Perspectives to understand risks in the electronic industry

The key perspectives that reveal sources of risk in the electronics industry have been identified. The needs of the low-volume industry are found to be very different than those of the volume-driven industry. An implication of these findings is that very different research programs are needed to empower each of these two sectors of the electronics industry, and strategic research programs are needed where academia, industry and government can collaborate to resolve many of these issues. The low-volume complex electronic systems (LVCES) industry needs research programs that focus primarily on the obsolescence, reliability and maintainability issues, while the volume-driven complex electronics products (VDCEP) industry needs research programs that focus more on the manufacturability, quality, and recurring cost issues. Systems engineers would do well to survey their own customer-base using the key perspectives presented here, as a template, to define their own life cycle risk issues.