Most inventions don’t fail in manufacturing, they fail much earlier, when architecture decisions are made casually.
Invention is often romanticized as the “eureka” moment when a new idea takes form and suddenly changes the world. However, many innovators overlook a critical phase before product prototypes, patents, and manufacturing, the stage where an idea exists but has not yet been fully structured into a viable invention. Daniel McShan, an engineer and systems architect, has spent over two decades helping founders and research teams navigate this fragile stage, ensuring that ideas are carefully developed before they transform into patents, products, or production strategies.
McShan’s firm, Adventor, focuses on what he calls “invention architecture”, the crucial work of clarifying what an invention actually is and ensuring that its systems are defensible and structured properly before it moves forward. “Most inventions don’t fail in manufacturing,” McShan says. “They fail much earlier, when architecture decisions are made casually.”
The Fragile Stage of Invention
Invention architecture is an essential part of the innovation process that is often overlooked or rushed through. During this phase, an idea may be vague or loosely defined. While many are eager to bring their ideas to life as quickly as possible, McShan’s work involves slowing down the process and ensuring that every early decision is thoughtfully made. This involves understanding the constraints, testing assumptions, and considering the long-term implications of each design choice.
“The issue isn’t that the idea itself is flawed,” McShan explains. “It’s that foundational decisions are made too quickly, before the system architecture is fully understood. That leads to issues down the road, whether in patents, product design, or manufacturing.”
This early stage is crucial for ensuring that inventions will be able to withstand the real-world pressures of regulation, competition, and time. As McShan points out, it is far easier to make changes and adaptations at this point than it is once the invention has become a product or patent.
The Role of Invention Architecture
What makes McShan’s approach unique is his focus on the architecture of an idea. Rather than jumping straight into prototyping or patent applications, he helps innovators take a step back and deeply consider how their systems will fit together, what should be protected, and what decisions will shape everything that follows.
“Clarity at the beginning is what protects an invention later,” McShan says. “Without structure, speed just locks mistakes in sooner.”
McShan’s work is not just about creating blueprints or diagrams, it’s about ensuring that the idea is truly defensible and capable of being successfully developed and deployed. He views the early stage of invention as a space where strategy, systems thinking, and engineering come together to form the backbone of a future product.
This often involves deep collaboration with founders, research teams, and institutions, guiding them through the conceptualization process and helping them shape their ideas into something that is not only viable but sustainable. His work spans diverse fields, including aerospace, robotics, embedded systems, and AI-driven products, with an emphasis on taking raw, unrefined ideas and transforming them into something that can survive in the real world.
Why This Stage Matters
Many inventors believe that moving quickly through the early design stages will help them capture market share or gain a competitive edge. However, rushing through these foundational steps can lead to missteps that create long-term issues. McShan’s experience in mission-critical environments like aerospace and autonomous systems has taught him that failure to rigorously test assumptions and build strong foundations in the early phases can derail even the most promising projects.
“Patents, prototypes, and product development are powerful tools,” McShan notes. “But only when the invention itself is fully understood first.”
The process McShan uses to guide inventors through this stage is methodical and structured, focusing on the underlying systems that will form the invention. This approach helps create inventions that are not only viable in the short term but also resilient enough to face the challenges of scaling, manufacturing, and long-term development.
Clarity in Decision-Making
One of the key aspects of McShan’s work is clarity, ensuring that every decision made early on is well-considered and documented. As the inventor moves forward with the idea, clarity in the architecture stage makes it easier to make strategic decisions down the line. With a well-structured foundation, inventors can move forward confidently, knowing that the critical design decisions they make are aligned with long-term goals and real-world constraints.
“Structure, defensibility, and system integrity are the cornerstones of a successful invention,” McShan states. “When you’ve built the right foundation, you can move forward with confidence, knowing that the decision you made today will support your invention tomorrow.”
Navigating Innovation’s First Principles
McShan’s method is rooted in first-principles thinking, a strategy that encourages problem-solving by breaking down complex systems into their fundamental components. By starting from first principles, McShan helps innovators avoid the trap of following assumptions or relying on overly simplistic solutions that can derail progress later on.
“Rather than optimizing what already exists, my approach starts from first principles, physics, systems, constraints, and real-world deployment, and builds upward from there,” McShan explains.
This perspective ensures that early-stage inventions are not just conceptually sound but also aligned with the realities of regulation, competition, and the eventual manufacturing process. It’s a proactive approach that minimizes risk and sets the stage for a successful innovation journey.
Moving from Idea to Invention
The difference between a promising idea and a viable invention often lies in the early decisions made during the invention architecture phase. Without this clarity and structured approach, ideas can easily collapse under the weight of unforeseen challenges.
“The role of invention architecture is to translate intuition into something that can survive the real world, regulation, manufacturing, competition, and time,” McShan notes. “That’s the difference between a fleeting idea and a lasting invention.”
McShan’s work is not just about guiding inventors through a process, it’s about giving them the tools and insights to make decisions that will allow their ideas to thrive in the real world. His approach is informed by years of experience in environments where failure is costly, and assumptions must be tested rigorously.
The Crucial Role of Early-Stage Clarity
For those embarking on the journey of invention, the message is clear: take the time to build a strong foundation before rushing into product development or patenting. Early-stage invention architecture isn’t about speeding up the process; it’s about ensuring that your idea is structurally sound and prepared for the challenges it will face later on. By focusing on clarity, structure, and defensibility, innovators can navigate the most fragile stage of invention and turn their ideas into real-world, sustainable technologies.
To learn more about Daniel McShan’s work and approach to invention architecture, visit Syzygyx Adventor and connect with him on LinkedIn.
Daniel McShan helps innovators bridge the gap between raw ideas and defensible inventions, ensuring that critical decisions are made with clarity before moving forward into production, patents, or scaling.
