The NPI Sherpa Pre‑Ascent Protocol — A 4‑Part Masterclass

Episode 1 — Mapping the Route: Defining Product Intent & Risk Before the Climb

Most hardware teams believe they have a product once the prototype works on the bench. That belief is one of the most dangerous illusions in New Product Introduction.

The NPI Sherpa Pre‑Ascent Protocol sets the foundation for the entire series by confronting the gap between a functional prototype and a product that can survive mass production. This episode aligns directly with Sections A & B of the Global NPI Solvers NPI Design for Manufacturing (DFM) Evaluation Protocol, which focus on Product Intent and Risk Management — the two areas that most often determine whether a program will scale or stall.

Using a high‑altitude expedition metaphor, host Sarah and Rob Carl, Founder & CEO of Global NPI Solvers, explain why successful scale begins long before tooling is cut or volume forecasts are approved. A working prototype is not a map — it is a sketch. A real map requires defining the hostile terrain of manufacturing early, while changes are still survivable.

The conversation walks through what Product Intent actually means at scale — including architecture freeze decisions around voltage rails, thermal envelopes, antenna placement, and mechanical interfaces — and why these are leadership decisions, not late‑stage engineering clean‑up.

The episode then dives into Risk Management through the practical application of DFMEA and PFMEA, reframing them from paperwork exercises into early‑warning systems that expose failure modes before they become schedule, cost, or field‑return disasters. Real‑world examples illustrate how seemingly minor design details — such as a snap‑fit tolerance that is just 0.1mm too tight — can force unsafe workarounds on the factory floor and create latent defects that escape detection until customers experience failure.

Listeners will learn why relying on detection instead of prevention at scale simply builds a graveyard of scrap — and why teams that “plan to learn at altitude” often discover risks when it is already too late to respond.

This episode establishes the role of the NPI Sherpa: an independent, experienced guide responsible for delivering operational truth early, mapping risk honestly, and ensuring leadership understands what it is authorizing before committing to scale.

If you are responsible for taking a hardware product from prototype to production, this episode will help you:

• Separate prototype success from manufacturable reality
• Lock product intent before change becomes catastrophic
• Use DFMEA and PFMEA as decision tools, not checkboxes
• Surface scale‑killing risks while you still have room to maneuver

This podcast series is intentionally free and open. It exists to provide product leaders, manufacturing engineers, and launch executives with practical context, real examples, and shared language to better navigate the Global NPI Solvers DFM Evaluation Protocol on their own programs. For organizations that require hands‑on execution, facilitation, and risk governance, Global NPI Solvers provides experienced Sherpas who lead and run the Pre‑Ascent Protocol with client teams.

This episode is part of a four‑part masterclass designed to help hardware teams cross the Brutal Middle between prototype and profitable mass production with confidence.

This episode was produced by Global NPI Solvers with the assistance of AI voice technology—including a digital twin of my voice—to bring you these insights faster. While the delivery is automated to scale and speed our knowledge sharing, the expertise, strategies, and Sherpa methodology are 100% real.

Copyright © 2026, Global NPI Solvers. All rights reserved.

#GlobalNPISolvers #NPI