For software companies, product iteration is a game of speed: ship products quickly and iterate based on customer feedback.

For hardware companies, the game can be more complex.  Even marginal improvements to hardware might implicate a company’s cost structure, supply chain, and more.

We spoke with Mac Dougherty, CEO of Cognitive Electronics, to find out how his company thinks about product management. Cognitive Electronics is a big data hardware startup headquartered in Boston, MA.