Original Date: 01/24/1994
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Harris Semiconductor has been institutionalizing a methodology for managing and tracking products and technology targeted for the commercial marketplace. The program Applying Concurrent Teams to Product To Market (ACT PTM) and the Technology Development System (TDS) combined to provide a comprehensive system for carrying new products to market and carrying new technology through to the marketplace.

The ACT PTM system was instituted to bring the best practices developed over time by product development people into an organized and easily understood prescriptive format. When Harris acquired another major semiconductor producer and its related subsidiary companies, there were many methods being used Applying Concurrent Teams was an attempt to standardize the methodology company-wide. Applying Concurrent Teams defines milestones, reviews, and metrics for product development. The system is designed to reduce development time which is currently not well determined in quantifiable cause/effect data; improve the quality of fit between the product and the market (customer); and provide an easier-to-review process for senior management for better allocation of personnel and other resources to the project.

Its concurrent use of not only manufacturing engineering but also marketing personnel during the project lifetime advances the concurrent engineering process a step further.

This methodology is still new to the Harris culture, but the company acknowledges that it is an important aspect of the commercial development process. Keys to success are based on Harris' ability to allow product developments to maintain customer focus, ensure that all members of the design/development team are following the same business plan with the same commit dates, and retain coordinated marketing, design, and manufacturing strategies.

The TDS applies the same basic reasoning as is used in Applying Concurrent Teams but applies it to the development of new technologies. The TDS provides an avenue (or road map) for the development, demonstration, and validation of new enabling technologies through the use of cross- functional teams. This formal methodology is now implemented company-wide.

A critical aspect of the successful application of Applying Concurrent Teams and the TDS is the use of the Semiconductor Project Management system that provides a prescription for the planning, execution, tracking, closure and management of all projects and families of projects at Harris Semiconductor. The software needed to implement this system is currently being installed.

Harris Semiconductor is also working toward using Qualified Manufacturing Lines. These lines allow for continued marketing of products to certain customers without the need to check every manufacturing practice before accepting the part/product.

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