A joint effort

– There's an entire team of people involved in the process that results in products like StealthResident. The final product contains a wealth of experience and knowledge from a large number of people, says Martin Gudem Ringdalen.

Developing a badass net cleaner like StealthResident

Martin works with product development at Kadabra, a company Ocein collaborated with when we developed StealthResident. With StealthResident, we wanted to create a product that could stay permanently in the pen and operate independently. That meant it had to be extremely reliable and easy to handle. The idea was that "anyone" should be able to operate the net cleaner in the pen. No need to mobilize large boats and experts to get the nets cleaned.

– Finding solutions to challenges like this is about understanding the whole picture to actually solve the need the customer has, says Martin.

Since the net cleaner would be stationed in the pen, there wasn't the same time pressure on the cleaning process itself. It could work slower, and we could make it smaller.

A cross-disciplinary collaboration

Kadabra helps technology companies like Ocein with more than solving concrete problems. They help shape the foundation behind the solutions. Together, we explore challenges, clarify needs, and define what creates the most value for both users and business.

Kadabra combines strategy, design, and engineering to ensure that the solutions developed are both technically solid and strategically sound. When strategic thinking and practical product development are closely linked, solutions that truly hit the mark are created.

– Kadabra has contributed to our development of StealthResident with dedication and extensive product development experience. For Ocein, their capacity and expertise have been important to maintain the necessary momentum in prototype development, says Thomas Aas, Managing Director at Ocein.

The company has ten employees, and Martin is one of the talented people Ocein worked with. From Kadabra, Carl-Gustaf Lundholm and Kevin Østmark also contributed. From Ocein, Andreas Bakken and Erlend Velle Dypvik were among those involved in this development work.

A lot of experience and knowledge in a product like StealthResident

– No product is developed by just one person. The final result is built on experience and knowledge from a large number of people, says Martin.

Martin is a trained mechanical engineer and works at the intersection between mechanical engineering and industrial design. He also has a PhD in Lean Product Development and has taught industrialization at NTNU's Department of Design for several years. His field includes, among other things, how to make products efficiently. Since 2011, he has worked as a consultant.

– It's an enormous privilege to get to decide how something should be made, and then see the product realized and produced in large volumes. It's fun to be part of! says Martin.

Close and transparent collaboration

Kadabra and Ocein worked closely together throughout the entire development process of StealthResident. Kadabra is based in Trondheim, so we couldn't meet in person all the time. We had good communication on Slack and regular video meetings, and work with physical prototypes was documented through pictures and video.

– We've achieved close collaboration despite geographical distance. This is especially important in the early phase because the process is characterized by a large solution space and a high degree of uncertainty related to needs and opportunities. When the other party has insights, we don't have, good communication ensures we can adjust course in time and get the project quickly on the right track, explains Martin.

One thing is to make a product. Another thing is to make the right product, the one that actually meets the needs Ocein and their customers have.

Developed the net cleaner by building on solid experience

When we worked on StealthResident, much knowledge was reused. It was built on experience from previous projects. StealthResident contains much information that Ocein had from before, then you replace some elements and work further with them. By doing this, we shorten the development time while reducing risk in the project.

– It's incredibly fun to work with Ocein! The team is great to work with, they're fast and have a lot of experience, says Martin, who also believes that StealthResident is a useful and relevant product.

He thinks Ocein is "hands on," and believes it's an advantage that it's a flat organization where those who develop the products are also involved in assembling them.

– That produces great results! says Martin.