“Lean” started in the context of manufacturing automobiles, and has since been taken to describe prototyping and customer development for software start-ups. Many software/web start-ups do not win because of a science or technology invention. Instead, user experiences and marketing are what drive success. I think people are realizing that this can apply for hardware as well, and the increasing ease of prototyping is helping to drive the increase in hardware based projects and start-ups such as those seen on Kickstarter’s design section. Of course, hardware continues to have the challenge that production and distribution continues to be more difficult than for software.
via How to Build it: Lean Prototyping Techniques for Hardware | Graeham's Rambling Thoughts.
