Wyze · Services 2026 · Product Review Gateway

Software Product Workflow

End-to-end gating from concept to launch

Standard SW workflow with CCR between CR and KO, plus three POC checkpoints for AI / Cloud capability-dependent products.

Standard step Review gate Conditional gate POC checkpoint
0
Capability Feasibility Check
POC · Pre-CR

For concepts whose viability hinges on an unproven AI / Cloud capability. Time-boxed (≤2 wk) BE/model spike — no design needed.

Output
1-pager: what the capability can / can't do
Feeds
Internal CR brief (real feasibility, not assumed)
1
Internal Concept Review (CR)
Stage 1 · Gate

Validate the problem statement before design proceeds.

Inputs
Product Brief · Success & counter-metrics
Decision Owners
Jeremy Flattau · Gretchen Zhang · Sunny Wu
Approved Deferred → return to CR Rejected
2
Cross-Functional Concept Review (CCR)
Conditional Gate · Between CR & KO
Triggered when the project carries significant cross-team complexity, requires high dev investment, or is a one-way-door productization with multiple ROI/roadmap directions.
Inputs (EOD prior)
Brief · Business Impact · Scope · Risks · Open Questions
Reviewers
Lin Chen · Matt Van Swol · Nikhil Chandran · Jing Xue · Sunny Wu
  • 0–10: Read & Comment
  • 10–20: Context Setting
  • 20–50: Stress Test
  • 50–60: Decision
Approved → KO checklist Deferred → re-review Rejected
3
Use-Case POC
POC · Between CCR & KO

Validate viable use cases and experience ceiling on the actual capability.

Design needs scale with what's tested: workflow / low-fi design when validating end-to-end UX feasibility on app · no design when validating BE-only behavior. Both BE capability and FE UX must clear before scope locks.
Success criteria
Defined upfront: accuracy, latency p95, cost-per-call, % use cases handled
Feeds
KO (locks scope, design fidelity, success benchmarks)
4
Pre-KO Preparation
Step

Convert the approved concept into design and engineering readiness for KO.

  • Resourcing & Timeline — w/ PjM
  • Initial Design Draft — w/ designer
  • Design Review — Jing, Nikhil
  • Technical Review — Engineering
5
Kickoff Meeting (KO)
Stage 2 · Gate

Approve final scope, confirm feasibility, lock cross-team commitments.

Inputs
Finalized Design · PRD · TRD
Required Output
Work Items + Dependency Log
Approved Deferred Rejected
6
Development
Step

Build against approved PRD/TRD and Work Items + Dependency Log.

Embedded Productization POC: for AI / Cloud features, validate integration, scale, reliability, and quota behavior in production-like conditions before Go/No-Go.
7
Go / No-Go Review
Stage 3 · Gate

Validate deliverable quality and launch readiness.

Inputs
Test build
If Parked / No-Go
Document rationale & comms to all stakeholders
Go → next release branch Parked No-Go
8
Launch
Step

Feature ships in the next available release branch.

Functional Swimlanes

Who does what at every stage. Highlighted cells show the function leading at that stage; striped cells indicate not directly involved.

Gate Conditional gate POC Step
0
Capability Feas.
1
Internal CR
2
CCR
3
Use-Case POC
4
Pre-KO
5
KO
6
Dev
7
Go/No-Go
8
Launch
Product (PM)
Owns concept & scope
Frame question for Eng spike
Leads · authors brief
Leads · presents concept
Leads · defines POC criteria
Coordinates resourcing, design, tech review
Leads · presents PRD
Triages bugs, scope changes
Presents readiness
Owns release notes & comms
Engineering / AI
Owns feasibility & build
Runs spike · validates capability
Reviews technical assumptions
Tech Lead stress-tests feasibility
Builds & runs POC
Tech Review · authors TRD
Confirms feasibility & deps
Leads · builds feature
QA sign-off · build readiness
Monitors release health
Design / UX
Owns experience
Reviews UX assumptions
Stress-tests UX feasibility & coherence
Workflow / low-fi if FE in scope
Leads · finalizes design
Confirms design lock
UX QA on builds
UX sign-off
Business / GTM
Owns market & impact
Strategic fit · revenue · market validation
Marketing & Services Business stress-test
Validates pricing / segment assumptions
Confirms positioning
Confirms commercial commitments
Preps GTM assets
Confirms launch readiness
Launch campaign · billing live

HW + SW Timeline Integration for Vertical Solutions

For vertical solutions (e.g. bird cam, baby cam, garage cam) where SW is core to the value prop. HW PDP and SW workflow run in parallel and converge at four joint gates plus one joint beta program.

HW track SW track POC Joint checkpoint (key alignment)
1
HW Track
Research

Form factor, sensor, optics, mounting concept, BOM ballpark.

SW Track
Capability Feasibility

Can the AI / Cloud capability do the job on the HW being explored?

2
HW Track
HW Internal CR

HW team validates HW concept per HW PDP.

SW Track
SW Internal CR

SW team validates problem, solution, UX — incorporating HW assumptions from the sync.

3
Joint CCR Joint
Joint Gate

Cross-functional alignment on the integrated HW + SW vertical concept. Vertical solutions almost always meet CCR criteria (high investment, cross-team complexity).

Reviewers
SW CCR panel + HW Tech Lead + HW PM
Decision considers
HW BOM + SW cost + price target + market opportunity together
Approved → POC charters Deferred Rejected
4
HW POC

First working prototype with target sensor / optics.

SW Use-Case POC

Validate AI / UX on HW POC sample, not generic dev kits. Workflow / low-fi design as needed.

5
Joint KO Joint
Joint Gate

Most critical sync. Locks HW spec / BOM / tooling and SW scope / design simultaneously — neither side can invalidate the other after this.

Inputs
HW POC + SW Use-Case POC outputs · PRD · TRD · HW spec sheet
Required Output
Joint Work Items + Dependency Log
Approved → Tooling unlocked Deferred Rejected
6
HW Track
EVT Build → HW Alpha

Functional defects, sensor / optics, mechanical issues. Internal / dogfood only.

SW Track
Alpha Build → SW Alpha

Integration with new HW (driver, firmware, AI on real chip vs. dev kit), blocker bugs.

7
HW Track
DVT Build

Production-representative samples. Certifications begin.

SW Track
Beta Build + Productization POC

Integration / scale / reliability / billing-quota validation against DVT samples.

8
Joint Vertical Beta Joint
Joint Program · External

Single beta program: DVT / near-PVT samples + beta SW build + working subscription/billing, in the hands of the target persona (e.g. backyard birders for bird cam, new parents for baby cam).

Goals
Real-world durability · AI accuracy in real conditions · UX usability · value-prop validation
Operations
PjM-owned · single bug log w/ HW/SW/Integration/UX tags · weekly joint triage · joint exit criteria
9
Joint RTM / Go-No-Go Joint
Joint Gate

HW manufacturing readiness + SW launch readiness as one merged decision. SW No-Go can delay HW RTM; cert slip can delay SW Go.

HW Inputs
Tooling locked · certs passed · PVT samples · capacity ready
SW Inputs
Test build validated · launch build merged · billing live
Go Parked No-Go
10
Joint LCH Joint
Joint Gate · Launch

HW + SW + GTM all Go. For monetized verticals, subscription / billing must be live — no revenue otherwise.

HW
Inventory in DC · packaging · retail listings live
SW + GTM
Release branch merged · support docs · billing live · campaign live
HW lead time dominates
Tooling alone is 8–12 weeks. SW works back from HW launch date, not the other way around.
Launch build must deliver the value prop
No "bird detection coming soon" — POCs are not optional for verticals.
EVT triggers alphas; DVT triggers Beta
Sample milestones drive cadence — not calendar dates.

Bird Cam · Recovery Plan

Project Peek launches Wyze Day, Oct 24 2026. SW just passed ICR while HW is at EVT2 — joint checkpoints from Tab 3 were missed. This tab proposes the catch-up plan from where we are today.

Status as of May 1, 2026
HW: EVT2 in flight (gate May 10) · Tooling KO Apr 7 ✓ · MP FW Lock Jul 28 · Launch Oct 24 · SW: ICR passed ✓ · CCR planned mid-May · Beta planned Aug · FW + AI: AI team validating POC, will define FW spec — currently sequential (HW → FW → SW), needs to shift to parallel cycle to hit Jul 28 lock cleanly.
HW (physical) FW + AI (firmware capabilities) SW (app) Joint checkpoint
May◀ NOW
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
HW Track
Per Project Peek PRD
May 1
EVT2 → T0/T1
DVT1 SMT → Gate
DVT2 → Gate
PVT
MP (30k units)
Airshipment + FBA
EVT2 Gate · 5/10
DVT1 · 6/10
DVT2 Gate · 7/25
FW + AI Track
Critical path
AI POC → FW Spec
FW Build (iterative drops to SW)
FW frozen · OTA prep only
MP FW LOCK · 7/28
SW (App) Track
Can iterate post-launch
CCR Prep
Use-Case POC
App Dev (against FW drops)
Internal Alpha
App Beta (joint w/ HW field test)
Launch build · OTA polish
ICR ✓
Joint Checkpoints
Recovery plan
Catch-Up Sync
this week
Joint CCR
mid-May
Joint KO
~6/10
FW ↔ SW weekly drop cadence
FW Lock Gate
Joint Beta Start
8/10
Joint RTM
~9/25
🚀 LCH
10/24

What to do at this moment — by urgency

This week · before EVT2 gate (5/10)
1. Joint Catch-Up Sync

60-min working session. Surface SW assumptions about HW (sensor, compute headroom, on-device vs. cloud) while HW spec still has flexibility before EVT2 gate. Output: HW spec snapshot SW commits to design against, plus any hard blockers raised to HW today.

Owner: Wendy Guo (PjM) · Attendees: SW PM · HW PM (Xiaobin Lin) · AI Lead (Lin Chen) · HW Tech Lead
This week
2. Reframe SW CCR for vertical context

Add HW Tech Lead + AI Lead to the CCR reviewer panel. Reframe the CCR question from "should we build this?" to "is the SW scope achievable on the now-locked HW, on the timeline that supports Oct 24?" Pre-circulate brief noting HW dependencies explicitly.

Owner: SW PM · Reviewers: standard CCR panel + HW Tech Lead + AI Lead
Mid-May · Joint CCR
3. Run Joint CCR with tight POC charter as output

CCR approval must produce a tightly-scoped Use-Case POC charter with success criteria (accuracy thresholds, % bird species detected, latency, on-device vs. cloud cost). POC must run on EVT2 / early DVT1 samples, not dev kits.

Owner: SW PM + AI Lead · Output: POC charter, owner, deadline (target completion late May / early Jun)
Late May → Early June · Critical path
4. AI POC → FW Spec Handoff

The single most leveraged moment for hitting Jul 28 FW lock. AI team's POC results define what capabilities firmware will expose to the app. Late = FW spec slips = MP FW Lock at risk = HW airshipment math at risk. Treat as a hard milestone with explicit handoff doc.

Owner: Lin Chen (AI Lead) → FW Lead · Doc: FW spec lock with capability list, accuracy bounds, error contracts
~Jun 10 · Aligned with DVT1 SMT
5. Joint KO (HW + FW + SW)

All three tracks lock commitments together. Inputs: SW Use-Case POC outputs · FW spec · DVT1 sample availability. Output: joint Work Items + Dependency Log including FW-drop schedule for SW.

Attendees: HW PM · SW PM · FW Lead · AI Lead · PjM · Design
Jun → Jul · Recurring
6. Establish FW ↔ SW weekly drop cadence

Operationalizes the "parallel FW + SW dev cycle" that closes the gap. Not a gate — a recurring sync. FW ships drops to SW weekly; SW reports back what works / what's blocked. Prevents "SW finds a capability gap after FW lock."

Cadence: weekly · Owner: SW PM + FW Lead · Single shared drop log
Jul 28 · Hard deadline
7. Joint MP FW Lock Gate

SW present at the FW lock decision to confirm app can deliver the vertical experience on the firmware being locked. Anything not in this firmware can only ship via OTA later — and OTA is constrained, slow. This is the line for capability commitments.

Decision: HW · FW · AI · SW PM all sign
August · Per current plan
8. Joint Beta (App Beta + HW field test combined)

SW Beta in Aug as currently planned, but combined with HW field testing on DVT2/PVT samples. Single beta program with target persona (backyard birders), single bug log, joint triage. App can still iterate based on findings — FW cannot. Findings split into "ship in launch app" vs. "post-launch OTA."

Owner: PjM · Recruit: backyard birders (not generic Wyze beta pool)
FW lock is the new critical path
Firmware capabilities are locked Jul 28. AI POC → FW spec handoff in early Jun is the single most leveraged moment to manage.
App SW has post-launch flexibility
App-layer features can iterate via app store updates. SW Beta in Aug is appropriately placed — it informs app polish, not FW capabilities.
Catch-up window is ~6 weeks
CCR mid-May → POC → KO ~Jun 10. Tight but feasible. A deferred CCR makes Joint KO by DVT1 unrealistic.