This paper provides a methodology and guidelines for migrating an Arduino-based lab prototype to a near-product prototype using an industry-strength IDE and MDK development environment. The guidelines involve a sequence of steps whose main goal is to minimize the hardware and software debugging effort. Each step is focused on bringing one aspect under active development while keeping everything else fixed and bug-free. Moreover, at each step, a working reference is set up to enable cross-checks in case of any unexpected problem. In addition to their value for embedded system design, these guidelines have educational value.