Proposal and Validation of T7, a Platform for Designing Technology Development Processes

Abstract

The research topic of Working Group 2 of the Product Develoment Process Study Group was the design of a technology development process that would combine creativity and efficiency. After setting DFSS （Design for Six Sigma） as a benchmark, the group sought to design a more effective technology process by combining the methods of quality engineering and quality control. Seven elements essential to technology development were defined, and quality engineering, DFSS, and quality control methods were applied to each defined element to construct a platform named‘T7’．By use of the T7 platform, the technology development process can be designed in three steps: first the necessary ones of the seven elements and their order of implementation is determined; next the optimum technique is selected for each element, or a decision is made not to use any technique; then a detailed plan is drawn up for each element. The effectiveness of the T7 platform was confirmed by applying it to past cases of successful technology development, and an effective technology development process was proposed for material and device development.