The focus of this research is on the semiconductor industry. Two firms and a consulting institute will collaborate with the university research team to: (1) perform field studies and participate in product design activities to obtain specifics of data requirements and knowledge acquisition information, to gain insights into opportunities and issues and to develop input for a computer-integrated enterprise prototype; (2) address data integration and distribution design issues that are unique to computer-integrated engineering environments and incorporate expert systems/artificial intelligence, facilitating the on-going improvement of the system; and (3) evaluate the effect of this system on organizational structure as it impacts the ultimate profitability of the firm through quality, cost and time to create and deliver a product. Research could have direct impact on structuring organizational knowledge for effective design and produce advances in data integration and delivery.
