Electronics design

Scope and working sequence

This skill owns engineering decisions and the evidence needed to support them. Use the available CAD-specific skill for implementation; for KiCad, use kicad-workflow. CAD commands and file operations belong there. When lithium batteries are involved, also use lithium-battery-safety if available.

For new boards, establish requirements, architecture, component availability, and a manufacturing baseline before detailed layout. Review critical circuit placement before general routing, then check connectivity, electrical behaviour, and manufacturing outputs before release. These are work stages, not mandatory user approval stops. For a small change, apply only the stages affected by that change and check its interfaces to the existing design.

Keep decisions and evidence in the project's existing notes where possible. Match documentation to the task; a component substitution does not need a new design dossier.

Establish the intended behaviour

Record the consequential requirements and assumptions before committing to an architecture:

• Power sources and supported voltage/load range; whether operation, charging, and programming must work simultaneously.
• Programming and recovery method, external connections, controls, and behaviours the user should not have to manage manually.
• Mechanical envelope, connector access and orientation, mounting, and environmental conditions.
• Performance targets, quantity, assembly method, preferred suppliers, cost target, and acceptable prototype limitations.