Improving communication and collaboration in process development

Abstract

Personal experiences gained through previous developments provide a major contribution to new developments and idea generation. Generating a new idea for a new product or product enhancement oftentimes is a matter of communicating with others or brainstorm-ing about related topics. Due to the multi-disciplinary nature this is especially true in the area of process and device design for MEMS and NEMS. However, today the communi-cation between the different team members, especially if not co-located or belonging to different legal entities, is oftentimes hampered and on an inappropriate level. This can cause double experimentation, miscommunication of properties, uninformed decisions and so forth. Even deadlocks in the development might occur.

This paper introduces a systematic software guided approach to improve the communica-tion during MNT product development endeavors. The presented methodology and soft-ware provide a common, centralized platform to organize and track the data and infor-mation gathered during the research and development phase of MNT products. They al-low having everybody on the same page due to automatic data collection concerning sta-tus, processing, metrology results, etc. and providing protected access to selected data and information. Furthermore the use of communication fostering techniques like building 3D models of MNT devices through TCAD tools and other virtual manufacturing techniques is eased.

The English version of the reprinted publication in the proceedings of the COMS2011 conference can be downloaded here.

Information Governance in MEMS / NEMS process development

Abstract

Information governance is becoming a more and more important topic for organizations to consider, especially if supplying products into regulated markets like medical devices, aviation and so forth. Because of the multidisciplinary nature of MEMS / NEMS device developments and the cross-cutting nature of Information Governance aspects, an interesting mix of requirements and constraints emerges. This paper will introduce a systematic software driven approach to organize, track and govern the data and information gathered during the research phase of process development efforts. It will introduce how the four pillars of Information Governance (retention, security, lifecycle management and discovery) can be mastered by various tools of a consistent tool suite. The introduced approach and tools allow organizations to minimize the risks, comply with regulatory requirements, and foster reuse and collaborative learning. Furthermore they allow engineers to take good decisions and work more efficiently. Therefore complying with Information Governance aspects becomes an efficiency gainer rather than a burden.

The English version of the reprinted publication in the proceedings of the COMS2011 conference can be downloaded here.