selling Flight Hours
By selling operating hours instead of jet engines, Rolls-Royce shifted from a product to a subscription model.
Building Cars in One-Week Sprints with One-Page Interface Documents
Simple one-page interface document enabled effective communication between teams.
SpaceX Starship vs. NASA Space Launch System (SLS)
SpaceX Starship development applies product velocity principles. Comparison with NASA SLS drastically shows the economic implications.
Shifting Weld Verification into the Production Step
Eliminating inspection delay to accelerate manufacturing learning
Opal Ice Maker: Testing Demand Before Building at Scale
FastWorks reduces risk and time to market for the Opal ice maker by validating demand with real customers before committing to scale.
Closing the Loop with MLOps and User Feedback After Deployment
Field feedback on a regular cadence feeds the MLOps pipeline, improving sorting models while keeping users engaged in the learning process.
Pull-Based Hardware Integration
By triggering full-system integration only when hardware risk changes, Ameru preserved fast feedback cycles while protecting system integrity.
Isolating and Validating Critical Subsystems Before Integration
By maturing dumping and classification independently, Ameru prevented premature lock-in and shaped the architecture through evidence.
Lightweight Architecture with arc42 for a GPS-Integrated Web Application
The open source biking2 demonstrates how lightweight architecture with arc42 enables Product Velocity for a hardware-reliant software development project.
Solving the Real Economic Problem by Differentiating Stakeholders
Ameru is solving the customer's economic problem by making stakeholder value explicit and measurable
Modeling as a Platform Strategy
How stepwise architectural and modeling initiatives compounded into systemic efficiency gains
Certification as a Platform Capability
Certification can be a bottleneck. By integrating approval into the platform architecture, Wagner drastically reduced certification time.
Escalating Blockers in 60 Minutes to Protect Design Flow
By institutionalizing daily escalation, Saab eliminated decision latency and protected billion-dollar development programs.
Enabling tool-free field replacement through stable, future-proof interfaces
By relying on the USB-C standard and a simple mechanical mount, Ameru created a robust, future-proof interface for their dumping mechanism.
Reducing validation time through virtual verification and validation with Digital Twins
ZF used modeling, simulation and AI to reduce validation time from twelve to two months
Rapid engine iteration through continuous full-system integration
SpaceX redesigns, builds and test-fires Raptor engines on a 2-day cadence.
Latest Writing
Velocity Loop 2.0: From Bottleneck to Backbone
Velocity Loop Explained #5. This revision of the loop clarifies visual semantics and reduces misunderstandings.
How Product Velocity Can Save Mercedes
Why companies stay slow #5. Requiring employees to work more hours will not save Mercedes. Clear objectives and honest metrics will.
A Method Travels Faster as a Story Than as a Manual
Kessler Seven is a Scifi novels that tells the story of saving ten thousand lives by fixing broken handoffs and gates.
(AI) Automation Without Acceleration
Product Velocity Principles #3. Automation, especially with AI, can slow things down. Consider Little’s Law.
Germany Doesn’t Have a Housing Shortage. It Has a Flow Problem.
Architecture and Flow #4. The anti-pattern that is freezing an entire country: A Case Study on the German housing crisis.
Conway’s Law Is Only Half the Story: Meet Conway Drift
Product Velocity Principles #3. Conway drift happens when there is misalignment between product architecture and organization architecture.
The Book
Product Velocity will be published by MIT Press. The book presents the operating model and the underlying engineering principles.
Trainings, Workshops and Other Events
In training and workshops, engineering teams use the Product Velocity workbook to identify structural bottlenecks and define interventions inside their development systems.
Upcoming Events
Applying Product Velocity
Some organizations apply Product Velocity directly inside their development programs through focused engagements.
Alternatively, the 30-Day Intervention starts with a kick-off workshop. Teams can decide to complete the rest of the 30 days on their own or with professional guidance.
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