PWPM Wiki

Medical Device Development Project Checklist

This is a practical guide to building a project checklist for a medical device development project — a step-by-step checklist covering the project from start to finish, adapted to the realities of developing a regulated medical device.

What a Project Checklist is

A project checklist is a step-by-step checklist covering the project from start to finish. For the full concept and how it works in general, see Project Management Checklist. On a medical device development project it plays the same role, tuned to this kind of work.

Why it matters for a Medical Device Development project

Medical Device Development projects live or die on developing a regulated medical device. A well-built project checklist gives the team a shared, explicit reference for exactly that — reducing ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and making problems visible early enough to act. Skipping it, or doing it generically, is how medical device development projects drift into avoidable delay and cost.

What to include

  • Initiation checks
  • Planning checks
  • Execution checks
  • Closure checks

Medical Device Development-specific considerations

Tailor the project checklist to the risks that most often derail medical device development projects:

  • Regulatory approval (FDA/CE)
  • Design verification
  • Quality-system compliance

Example

On a real medical device development project, the project checklist would be shaped by developing a regulated medical device. In particular, it should explicitly account for the project’s biggest risks — regulatory approval (FDA/CE), design verification, quality-system compliance — rather than treating them as afterthoughts.