The art of the prototype

Here's a few things I've learned to make prototype hardware. This mainly applies to low-speed (<100mhz)>

• Use a processor with more Flash and RAM than you think you need. It's always easier to downgrade later than upgrade now.
• Give yourself a debug serial port. It doesn't have to be much, and you could bit-bang it if need be, but this will make your life much easier. For complicated designs where I know I'll need to rely on it I'll go ahead and put an RS-232 level converter IC and DB-9 connector to make life easier. If I'm not sure whether or not I'll need it then I'll just leave it as a header with Tx,Rx,Gnd, and Vcc.
• Don't route traces under ICs, if you can. I learned that the hard way recently. Why? because if you need to cut/jump that trace you now need to remove the IC first. I use both, but through-hole parts (in particular resistors and caps) tend to be more flexible than surface-mount. I like to use through-hole parts for power resistors or large (>100uF) decoupling caps because it makes it much easier to swap parts.
• Use zero-ohm resistors liberally to give yourself options. On one board I made, I wasn't sure if I would need to power the audio amp from 3V or 6V. So, I put a zero-ohm resistor tying the audio power rail to both 3V and 6V rails. Of course I only populated one of them, but it allows you to change things easily.
• Give yourself space. If possible, don't bunch components tightly together. The one that's in the middle of them all will be the one you need to replace. Also, I try to use the larger SMT components (0805+) to make it easier to rework.
• Use "full-size" JTAG connectors, preferably polarized. Make life easy on yourself and prevent mistakes. Nothing's worse than having to replace your processor IC because the firmware guy reversed the JTAG connector, frying it.
• Use the silkscreen to label liberally. Every connector/switch, etc should be labeled. A little thinking now can save a lot of time later on.
• Bring out unused pins to headers. I like to use 0.100" single-row headers because it makes it easy to route. On each header be sure to put Vcc & Gnd just in case.
• Idiot Lights - give yourself a power LED and also connect one LED to an output pin on your micro. Makes life a lot easier when troubleshooting.
• DIP Switches - if you have space, put on 2 or 4 DIP switches. Very handy for when you have customers who can't make up their mind. I write the firmware to do a couple different things and then I can change things on the fly easily.
• If you are working on a power-critical project, then run each subsection through a zer0-ohm resistor so you can do a good power analysis. There's nothing worse than populating a board, putting the micro to sleep, and then finding out that the PCB is still consuming a huge amount of current.
• Use decoupling capacitors liberally. I use a ton of 0.1uF caps, putting them near Vcc pins on ICs. A few designs I've worked on recently controlled very power-hungry devices (high brightness LEDs, speakers) and I used a few large electrolytics.
• Get extra PCBs made. They're very handy to test out different parts of the circuit, or even just to look at as a visual reference.
• Speaking of PCBs, if your design is very simple and you're only making 1-2 then you might be able to use a development board and just connect everything point-to-point by soldering wires around. If your design is not trivial or you have to make more than 1-2 of them then by all means make a PCB. They're really inexpensive nowadays.
  
• And finally, connectorize. I don't like to have lots of cables soldered directly to the PCB; if possible use connectors instead. They don't have to be fancy; I use a lot of simple 0.100" headers and mating connectors because they're easy to work with.