Genesis Corporation

The Polaris Project

Contents

Genesis Corporation: The Polaris Project 3
Genesis and the Semi-conductor Tester Business 5
Semi-conductor Test Technology 6
Semi-conductor Tester Industry 7
Genesis Culture 7
Product Development at Genesis 9
A New Strategy and a New Structure 11
The Polaris Project 12
Project Team Structure 15
Project Management Tools and Processes 17
Project Performance 19
Reflections on the Project 26
Looking Forward 30
Exhibit 1 Genesis Financial Statements 31
Exhibit 2 Phase-gate Model 32
Exhibit 3 Project Execution Strategy Matrix (PESM) 37
Exhibit 4 Project Management Tools 40
Exhibit 4 Project Management Tools (continued) 41
Exhibit 5 Organisational Chart of …show more content…

The company’s internal manufacturing focused on final assembly and test (subsystems and components were outsourced). In addition, the company had sales and smaller engineering organisations dispersed throughout its major global markets, including Japan, China, and Germany.

Semi-conductor Test Technology

Semi-conductors spanned a broad range of device types, which fell into two categories: (1) memories and (2) system on a chip (SOC). SOC included microprocessors (logic), analogue processors, digital, mixed-signal processors (combining digital and analogue circuits), specialised devices for graphics and sound, and customised integrated circuits. Each type of device performed a different job in an electronic system. Regardless of their purpose, semi-conductors were highly precise devices that performed complex manipulations of electronic signals. The ability of a device to perform its function depended on its design, but also on its manufacturing.

Even the most minor flaw in the production process (e.g., an errant piece of dust, or a tiny deviation in specification) could prevent a device from working properly. The job of a semi-conductor tester was to determine whether or not a chip met its target specifications. To do this, the tester essentially interrogated the device electronically (sending it signals, and then measuring the response). This seemingly simple task was, in reality, one of the most