Tag: Product Management

Coupling & Crosstalk: Smoke and Mirrors? A Failure in Three Acts

credit card house of cards canstockphoto22380257_250x250Coupling & Crosstalk is my column in the MEPTEC Report. This column appears in the Summer 2017 edition on pages 10-11.

Electronic coupling is the transfer of energy from one circuit or medium to another. Sometimes it is intentional and sometimes not (crosstalk). I hope that this column, by mixing technology and general observations, is thought provoking and “couples” with your thinking. Most of the time I will stick to technology but occasional crosstalk diversions may deliver a message closer to home.

Smoke and Mirrors? A Failure in Three Acts

Wow, that’s cool and I really want one! In fact it is a perfect solution to _______. Those are typically my first Continue reading “Coupling & Crosstalk: Smoke and Mirrors? A Failure in Three Acts”

Coupling & Crosstalk: Over Connected?

Apple-Watch-Shinya_Suzuki_flickr17078894786_ec2467b9e6_o_crop_600x551Coupling & Crosstalk is my column in the MEPTEC Report. This column appears in the Summer 2015 edition on pages 11-12.

Electronic coupling is the transfer of energy from one circuit or medium to another. Sometimes it is intentional and sometimes not (crosstalk). I hope that this column, by mixing technology and general observations, is thought provoking and “couples” with your thinking. Most of the time I will stick to technology but occasional crosstalk diversions may deliver a message closer to home.

Over Connected?

I’m torn. Should I buy an Apple Watch? Is this an ego trip or clearly a left versus right brain decision? Regular readers of my column know how much I appreciate Jony Ive’s designs and that Apple generally does an excellent job of both engineering and marketing. However, those who are familiar with my work and personality know Continue reading “Coupling & Crosstalk: Over Connected?”

Coupling & Crosstalk: Products or Services?

products-services-canstockphoto10272610-300x300Coupling & Crosstalk is my column in the MEPTEC Report. This column appears in the Spring 2015 edition on pages 10-11.

Electronic coupling is the transfer of energy from one circuit or medium to another. Sometimes it is intentional and sometimes not (crosstalk). I hope that this column, by mixing technology and general observations, is thought provoking and “couples” with your thinking. Most of the time I will stick to technology but occasional crosstalk diversions may deliver a message closer to home.

Products or Services?

“Paper or Plastic?” A simple grocery store inquiry? Think again: this decision has many layers of complexity as does the examination of products versus services. There have been endless discussions as to the benefits and downsides of paper, versus plastic, bags. Everything from environmental concerns, to reusability, to biodegradability, and much more has been deliberated. Just when we thought that the paper bag had Continue reading “Coupling & Crosstalk: Products or Services?”

Coupling & Crosstalk: MVP for Hardware Development?

feature box canstockphoto15992543 300x341Coupling & Crosstalk is my column in the MEPTEC Report. This column appears in the Summer 2014 edition on page 8.

Electronic coupling is the transfer of energy from one circuit or medium to another. Sometimes it is intentional and sometimes not (crosstalk). I hope that this column by mixing technology and general observations is thought provoking and “couples” with your thinking. Most of the time I will stick to technology but occasional crosstalk diversions may deliver a message closer to home.

MVP for Hardware Development?

Just like professional sports leagues, lean product management has MVPs! Sports teams try out players, compete, and then end the season with “Most Valuable Players” and champions. Unlike sports, winning product managers start out with Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) early on to Continue reading “Coupling & Crosstalk: MVP for Hardware Development?”

SEMI ISS 2014 – Scaling Innovation

Courtesy of Ivo Bolsens (Xilinx), SEMI ISS 2014
Courtesy of Ivo Bolsens (Xilinx), SEMI ISS 2014

Don’t pop the champagne just yet! Although plenty of good news was shared at the 2014 SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS) there was the sobering outlook of possible limited long-term growth due to technology issues as well as economic projections. Noticeable was the lack of news and updates on key industry developments.

This is the yearly “data rich” or “data overload” (take your pick) conference of semiconductor supply chain executives. The majority of the attendees and presenters are from the SEMI member companies that develop the equipment, materials, processes, and technology used to build, test, and package semiconductors. Keeping the pressure on for advanced technology were the “end customer” attendees and presenters – semi-conductor manufacturers.

The official theme was “Pervasive Computing – An Enabler for Future Growth” and the presentations made it clear  Continue reading “SEMI ISS 2014 – Scaling Innovation”

Semiconductor Wafer Test Technology and Trends: Lessons for MEMS Test Engineers

Lessons for MEMS Test Engineers
Click image to download presentation

The MEMS Testing and Reliability 3rd Annual Conference gets high marks: excellent speakers focused on an emerging topic and it was large enough to have “critical mass” while allowing everyone to interact. It was well produced by MEMS Investor Journal and MEPTEC.

My presentation, “Semiconductor Wafer Test Technology and Trends: Lessons for MEMS Test Engineers“, covered the differences between testing semiconductors and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). I reviewed the progress in test technology over the last fifty plus years, from simple cantilever probe cards to large full wafer contact probe cards, developed to reduce the cost of test.

I discussed lower cost solutions that appear counter-intuitive since they require increased technical and operational complexity. Challenges of testing MEMS devices while still on wafer (prior to packaging and singulation) were discussed along with a review of MEMS solutions at this year’s IEEE Semiconductor Wafer Test Workshop.

With the proper skills, experience, and perspective it is possible to avoid “re-inventing the wheel” and to develop the best strategy to profitably introduce new technologies to high volume manufacturing.