Iterate hardware and software on systems thousands of kilometres away

What the people stuck here are trying to get done

When my product is thousands of kilometres away and I cannot see how it fails, I want feedback from the unit and a fast way to fix or replace it, so I can keep improving it without being on the ground.

Who needs it solved

Hardware and software teams whose product is in use in a conflict zone and who cannot see how it fails or fix it on site.

What makes it hard

Today the answer for hardware is to ship a replacement, and for software Matt says plainly that he does not have the answer. An audience member asked what software problems are unmet, and Matt said he would need to find out more.

“how do you iterate a piece of hardware that's thousands of kilometers away? And the answer is like you sometimes just need to send a new one. You know, after you've iterated set a new one to be tested again.”

“I don't completely have a software answer for you.”

What exists today

Matt's current answers: validate behind the lines or with a non-governmental organisation (NGO), away from the front; hold stockpiles in country so replacements can ship; and decide software version control and deletion up front. He offered no answer on field software.